Oven Baked Ribs

• 2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs, silver skin removed
Dry Rub:
• 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-2 cups BBQ sauce 

1. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil or a double layer of regular tin foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side of the ribs generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Wrap the ribs tightly in the foil and refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight and up to 48 hours.

1. When ready to bake the ribs, preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Place the ribs (still in the foil packets) on a foil lined baking sheet and bake the ribs in the oven for 4-6 hours or until tender when picked up with tongs. 

1. Remove ribs from foil and place on another foil lined baking sheet. Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and broil until charred and bubbly. 

* I got this recipe from melskitchencafe I used sweet baby rays original bbq sauce. The rub has some good spice to it so the sweet bbq sauce helped to tame that down. I thought that these were good. They were not as tender as when I make them in the crockpot so I think that I will stick to that way but I loved the rub and will use that recipe again.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnita Meat

4-5 lb pork roast
1T cayenne pepper
2T garlic
1T salt
2 tsp onion powder
3-4 C water


1.Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low 7-8 hours or until tender. Once done shred and let cook another 20-30 min to combine the flavors.

Place meat in corn tortillas and top with favorite topping
-salsa
-sour cream
-lettuce
-guacamole
-lime juice


* I used a frozen 4lb roast and put it in the slow cooker on high for one hour and then on low for 8hrs and it was perfect and shredded great. 

Baked Ham

(7 lb) spiral cut smoked ham 
1/2 cup pear juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place ham, cut end down, in a large baking pan.
3.  Mix pear nectar and orange juice in a bowl.
4.  Bake ham for 15 min basting frequently with juices.
5.  Mix brown sugar and honey together in a small bowl.
6.  Brush mixture over ham and bake for another hour or until internal temperature reads 140°F.

* I thought that this was good I used a cheaper ham and I think that it would work better using the spiral cut. It did make a nice crust on top but again not as crispy as I think that it would be on a spiral.  

Cheese Crescent Dogs

1 roll large size refrigerated crescent rolls
6 hot dogs
3 slices cheese

1. Roll out and separate the crescent rolls into triangles and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
2. Cut the four slices of cheese in half and add one half to each crecent
3. Top the cheese with a hot dog and roll up

4. Bake according to the crescent roll directions. Until golden and cooked thru

Loaded Baked Chili Dogs

7 hot dogs 7 hot dog buns 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup relish 15 oz can Hormel chili 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 onion, diced
Evenly spread 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of relish into each hot dog bun, top with the (uncooked) hot dog, and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Repeat for remaining hot dogs. Evenly top each with chili, then cheese, then diced onion.

 

Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  

Kalua Pork

5 lb. pork shoulder roast
1-1 1/2 Tbsp coarse sea salt
1½ Tbsp liquid smoke

1.With a knife, cut slits into the roast with the tip.Rub salt all over the roast and place it in the slow cooker.
2.Pour liquid smoke over the roast.
3.Cook on low heat for 16 to 20 hours, turning halfway through the cooking process.Remove roast from the slow cooker and shred.

4.Add some of the liquid left in the slow cooker to the meat until most.


* Yes you read this right it needs to cook 16-20 hours I only had a 3 1/2 lb roast so I did mine for 13 hours. I only used 1T salt on my smaller roast and thought that it was a little to salty for my taste but it up to you. Other then that it tasted great. It defiantly had the smoked flavor from cooking so long.We put the meat on rolls with Havarti cheese and some bbq sauce

Three cheese italian sausage with pasta

1(16 ounce box) rigatoni pasta 
3 cups broccoli florets 
1 package (13.5 ounce)  Three-Cheese Italian chicken sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sweet red pepper, diced 
3/4 cup Italian dressing
3/4 cupParmesan cheese, grated

 

 1.Cook pasta according to package directions.  

2.Add broccoli to pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

 

3.In a large skillet, combine sausage, pepper and Italian dressing; cook over medium heat until pepper is tender and sausage is hot. 

 

4.In a serving bowl, combine hot pasta and sausage mixture. 

5.Add Parmesan cheese and toss to coat.

 

6.Serve immediately.

Crockpot Honey Mustard Ham

 
5 lb. bone in fully cooked ham (I used boneless)
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper

1.Place ham in 5 quart crockpot and pour apple juice over ham. Combine brown sugar, honey, mustard, and pepper in a small bowl and blend well. Spread over ham.

2.Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Slice and serve. 

* This ham was so yummy everyone loved it. My husband said that he could eat if for dinner every night for a while and not get sick of it. And he pretty much did with all the leftovers lol it was so simple to make and was a nice change from the normal plain brown sugar ham. I give it a 5

Ranch Crock Pot Pork Chops

4 pork chops, about 1/2" thick
a little oil for browning
1  Tbsp ranch dressing seasoning
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
Mashed Potatoes homemade or instant. (I made instant but added some garlic and Parmesan cheese to them)

1.Quickly brown the pork chops on both sides over medium high heat in a little bit of oil. Don't completely cook them, just give them a quick sear.

