Hawaiian Pork Ribs

Country style ribs are called ribs but in fact they more shoulder meat as they contain no ribs bones. While true ribs may be delicious they are such a hassle to eat with very little meat for the work that goes into them. Country style ribs on the other hand are almost all meat. These are amazing slow cooked. And between my kids school schedules, athletics, keeping p with a 1 year old, and my own academic schedule slow cooker meals are VERY frequent in my household! 

My husband is always nervous about sugary/ fruity meat dishes. Pork, however; is the exception! Pork and fruit go hand in hand no matter if it is a picnic ham, pork chops, or country style ribs.

 

          

For those less familiar with more Asian cooking, hoisen sauce is a kind of Asian BBQ sauce. It's a little sweet with the sugar and a little tangy with some vinegar in it as well as soy sauce, red chilies, and garlic. You will find this in the Asian or international food isle of your grocery store. 

This recipe fed my family of 5, including an active teenage boy, with enough leftovers for lunches the next day. 

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs
• 2 Tbsp Minced Garlic or 2 Cloves Finely Chopped 
• 1 Medium Onion, Sliced
• 2 Cans Crushed Pineapple in 100% Juice, Un-Drained
• 1.5 Cups Ketchup
• 6 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar 
• 6 Tbsp Hoisen Ssauce
• 1 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger Root
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UTENSILS YOU NEED:

• 6 Qt Slow Cooker
• Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Table Spoons
• Colander

Directions 

1. Spray your slow cooker with a little non-stick cooking spray. 
2. Place ribs, garlic and onion in slow cooker.         
3. Top ribs with half of pineapple and 1/4-1/2 of canned juice. 
4. Refrigerate remaining pineapple and juice.
5. Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours. The longer this cooks the more tender it becomes. 
6. Once timer goes off, drain and discard liquid from slow cooker. 
7. Discard onions.
8. Do a quick rinse of your slow cooker to remove the excess fat from the bottom. Crock pot does NOT need to be cleaned spotless. The goal here is to just remove some of the nasty fat front he cooked meat.
9. Return meat to slow cooker.                                
10. In a small bowl mix remaining ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, hoisen sauce, ginger, pineapple, and pineapple juice.                                                               
11. Spoon sauce mixture evenly over ribs.               
    
    
    
    
12. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes when ribs are now thoroughly glazed. 
13. Serve over white rice and Enjoy!                        
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Hummus Crusted Chicken with Zucchini and Yellow Squash

I love trying new dishes! Hummus is a particular favorite of mine. If you've never had hummus before, it is basically a bean dip made from chick peas that is a staple in many countries in the Middle East. It is delicious! I love it on everything from pita bread to carrot sticks and now chicken breasts!



I often make my own hummus but for a quicker dish I decided to buy mine this time. Hummus is a fresh, refrigerated product often found around your fresh produce or other refrigerated dips and spreads. Because this dish is only meat and vegetables I do suggest you make more veggies and chicken then you would if you were adding a starch to your meal. For my family of 5 I made 6 split chicken breasts, 2 large zucchini, and 2 large squash and had only 1 chicken portion of meat and veggies left over.

Ingredients

• 6 Split or Partial Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Container Hummus (10 oz)
• 2 Large Yellow Squash
• 2 Large Zucchini
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 
• 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper (generous) to taste
• Paprika
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UTENSILS YOU NEED:

• 9x13 baking dish
• Cutting Board
• Chopping Knife
• Mixing Spoon
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Directions 

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1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut your zucchini and squash into bite size pieces.    
3. Layer veggies on bottom of baking dish.
4. Add oil and lemon juice and toss until all veggies are well coated. This will enable your seasoning to really really adhere to the veggies. 
5. Salt and Pepper veggies liberally, sprinkle with paprika, and toss. 
6. Place raw, defrosted chicken breasts on top of veggies, salt, and pepper to taste. 
7. Add a generous dollop of hummus to each breast until you have used an entire container.                                                                                           
8. Go back and spread out until the chicken is covered with hummus. 
9. Sprinkle with paprika.                                
10. Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 
11. Enjoy!                                                                   
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Mexican Lasagna

I love traditional dishes from all over the globe but I also love to mix things up with some fusion cuisine too. Fusion food is a general term given to cuisines that combine elements from different culinary cultures. Like Chinese Fried Chicken or Mexican Lasagna. I discovered Mexican Lasagna about 5 years ago in a ground beef cookbook I bought at a checkout counter. I thought this was perfect since my husband loves Mexican flavors and I am all about some Italian pastas. This is a great combination of the two.

One lasagna few my family of 4 for 2 nights. Very filling and the 2lbs of ground beef is the most expensive part of this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2lbs ground beef
• 1 can (32oz) refried beans
• 2 cans (4.5oz) mild chopped green chilies
• 1 envelope or 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 jar (16oz) salsa mild-hot
• 12oz uncooked lasagna noodles
• 4 cups Mexican blend cheese
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups (16oz) sour cream 
• 1 can (2oz) sliced olives, drained
• 5 green onions 
• 1 medium tomato, optional

 

UTENSILS YOU NEED:

• Large Frying Pan
• Can Opener
• Mixing Spoon
• 9x13 Baking Dish
• Cutting Board
• Chopping Knife
• Measuring Cup
• Medium Mixing Bowl

Directions 

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook beef in large skillet until no longer pink  
3. Drain beef in a colander and return to skillet
4. Add taco seasoning, refried beans, chilies, and 2 tablespoons of salsa. I used medium chunky salsa but whatever your preferences are. I am a heat weanie and the medium salsa is very mild when cooked in this dish. 
5. Stir until evenly combined. (looks like mud but tastes delicious!)
6. Taste and add salt as desired.
7. In a 9x13 baking dish layer 5 lasagna noodles like shown, breaking the 5th noodle as needed to fit width wise in the pan (dry noodles snap incredibly easy) 
8. Layer a third of the beef mixture on top of the uncooked noodles. Don't worry about the beef mixture being perfectly even.       
9. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese and repeat layers twice.
10. Combine remaining salsa and 2 cups of water and pour on top of uncooked lasagna.
11. Cover with foil and bake on center rack of oven for 1 hour. 
12. When timer goes off, uncover lasagna and top with sour cream, green onions, olives, and tomatoes if you prefer.                       
13. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.      
14. Once cooked let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before digging in.