Country Style Ribs " Dry Rub"

I have been making these country style ribs for years now and anyone who has tried them just fall in love. Most people rave over the baby back or spare rib cuts but personally these take home the gold medal as far as I'm concerned . The country style rib is not really a rib its a cut from the front end of the baby backs near  the shoulder and are a loin cut of meat with small or no bones at all not containing no ribs at all. These are the easiest to cook and have the most amount of meat. Most of my friends  don't really know the difference and just think i have found a magical pig with the meatiest ribs in the world , the country style rib is also very cheap and you can find them in just about any grocery store. 

You will need 

-6 whole country style " pork" ribs             

-1/4 cup of brown sugar 

-1 tablespoon of chili powder

-1 tablespoon of paprika 

-1/2 teaspoon of allspice

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

-1 tablespoon garlic salt or powder 

-1 tablespoon black pepper 

-1 teaspoon of salt

-pinch of crushed red peppers 

-Combined all rub ingredients in a medium mixing bowl blending them well

-Dust both sides of each rib with liberally with seasoning mixture and press it into the meat

-Let the ribs set covered at room temperature for one hour

-Preheat oven to 225 degrees 

- Line baking sheet with heavy duty foil 

- Measure out another layer of foil twice the length of the baking  sheet 

-Place ribs in the middle of the baking sheet making sure they don't touch

fold over remaining foil and wrap ribs securing the foil sealed shut " like a pocket"   (you can also  use a baking dish with foil on top )

-Bake ribs for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or till ribs fall apart at the slightest touch of a fork

Serve with you favorite side dishes and sauce if you like but i never use any for this rub recipe .

Enjoy ! 

Homemade chili

After a few years of searching online for great tips and recipes for chili I decided to mix and match some of my favorite recipes and tricks creating this yummy blend that could be 30 minute chili or a all day slow cooked masterpiece , either way the chili is a delight . 


1 Pound ground Beef " 80/20 mix " 
1 Onion chopped 

1 can stewed tomatoes 
1 Can tomatoes sauce 
1 1/2 Cups of water 
1/2 Teaspoon chili powder 
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder 
2 Bay leaves 
1 Teaspoon of salt 
1 Teaspoon of Pepper 
1 Clove Garlic minced 
1 Can chili beans " pinto if you choose"
1 12 ounce can of beer " light "
1 Cup of coffee 




-Peal and chop onion 
-mince garlic
Time to sweat the onions using the same pot the chili will cook in  :
- Heat pan on low 
 -Put a thin layer of butter or olive oil in a 2 quart pot 
  -Add onions  and cook for 5-6 minutes 
  -Add beer
  -Cook on low heat with lid on till onions are translucent
  -Add minced garlic and cook for 5 minutes 
      
While your onions are sweating start browning your ground beef in a skillet 
-Brown and Drain grease
-Add Tomatoes 
         Ground beef 
         Beans 
         Water 
         Spices 
 To onions & garlic 
-Bring to a boil 
-cook on Medium heat for 10-15 minutes 
-Add 1 cup of strong coffee and stir 
-Reduce heat to Low and cook for 15 minutes  


Top  with:
Cheddar cheese 
Sour cream 
Cilantro 
Tortilla chips or crackers  

Perfect bacon !

Bacon !

We all know that even foodies can burn bacon and if your not into rock hard bacon pan frying it can be a pain in the you know what. Well here is  a sweet tip for making perfect bacon without the worry of grease flying through the air or getting your pan temp. just right.

Baking Bacon is an easy mess proof way of  cooking this pork product and  I think you get the best results
heres how :

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
-Line a cooking sheet or backing pan with heavy-duty foil
-Arrange the bacon in the pan side by side making sure not to overlap the pieces in fact leave a little space in between so they have room to brown and crisp
-Bake for 10-17 minutes for thin cut bacon , 16-18 minutes for thick cut bacon
-Carefully remove from oven , drain on a paper towel and use.


