Even though it's Fall, we're having an Indian Summer day today, high's in the 80's. I feel like ribs but don't want to deal with the grill or the little black bast@$%'s that are all over now. They're harvesting corn and soybeans all around us and those tiny suckers leave welts all over me. They get in your hair, under your clothes and worst of all they come in right through the screens, so you can't even open your windows. The sick thing is I found out they don't actually "bite", they leave a teeny, tiny drop of their urine on you and it's like acid. Nice huh?

Ugh....one of the drawbacks of living in rural North Iowa. 

Anyhoo....I still am making ribs, but I'm using my most favorite recipe for the slow cooker. 

EASY SLOW COOKER PORK RIBS

 

Ingredients

• 1 large St. Louis style rack of Pork Ribs
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, etc.,
• I large onion, sliced into rings

Instructions

1. Portion the rack into 2 rib slabs to allow them to fit in the slow-cooker easily.
2. Season each piece with seasonings.
3. Scatter onion rings over bottom of slow cooker.
4. Place sectioned/portioned ribs into slow-cooker( I lay them on their sides), covering them with BBQ sauce.
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until they fall off the bone.
6. (THESE STEPS ARE OPTIONAL BUT REALLY ADD TO THE TASTE!!!)
7. Remove from slow-cooker and transfer them to a foil lined baking sheet.
8. Brush each portion with BBQ sauce
9. Broil for 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to bubble and caramelize.
10. Remove from broiler let cool slightly
11. ENJOY!!!!

Family Favorite Swedish Meatballs

These babies are scrumptious and delightfully lean, so you don't have to feel guilty about eating 3, 6 or 9 of  them! Haha........it's hard not to, beleive me I speak from experience here. 

 

Ingredients

• 1-¼ pound Ground Turkey Or Beef
• ¾ cups Dried Bread Crumbs
• ⅓ cups Finely Chopped Onion (or 1-2 T Dried Minced)
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
• ⅛ teaspoons Nutmeg
• 1 whole Beaten Egg
• 2-¼ cups Milk, Divided
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 2 teaspoons Beef Bouillon Granules (or 2 Cubes)
• ⅛ teaspoons Pepper
• ½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste

Preparation Instructions

In medium bowl, mix meat, bread crumbs, onion, parsley and nutmeg. Beat egg and 1/4 cup milk together and add to the meat mixture. Blend together until combined. Shape into 25-30 meatballs (depending on size). Bake in a 375F oven for 20-25 minutes, until done.
While meatballs are cooking, in large skillet on the stove, whisk together the remaining 2 cups milk, flour, bouillon and pepper. Cook over medium heat until thickened, then add the salt. After meatballs are done, add them to the skillet, and coat with sauce. Serve over rice or pasta. We prefer Buttered egg noodles. Makes 4-6 servings.

Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

Nice warm days and really cool nights..................awww who doesn't love Fall?

This girl does!!!

And because of that I am going to share an wonderful recipe for an easy weeknight dinner with the fam, or a casual weekend dinner with friends.

Super delicious and everyone will absolutely rave. If serving more than 4, just double it baby. 

Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce 

 I served this up with some roasted "teeny-tiny" baby potatoes and my daughter's favorite veggie, brussel sprouts!

Ingredients:
1⁄2 cups olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp dry mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1-lb. pork tenderloin (silver skin removed)

Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Pan Sauce:
Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of pork marinade (thoroughly mixed)
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin.

Source: Adapted from For The Love of Cooking and Chef Mommy

Yay!! It's finally acting like Fall around here, the leaves are falling along with the temperature. It's cool (40's) in the mornings and in the high 60's to low 70's during the day. PERFECT!! I love Fall. 

So....in honor of this glorious season and the abundance of apples this time of year I thought I'd post a recipe for a delicious, gooey, finger licking.....

