Recipes Reviews and Gadgets

This was one of my husbands favorite meals growing up. His mom made it often to feed her family of six.

BAR-B-Q Spare Ribs

Brown the spare ribs slightly about 1.5-2 pounds. I bake in oven for about 15 min

Sauce:

1 can tomato soup

1 can water

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

2 medium onions, cut into small wedges

Boil all together. Add spare ribs and simmer for about 1 ½ hours. I have put everything in a crock pot and cooked on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over rice.

This recipe does not come out well doubled.

My cousin recently came across this recipe! Sounds really good, and easy to make.

3cups Corn Chex® cereal

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 tablespoon milk

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1×1-inch pieces .

Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with foil. Crush cereal. (To easily crush cereal, place in plastic bag or between sheets of waxed paper, and crush with rolling pin.) 2. In medium bowl, stir together crushed cereal, cheese, salt, seasoned salt, paprika and garlic powder. In small bowl, stir together melted butter and milk. Dip chicken into butter mixture, then roll in cereal mixture to coat evenly. Place on cookie sheet. 3. Bake 9 minutes; turn nuggets over. Bake about 8 minutes longer or until coating is light golden brown and chicken is no longer pink in center. Nutrition Information:

1 Nugget: Calories 60 (Calories from Fat 25); Total Fat 2 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 160mg; Total Carbohydrate 3g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 0g); Protein 5g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 2%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 4%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Very Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 0
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

My cousin got this recipe from a friend, and already made it. She gives it two thumbs up! She also used bone in chicken, so it took a little longer to cook!

1/2 cup frozen (thawed) orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 lb)

In shallow glass or plastic dish or resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix all ingredients except chicken. Add chicken; turn to coat with marinade. Cover dish or seal bag; refrigerate, turning chicken occasionally, at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Place chicken on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 15 to 20 minutes, turning chicken and brushing with marinade occasionally, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).

Heat remaining marinade to boiling; boil and stir 1 minute. Serve with chicken.

For extra-moist grilled chicken, use tongs instead of a fork to turn the pieces. A fork will pierce the meat and let too many of the juices run out, drying the chicken.

1 Serving: Calories 290 (Calories from Fat 120); Total Fat 14g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 80mg; Sodium 270mg; Total Carbohydrate 10g (Dietary Fiber

My friend gave me this years ago, it has some odd ingredients, but it makes an interesting gravy. It comes out great every time.

1 Beef Roast (to fit your crockpot)
1/2 Cup of Water
1 Packet of Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Packet of Italian Dressing Mix
1 Packet of Brown Gravy Mix

Put roast in crockpot, pour water around the base.
Sprinkle all 3 dry seasoning packets over roast.
Cook for 6-7 hours on low. Remove roast to cutting
board and let sit 15 minutes; slice thinkly across
the grain (electric knife works best).

I have had this recipe quite awhile, but have only made it a few times. I never seem to have the canned items on hand. It is pretty good, and easy to make if you are busy all day.

Creamy Italian Chicken

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 envelope  dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/4 C water

8 0z Cream cheese softened

1 can cream of chicken soup undiluted

4 oz can mushroom stems and pieces (drained)

Hot cooked rice or pasta

Place chicken breast halves in the crockpot. Combine Italian dressing mix and water until smooth, and pour over chicken. Cook on low for three hours. Combine cream cheese and soup until blended, stir in mushrooms and pour over chicken. Cook an additional hour or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice or pasta.

My mother use to make this every once in awhile. It is a quick and easy scallop dish and does not take long to put together. Great with a side of rice.

Scallop Casserole

1 lb bay scallops

1/2 C butter

1/2 C Ritz Cracker crumbs

1/c C bread crumbs

2/3 C milk

Rinse scallops. Melt butter and mix with cracker and bread crumbs.  Put a layer of mixture in bottom of buttered casserole dish (pyrex works great). Cover with half of the scallops Add half of 2/3 Cups of milk (pour around scallops NOT over them) and some salt and pepper.  Repeat again with another layer of cracker and bread crumbs (leave some crumbs for top) then scallops and milk. Sprinkle leftover crumbs on top (does not need to cover scallops just sprinkle). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Should be nice and brown.

I went to a dinner party last year and the hostess served this. I must admit, I was quite skeptical when I saw the prunes and olives together, but the flavors together were excellent. She told me she makes it quite a bit for big groups because it makes so much. I think it best not to tell anyone the ingredients until after they have eaten it!

Chicken Marbella

4 chickens, 2 1/2 lbs. each, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/4 c. dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. pitted prunes
1/2 c. pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 c. capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white wine
1/4 c. Italian parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done with thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

16 pieces; 10 or more portions.

My friend and co-worker Lisa, from Beijing, sent me this recipe. It is called Mapo Tofu and roughly translated it means “pockmarked grandmother bean curd,” named for the old woman who supposedly invented the dish. It is served in many restaurants in China.

The recipe is written in both English and Traditional Chinese. Which one can you read? This is a good way to learn your Chinese!

 Lisa says please try it at home she is sure you will enjoy it!

 Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1 pound regular tofu (medium firmness)
• 1 leek or 3 green onions
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Chinese salted black beans (fermented black beans, also called Chinese black beans), or to taste
• chili powder
• 3 Tbsp stock (chicken broth)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• Freshly ground Szechuan pepper
• 2 - 3 tablespoons oil for stir-frying

Directions:

Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 1/2 inch (1 cm) square cubes, and blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and drain. Chop leek or green onions into short lengths. Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the ground pork. Stir-fry pork until the color darkens. Add salt and the salted black beans. Mash the beans with a cooking ladle until they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili powder, leek or green onions, then the stock and bean curd. Turn down the heat. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes. While cooking, mix cornstarch, water, and soy sauce together. Add to wok and stir gently. Serve with freshly ground Szechuan pepper. 

麻婆豆腐

这是一道川菜名肴。直译的话，“麻婆豆腐”是“脸上长满麻子的妇人做的豆腐”，据说是这个妇人发明的这个菜，所以以她来命名。

配料

猪肉末、嫩豆腐、葱或洋葱、精盐、豆豉、辣椒粉、原汤（鸡汤）、玉米淀粉、水、生抽、新鲜的四川辣椒、花生油

做法

先将嫩豆腐切成一厘米左右的方块，用滚水煮二到三分钟，以去除石膏味，沥干水分。

把葱或洋葱切碎。起锅放油，油热以后把猪肉末放到锅里煸炒，直到肉的颜色变深。放盐和豆豉和肉一起炒，再放辣椒粉、葱或着洋葱，炒到入味，再放豆腐和鸡汤，用小火焖三到四分钟。把玉米淀粉、水和生抽调到一起，放到锅里，轻轻翻炒一下。最后配上新鲜的辣椒一起食用。

Using lemons (limes, or oranges) inside a chicken when roasting them makes them really moist.  I take a whole chicken wash it good, put some sea salt and pepper on it or whatever spices you may like. I cut up three lemons in half, I have used limes and oranges also. I then squeeze the lemons all over and inside the chicken. DO NOT THROW THE LEMONS OUT! You will put them inside the chicken. Put the chicken in a roasting pan, add a half cup of water, celery, or whatever you please. Bake at 350 according to the size of your chicken (I buy the chickens with the pop up things.) You can add in potatoes closer to the end also. This comes out nice and juicy and full of flavor every time.  If there are any leftovers it makes a great lemony chicken soup!