Recipe of the week: Crockpot BBQ Ribs

 

This is one of my favorite recipes to do via crockpot. The crockpot really can do wonders! This recipe is easy and helps you free up your hands, so you can work Its so finger licking good!

Ingredients

• 4 lbs baby back ribs
• salt and pepper ( to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

For the Sauce:

1. 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce ( I use sweet baby rays bbq sauce)
2. 1 cup ketchup
3. 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4. 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5. 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
6. 2 teaspoons dried oregano

(optional) dash hot sauce (my bbq sauce was spicy enough already)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place ribs in a shallow baking dish and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn over and bake for 15 more minutes. Drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl combine BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, oregano, and liquid smoke and hot sauce if desired.
4. Place ribs in a large slow cooker (at least 6 quart). I curled mine around but you can cut them in half if you need to. Pour sauce on top and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until tender.
5. If you want to carmelize your bbq sauce put them back in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
6. ENJOY!

 

Lasagna Skillet

This is a great recipe to try during a busy work week. This recipe will put you at ease and give you leftovers to feed the family.  This recipe is a guarantee game changer!

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 c. diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. Italian seasoning
• 2 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I like to use the tomatoes with onion and garlic)
• 15 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 c. water
• 10 oz. wide egg noodles
• 4 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 c. shredded Italian cheese blend
• Basil

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-low heat.
2. Drain grease from ground beef, and return it to the skillet.
3. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and egg noodles.
6. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.
7. Stir in ricotta, and add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Remove from heat, and top with Italian cheese blend.
9. Let the lasagna sit for about 5 minutes for cheese to melt. If I already have the oven on, I just pop the pan in (make sure it’s oven safe first, though) and let the cheese melt. It takes about 3-4 minutes.
10. Top with fresh basil just before serving.

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Parmesan

When you get home from a long day of work and want to whip up something hearty but fast, this is definitely a recipe to consider! This recipe is great for big groups or if you want leftovers for lunch and the next night’s dinner if you will be too busy to cook! You can’t go wrong with with Chicken Parmesan!

 

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Pour sauce into 13×9-inch baking dish. Stir in 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) Parmesan. Add chicken;
3. Coat the Chicken in egg. Then in a seperate bowl coat it with  turn to evenly coat both sides of each breast with sauce. Cover.
4. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as directed on package, omitting salt.
5. Top chicken with remaining cheeses; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted.
6. Drain spaghetti. Serve topped with chicken and sauce.

Recipe of the Week: Holiday Cranberry Sauce

I may have gotten the love of cranberry from my family! I can never imagine a holiday meal without having cranberry sauce on the table. It has been a tradition for me and personally I love it! I always love making FRESH cranberry sauce because it is SO Easy and is WAY Better than eating the canned version. It is quick, easy and holiday dish favorite that is great to share!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 cup (250 mL) water
• 4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries
• Optional Pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.

Directions

1 Pour the cranberries in a colander and rinse and clean them.  Go through and throw out any bad cranberries.’

2 Add water and sugar in the pan on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

3 Add the cranberries to the pot and let them  boil. Reduce  the heat and  let it simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the cranberries have burst.

4 Once the cranberries have burst you can leave the cranberry sauce as is, or dress it up with other ingredients. You can add a half a cup of chopped pecans with a few strips of orange zest.

You can also add raisins,currants, blueberries , cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. I would only add a tiny sprinkle of spice to start and add as you go.

5 Remove  your sauce from heat. Let cool completely and chill. Then place the sauce in the  the refrigerator in a bowl. As it sits in the refrigerator it will thicken and become ready to eat!

 

 

 

 

Recipe of the Week: Cauliflower Fried Rice & Whole 30 through the lens

I took a look back at the last 30 days in trying Whole 30. It has been quite a refreshing and rejuvenating path that I have taken. Whole 30 has truly made me fall back in love, with REAL Food! ( NON PROCESSED FOODS) . Whole 30 made me want to be more conscious of what I was putting into my body. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything extreme doing Whole 30. I ended up dropping 9 pounds over the course of 30 days. Many people do, do Whole 30 in different rounds. Whole 30 is a development of a new eating LIFESTYLE. I would recommend Whole 30 .(Mind you I am not a doctor, so if you run it by your doctor).

 

Here are the basic guidelines of Whole 30!

Cauliflower Fried Rice #Whole30Approved

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower, (about 2½ cups chopped in a food processor)
• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse and chop the cauliflower into florets and put into a food processor. (If you don’t have a food processor continue to chop the cauliflower into tiny pieces.) Pulse until the cauliflower until it is small and resembles rice.
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
3. Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
4. Add the cauliflower to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and cauliflower is tender. Add chopped green onions if desired.

 

 

Recipe of the week: Meatloaf #Whole30Edition #Week4

So I am on Day 28 of my Whole 30 journey! I can honestly say that I feel truly great! I really had a lot thoughts where I didn’t love how I looked and felt. I knew if I wanted to improve something that I needed to work hard for it. With being on Whole 30, I have consistently been working out about 6 days a week. Like I said I have been doing weekly weigh in. Technically your not suppose to weigh yourself till the end. I knew I couldn’t resist so I just made sure to monitor it weekly.

Update 1 #Day7 ( November 1st, 2015)- Lost 3.5 Lbs

Update 2 #Day14 ( November 8th, 2015)- Lost 2.5 Lbs

Update 3 #Day 21 ( November 15,2015) – Lost 2.5 lbs

Update 4 #Day 28 ( November 22,2015)- 1 lbs

I will do one final update after I wrap up on Day 30, to talk about my experience. Thank you guys for following along!

 

Xx,

Ida

 

Ingredients

• For the Meatloaf: 
• 3 lbs ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 med onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup almond meal or flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• For the Topping:
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. 2. In a large bowl or mixer combine all meatloaf ingredients.
3. 3. Place meatloaf mixture into a greased pan. (I used 2 bread pans)
4. 4. Bake for 1 hour or until inside is no longer pink.
5. 5. Remove from oven and top with the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning mixture.
6. 6. Serve immediately and enjoy!

 

Recipe of the Week: Slower Cooker Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Coming home and enjoying a fare of italian cuisine can never go bad.  It is even better when someone else is cooking for you. Not everyone can afford to have a personal chef but having a slow cooker can make you feel like that sometimes. These slow cooked mozzarella meatballs are quite delicious and easy to make!

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1 cup bread crumbs (panko or regular, Italian seasoned or plain)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Fresh mozzarella cheese  cut into small cubes
• marinara or alfredo sauce, for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop each cheese stick into half inch pieces (about 6-8 pieces for each cheese stick). Place on a plate and chill in the freezer until ready to use.
2. Add ground beef, bread crumbs, egg and egg yolk, garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to a bowl. Mush the ingredients together with your hands until everything comes together.
3. Remove cheese from freezer. Scoop out about 4 tablespoons of meat mixture and roll into a ball. Gently push a piece of chilled mozzarella into the middle of the meatball. Roll the ball in your hands to cover the hole where the mozzarella cheese was pushed in. Place inside a greased slow cooker and repeat with remaining meat and cheese.
   
   

   
4. When all meatballs are in the slow cooker (*see note for alternate cooking method), cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours or on low 3-4 hours until meat it cooked through (no longer pink). The cheese may start melting out of the meatballs, that’s okay.
5. If desired, sprinkle with a bit of fresh chopped parsley or dried Italian seasoning for garnish and serve with your favorite marinara or alfredo sauce for dipping. Enjoy!