BLT : Two slices or your favorite bread toasted
          1 tomato washed &  Sliced  to your desired thickness 
          2 pieces of leaf lettuce  " washed"
          2 tablespoons of mayonnaise 
          4-6 slices of bacon 


-Spread mayonnaise  on each slice of toasted bread 
-Place lettuce on one slice of bread 
-Add 4-6 slices of bacon 
-Top with tomato 
-Place other slice of bread on top & enjoy 


*ADD cheese if you like to live dangerously 






BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS    


  10 Jalapenos 
  20 Slices of bacon 
  1 Package of cream cheese 
  1 box of toothpicks 


-Preheat oven to 420 degrees 
-Cut stems off of peppers and slice in half longways 
-Clean out seeds " washing under cold water works best"
-Spoon in one tablespoon on cream cheese in each pepper half 
-Wrap each pepper with bacon and secure with toothpick 


Bake for 10-12 minutes " precooked bacon " 
20-35 minutes " raw bacon" 


carefully remove from oven plate and enjoy ! 

Tonights Dinner

One of the first meals my mom ever taught me is one of the easiest meals in the world to make and its delicious !

Oven Roasted Chicken with Italian Dressing Marinade
This recipe works with any cut of chicken that you wish to use .
you will need : Chicken of your choosing  " one pound"
                       One Bottle of Italian Dressing
                       Three Medium size potatoes
                       Cooking bag or Aluminum foil
                       Quart Size Baking dish
                        1 Large freezer bag

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
wash chicken " skin if you want"
put chicken and Italian dressing in large freezer bag  press out as much air as you can
 place in the fridge for 20-30 mins
"longer you marinade chicken better the flavor feel free to do so long before you start cooking"

wash & cut potatoes into 1 1/2 inch  in cubes
you can peal potatoes if you want

Place chicken and potatoes in baking dish and cover with foil. bake for 30-40 mins
"chicken thighs and wings should be cooked to a internal temp of 180 . breast 170 degrees
or till when you poke into the thickest part of the chicken to the bone and the juices run clear "
"if your cooking skin on chicken take foil off and bake for 5-6 mins or till skin turns a golden brown"
after roasting chicken remove from oven and let rest for 5-8 mins. letting the juices settle


goes great with salad of your choosing , steamed vegetables and dinner rolls!

Meals Made Easy Introduction

At about 7 years old I started cooking , My mom taught my siblings and I how to cook by simply telling us what to do, starting off with easy sandwiches and lunch items like  grilled cheese & tomato soup working up to pastas and oven roasted chicken by the time I was ten years old my siblings and I would cook  Thanksgiving and Christmas meals feeding family and friends all on our own. As I got older I continued to learn more and more about food and cooking via books some of my friends parents  and the internet , After  moving  in with   my  first roommate I noticed she  would  watch me cook and ask tons of questions about how and what I was doing , realizing she  had never cooked a meal in her whole life after  I tried teaching  her over the phone how to make frozen ravioli and it not working out so well   I figured the poor thing could probably manage to burn frosted flakes if  left alone in the kitchen and I decided to teach her a few simple meals in hopes that our apartment wouldn't burn to the ground, After about a week I managed to teach her: Spaghetti  Pot Roast and Oven Roasted chicken  with zero fear of smoke inhalation and or a giant blaze of fire she was  free to enter our kitchen without a supervisor and ended up making some amazing dinners  she told  many of our coworkers and her friends  shortly after  my  phone started ringing off the hook for help in the kitchen and thats pretty much how I got started teaching my not so kitchen friendly friends how to cook. I really should have started this  blog years ago. In hopes to reach a larger audience and maybe help some strangers like I've been helping my friends all these years I finally broke down and created this blog  I will be posting recipes , videos , basic cooking advice and  my kooky opinion on food networks and show fell free to ask any questions and post comments .  I hope this blog helps people fall in love with cook and feeding people they love as much as I do.