2.Place them in your crock pot and sprinkle with the ranch dressing mix. Pour the soup over the top.

3.Cook on LOW heat for 5-6 hours, or on HIGH heat for 3-4 hours. Serve with hot mashed potatoes.


* I have said before that my family is not big pork eaters but I had some in the freezer that I needed to use so decided on this recipe to try it out I thought it was pretty good. My chops were alot bigger then 1/2 inch thick and so the season was not very strong so try and stick with 1/2 chops for this. But all in all it was super fast and easy being a slow cooker meal but just cuz we are not big pork eaters I give it a 3 1/2 but im sure you would like it more if you enjoy pork

Homemade Manicotti Alla Romana

Shells

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups water

6 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.Mix together: flour, water, eggs and salt to make a thin, smooth batter. Pour about 3T-4T batter onto lightly greased griddle. Cook 10-15 sec until a film starts to form then flip and cook another 10-15 sec. Place on sheets of wax paper to prevent from sticking until you fill.
This recipe makes 30-35 shells

Manicotti Filling

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 pound italian sausage

salt to taste

1 1/4 Cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups spaghetti sauce, divided

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups half-and-half

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Saute garlic for 1 minute and stir in sausage. Cook until well browned and crumbled. Season with salt and set aside to cool.
2.Cook spinach according to package directions.
3.To the sausage mixture add the cooked spinach and ricotta cheese. When the mixture is cool, add the beaten eggs.

4.Spread 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently stuff each manicotti shells with meat and cheese mixture; place shells in prepared dish.

5.Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour .Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to bubble. Stir in half and half and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Pour or ladle the sauce evenly over the stuffed pasta.

6.Stir the basil into the remaining spaghetti sauce. Carefully pour or ladle spaghetti sauce over the white sauce.

7.Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more.



* This looks like its a lot of work but it really came together pretty fast. I made the shells first and then while the meat was cooking I was making the white sauce at the same time so that it was all done together and ready to put into the oven. The shells were a lot like crepes while I was making them but when they are filled and stuffed they tasted just like noodles without that rubbery store bought noodle taste. They were really good and fast and simple to make. The whole family loved this and I am sure that I will make it again. I give it a 4 1/2

Sausage Pizza Bake

3 cups uncooked rotini pasta
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup water
4 oz sliced Canadian bacon, cut into fourths
1 jar or can (14 or 15 oz) pizza sauce  
3/4 cup shredded pizza cheese blend (3 oz)

1.Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 3-quart casserole with cooking spray. In 3-quart saucepan, cook and drain pasta as directed on package using minimum cook time. Return pasta to saucepan.

2.While pasta is cooking, cook sausage and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir sausage mixture, bell pepper, water, bacon, pizza sauce  into pasta. Spoon pasta mixture into casserole. Sprinkle with cheese.

 3.Cover casserole. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.  

* The whole family loved this it really did taste like pizza with the pizza sauce that you use. It was great and simple and you could add any pizza toppings that you like to it. It was even great leftovers. I give it a 4 1/2 

Caribbean Spiced Slow Cooked Ribs

3 lb bone in Pork loin back ribs ( I got the extra meaty kind)
2 tablespoons Dried minced onion
1 teaspoon Ground mustard
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 Medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup Water
1 1/2 cups Barbecue sauce (I used bulls eye original)

1. Spray inside of 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2.In small bowl, mix dried minced onion, mustard, red pepper, allspice, cinnamon and garlic powder. Rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into 4-inch pieces. Layer ribs and sliced onion in slow cooker. Pour water over ribs.

3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 9 hours.
4. Remove ribs from cooker; drain and discard liquid from cooker. Pour barbecue sauce into shallow bowl; dip ribs into sauce. Return ribs to cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs.

5. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 1 hour longer.

* These were amazing!! And the whole family loved them. My husband said that we are now having rib Sunday's and eating them every week lol. I don't know if I could eat them every week but I probably could at least once a month. They were so good and so easy to make. You for sure need make these tonight lol I of course give these a 5

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 boneless pork shoulder roast (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)

1 can (10 1/2 ounces)  French Onion Soup

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1.Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until it's well browned on all sides. 
2.Stir the soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the pork and turn to coat. 
3.Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or until the pork is fork-tender. 
4.Remove the pork from the cooker to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Return the pork to the cooker. 

5.Divide the pork and sauce mixture among the rolls.

* My family is not a big fan of pork. We eat it now and then but its not a regular in the house because we are just not into it lol But I happened to have a pork roast in the freezer that I needed to use so I found this recipe that got really good reviews. We thought that the sandwiches were pretty good I have not tried the leftovers yet to see how it tastes but it worked for dinner I give it a 3 1/2 on the scale.

Slow Cooked Ham

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 (8 pound) cured, bone-in picnic ham

1.Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar on the bottom of the slow cooker crock.

2.Place the ham flat side down into the slow cooker - you might have to trim it a little to make it fit. Use your hands to rub the remaining brown sugar onto the ham.

3.Cover, and cook on Low for 5-6 hours.  Or until internal temp is 160 degrees