Cinnamon Apple Walnut Pull Apart Bread

Apple Walnut Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients:
12 frozen dinner rolls, thawed
2 Granny Smith apples, chopped (you can peel them if you would like to, but I didn't . . . it's all about the shortcuts!)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together the chopped apples, brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon until well combined.
Using a pair of clean kitchen scissors, cut each roll into thirds.
Place 12 small roll pieces in the bottom of the loaf pan. Drizzle about a third of the melted butter on top of the roll pieces. Then top with a third of the apple mixture. Repeat layers two more times, until ingredients are all used up.
Let rise for about an hour (or until rolls have doubled in size).
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until tops are golden brown and the middle rolls are done (I lifted one of the rolls in the middle to peak at the layers underneath to make sure they weren't doughy).
If you want, drizzle with glaze made of powdered sugar and milk (I just keep adding and mixing the powdered sugar and milk together in a bowl until I get the consistency I want).

So doing this, this weekend.....even with Homecoming and all. 

Roasted Tomato Sauce

I have a jungle growing in the garden.  A tomato jungle.  Wild green vines with yellow blooms and tomatoes in all stages of ripening.  Hard to believe at the beginning of the summer I was worried they wouldn’t make it.  With our stretch of heat and hardly any rain the plants have exploded into a tangled, beautiful mess.

Each day we bring in a bowlful of burnt orange, yellow and deep red tomatoes, in all sizes. Warm from the summer sun and bursting with flavor. Since there is no way we can possibly eat them fast enough I’ve been trying new ways to use them up and make the most of their wonderful flavor. This roasted tomato sauce does just that.

We’ve been spreading it on a whole wheat baguette, cut in half, with mozzarella and parm sprinkled on top. Put it under the broiler for a few minutes and you’ve got a baguette pizza. Add a simple green salad and you’ve got supper. Easy enough.

Roasted Tomato Sauce
5-6 cups of tomatoes, chopped or halved
4-8 garlic cloves
1/2 an onion sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place chopped and halved tomatoes and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 325 degrees for an 1-1.5 hours. Place roasted tomatoes and garlic in blender or food processor. Add Italian seasoning. Process tomatoes until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.
You can either process these in canning jars per your canner instructions or fill freezer bags with 2 cup portions, allow to cool before freezing (or they will separate-ewww) and then label and freeze. 

This sauce also makes a great base for tomato soup, marinara or pizza sauce. Enjoy!

Adapted from:http://thishomemadelife.com

It just really sounds good today, and my youngest daughter is such a fan of anything fish, that I'm going to make.....

Lemony Salmon Patties

Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon fillet, cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs or panko
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced or grated
• 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
• 1-2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lemon, juiced
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• Additional Panko for dredging 
• 2- tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Place salmon chunks, parsley, bread crumbs, green onion, seafood seasoning, eggs lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a food processor. Pulse until salmon is chopped. Shape salmon mixture into four large or 8 small patties. 
2. Dredge patties in additional panko to coat and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pan-fry patties until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

I have fallen in love with this online store.

You too will love it. You just have to continually browse and then BINGO, you find the perfect gift or thing that really tugs at your heart.

One Kins Lane.....it's habit forming.

One Kings Lane

Chicken Fried Pork Steak

These babies are delicious and so easy to make. 

4 center cut boneless pork  loin steaks

2 eggs, beaten 

1/2 milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 tsp salt  and pepper, ea.

1/4 peanut or vegetable oil

Cut a gallon zip bag done one side, place 1 steak at a time in the bag and using a mallet pound to 1/4" thin.

Season pork with salt and pepper. Mix egg and milk in a shallow dish.

 In another shallow dish combine flour, garlic and onion powder, poultry seasoning and salt and pepper.  

Dip each steak in egg mixture, dredge in seasoned flour, dip again in egg and dredge again in flour. Place onto a rack over a pan, dip and dredge the rest. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes. 

Heat the oil ina cast iron skillet on medium high until a pinch of flour sizzles. Cook two steaks at a time for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and crispy. Keep in a 200F oven while the rest of the steaks are prepared. 

 

* Once prepared an easy pan gravy can be made from heating 2 tbs of the drippings in the cast iorn skillet with 2 tbs flour for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of milk and heat until thickened and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and serve over steaks and/or mashed potatoes.