Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sticky Asian Ribs

I know rib and grilling season is about over, but I didn't get a chance to post this until now. And who knows, you may get a nice Winter day and say hey, I need ribs today. This recipe also mostly cooks in the oven at a lower temperature and then I finish grilling at the last and baste with the sauce. I served mine with an Asian noodle salad, but it would also be great with "Rumbi" rice or an Asian cole slaw. I looked up "best ever Asian Ribs" and found quite a few recipes. I took what sounded good from those recipes and added a few ideas of my own and this is what I came up with. LOVED them!
Enjoy!

Sticky Asian Ribs
2 slabs meat baby back ribs, cut into 3 or 4 bone pieces
Hoisin sauce
Rub:
1/3 cup Brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice (more or less)

Preheat oven to 275.
Brush Hoisin sauce over both sides of the ribs, then sprinkle with your rub mixture. Place one piece of rib in aluminum foil, and fold to make a tight little packet, place on Cookie sheet. Continue until all of your rib pieces are in foil packets and in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
Bake in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.
Remove from oven and let cool just so you can handle the foil.

While ribs cook make your BBQ sauce:
1 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tablespoons Honey
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon chili sauce
Whisk all of the BBQ ingredients together in a medium sized saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Let cook until thickened. Set aside.

Heat grill to medium heat while ribs cool. Once you are able to unwrap the foil, carefully grab ribs with tongs and place on grill, top side down. Brush the side that is up with BBQ sauce and grill for about 5 minutes with grill lid closed.
Carefully turn the ribs over, brush the tops with more BBQ sauce and let grill for another 5 minutes. Remove to large cookie sheet or serving platter.
Garnish with toasted Sesame Seeds and chopped green onion if desired.
Enjoy.
*Remember you can adjust seasonings to taste....

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Salad with Grilled Shrimp with a Lime Vinaigrette

Since starting my 21 day fix journey, I have been eating healthier... I love trying to find healthier recipes to try and experiment with. And you know I LOVE watching the food network on my Saturday mornings, so when they did a version of this recipe I just HAD to try it out. I love shrimp and Jamaican flavors so I tweaked this recipe just a bit to my taste. Loved it. And a salad like this a great light evening meal. The original recipe is here but I did tweak it a bit. Enjoy!

Salad with Grilled Shrimp with a Lime Vinaigrette
Shrimp Marinade:
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 Tablespoon Lime juice
1/2 (scant) teaspoon Jamaican Allspice
1/4 teaspoon smokey paprika
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
Whisk this together in a large bowl, then add:
1 to 2 pounds large Shrimp, peeled and deveined and tails removed
Let your shrimp marinade while you prep the rest of the salad.

3 ears corn, cooked and cut of the cob (you can grill this or cook in the microwave)
4 cups Spring Mix Salad
1/4 to 1/2 cup lightly chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 to 1/2 cup lightly chopped fresh parsley
1 avocado, pitted and diced
One 14-ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed
One 14 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced
Place salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss together. Set aside while you make your salad dressing.

Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/8 heaping teaspoon smokey paprika
a dash or two chipotle powder
1-2 teaspoons agave (to taste)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whisk these ingredients together then drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil while still whisking until it comes together. 
This is your salad dressing, add more salt and pepper to taste.
Now grill your shrimp.
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. If you are grilling on an outside grill preheat your veggie grill pan (I used this then I didn't have to skewer my shrimp and it didn't fall through the grates).
Grill the shrimp until  no longer pink, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
Drizzle the salad with your desired amount of dressing. Serve in individual bowls or plates and top with grilled shrimp. Enjoy!!


New and Improved Chicken Enchilada Soup

I have a few different Chicken enchilada / chicken tortilla, and different chicken soups on here, but I did a few things different yesterday...