Michelle's Tasty Creations

Monday, January 9, 2012

Russian Teacakes

These little balls of snowy looking goodness have been called by many a name and have been made many ways over the years.

My mom always made them with almond extract, my friend Traci always made them with vanilla extract.

Some people call them Mexican Wedding Cakes; we call them Russian Teacakes.

Crock Pot Country Pork Ribs

Now that the weather is FINALLY getting cold here in California I busted out my crock pot. My NEW crock pot that is. I got an All-Clad fancy shmancy crock pot that has a coated insert that comes out and can be used right on the stove to sear in so you don't have to use more than one pan. I have made several recipes in it lately (which I will be posting at a later date) and LOVE it, but this recipe was made previously so that's why the pictures shows a Rival crock pot. So put this in your crock pot and snuggle up with a good book on a cold day and dinner will make itself.

Here's what you need:

3 Lbs. boneless country pork ribs

1 recipe Auntie Sharon's Ultimate BBQ Sauce -Here

Now pay attention to the direction cause I don't want to lose you here.

#1. Get Crock pot out of the cupboard and dust off if needed. hehe

#2. Mix all ingredients for Ultimate BBQ Sauce together and place in crock pot.

#3. Put the boneless country pork ribs in crock pot and stir until covered with sauce.

#4. Turn on to High and set for 6-8 hours.

#5. Now leave the kitchen and let the machine do the work!

Best served with mashed potatoes, but then I would probably serve mashed potatoes with every meal if I could get away with it.

Finished meal! YUM. It falls apart so have a large serving spoon handy.

Psst... This is another one of Justin's favorites. I'm telling you that kids is going to get his own heading pretty soon!

Serves 6 - 8

Enjoy~

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Crock Pot Country Pork Ribs

2/19/12 **Note: Not all crock pots cook at the same heat (at least my old one didn't cook as hot as my new one) so please check for doneness at the lowest hour listed to see if your meal is ready.

Ultimate BBQ Sauce

I got this Awesome BBQ sauce from my Auntie Sharon and have used it for years. It is wonderful on BBQ chicken but over the years I have also been using it in my crock pot with pork ribs. It takes on a totally different flavor when cooked all day with the ribs, so please give it a try more than one way like I do.

Here's what you need:

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup water

1 Tbl. yellow mustard

2 Tbl. vinegar (red wine or seasoned)

2 Tbl. brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder

1 sm. red onion, chopped

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 Tbl. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and use in the crock pot to cook meat in or over chicken on the BBQ. If using on the BBQ don't baste until the last 15 minutes or so of cooking, because of the sugar in the sauce it will burn if cooked to long over an open flame.

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Ultimate BBQ Sauce

Friday, January 6, 2012

Cheesy Bacon Dip

Here is another recipe that we served at New Year's Eve that I think would be wonderful for a Super Bowl party. My friend Kathy Hartman gave this recipe to me last year and I forgot I had it until she made this year for our New Year's Eve bash.

Parmesan Artichoke Dip

Here is another tasty recipe that I made a couple of times over the Holidays these past couple of weeks. I didn't do my usual and take a bazillion pictures so you just have to trust me on how great tasting this is. This would be a perfect appetizer for the upcoming Super Bowl, so give it a try and let me know what you think.

Fail-Proof Pizza Dough and Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

Boy do I have a recipe for you! I know I have mentioned my love affair with carbs before and over the past 4 months or so I have been on a fresh yeast bread kick. So while browsing my favorite blogs a few weeks ago I came across a really great and easy sounding recipe for fail-proof pizza dough and cheesy garlic bread sticks here at Lauren's Latest blog. You need to try this recipe today!

Here's what you need:

Basic Fail-Proof Pizza Dough
recipe adapted from Lauren's latest

Yield - 2 - 12 inch pizzas, approximately 1 pound of dough

1 cup warm water, between 105 - 115 degrees

2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)

1 Tbl. sugar (or honey- I used sugar)

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbl. olive or canola oil

3 cups flour ( I used unbleached all purpose) give or take 1/2 cups depending on the humidity and heat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes until bubbly. This shows that the yeast is active.

Pour in 1/2 the flour, salt, and oil. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Start adding the rest of the flour in 1/2 cup increments until the dough is slightly tacky but not sticking to the bowl or your hands. I usually add up to 3-1/2 cups total for this recipe.

Turn the mixer to med-high and knead the dough for 6 minutes. Don't stop the mixer early. The dough needs the whole 6 minutes to knead.

When done kneading the dough should be smooth and easy to work with. Place a Tablespoon or so of oil a clean bowl and place the dough in the bowl, turning it once to oil the dough ball completely. Cover with plastic wrap and a dry towel and place in a warm draft free area to raise for 1 - 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Now you can turn the dough into anything you would like to. Pizza, Bread sticks, Etc...

Cheesy Bread Sticks

Here's what you need:

1 recipe fail proof pizza dough - Printable

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

2- 3 garlic cloves grated (I use a microplane, but a garlic press would be fine too)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional - 1/2 cup cheddar or cheddar jack would be great too.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. (you can preheat a pizza stone inside also but I find it hard to get the pizza onto the stone if it's already hot)

Mix the butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll out pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper to desired size. I used a 1/2 sheet pan, so I rolled my dough to fit. You can always use half the dough and cut the butter mixture in half too. I am usually feeding a crowd so I make the whole recipe. I use a metal sheet pan so I drizzle olive oil in the pan and brush it to cover the whole pan so that the bottom gets nice and browned.