Boneless Ribs and Mashed Potatoes

This picture was taken after dinner so it is not the best.

Mix together:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2/3 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup molasses
a dash of pepper and paprika

Brown your ribs in a frying pan and then place in a baking dish. Pour the sauce over the ribs and bake at 350 for 2-2 1/2 hours, flipping the meat periodically.

I put a twist on mashed potatoes. I boiled a can of southern white beans for about 10 minutes and then I pureed them with a piece of garlic. Meanwhile, I started boiling 3 large russet potatoes. After the potatoes are done cooking, drain (reserving about a cup of water) and mash and then add the pureed beans and reserved water.

This is where I need to work on the recipe. I added some salt, pepper, milk and parsley to the mashed potatoes but because of the bean texture and taste, something wasn't quite right. We ate it anyways. They were not too bad.

You can use some of the extra rib sauce as gravy.

I would rate the ribs about a 9 and the mashed potatoes about a 5.

Lemon Mint Biscuits

Mix 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter and 1/4 teaspoon salt together. (I added some minced fresh mint and some lemon zest) Cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Make a small well in the mixture and pour in 3/4 cup milk. Stir until moisten. Knead a few times and then roll out with flour until 1/2 inch thick. Cut out and then bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

These are the best biscuits that I have made personally, but not the best biscuits I have ever had. The pillsbury pop biscuits are better than these. If anyone has a better biscuit recipe I would love to try it.

I would probably rate this a 3 out 10 (being the best biscuits.)

Coconut Shrimp

Take 3 bowls.
In the first one: 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning
In the second one: 2 eggs
In the third one: 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (i used small shrimp so i put my coconut in a small food processor and broke it down a little bit)

Dip your shrimp in the first bowl and then the second bowl and finally the third bowl. Put on baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes. (I flip my shrimp half way through.)

Here is a Pina Colada Dipping Sauce (like the one at Red Lobster if you have had it there):
In a saucepan combine 1 cup pina colada mix, 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple, 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon coconut (again I broke it down to make the pieces smaller) and 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar.
Simmer for 10-12 minutes.
In a small bowl mix 3 teaspoons water and 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch together until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add to the sauce after it simmers. Simmer again 3-5 minutes. Bring to room temperature.

This sauce is good with rice also.

This is definately one of our favorites so I would rate it about a 9.

Orange Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt, pepper and paprika
1/4-1/2 cup oil

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk (or water)
6 oz frozen orange juice
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
sprinkle of nutmeg

Place chicken in plastic bag. Put flour, salt, pepper and paprika in the bag also. Shake the chicken until coated and then brown in the hot oil. (I skipped this part because I did not want a fried version of the recipe. Instead, I put a small amount of oil in a pan and cooked the chicken with the seasoning (omitting the flour).) Place the cooked chicken in a 9x13 pan. Combine the rest of the ingrediants in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. If you are using bone-in chicken, bake for about 45 minutes. Serve with rice.

Since I have not made orange chicken before, I cannot compare it to anything but from a restaurant, but I think I did pretty good. I added some orange zest to the cream of chicken mixture and it helped give it a more orange bite. I only did two pieces of chicken and so there was a lot more sauce. This sauce was good over the rice we had and the leftovers were fantastic over baked potatoes the next day.

I think there is a better orange chicken recipe out there without needing to fry the chicken. If anyone has one let me know.

I would rate this about a 6.

Lemon Coconut Muffins

I was going to make brunch the other week and wanted muffins to go along with my sausage, eggs and hashbrowns. With about 6 lemons on my counter, I wanted to use them in the muffins. I found two recipes that I wanted to combine. This is a little sweet and fantastic warm with vanilla ice cream.

Muffin Part:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup coconut and oatmeal
mix these in a small bowl and put aside

cream together:
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar

add 1 egg and 2 tablespoons to margarine mixture
add 1 cup milk, alternating with flour mixture to margarine mixture

Bake at 375 for 18-20 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
I used all the batter for 12 muffins

While the muffins are baking, make the coconut topping:
In a saucepan dissolve 1/4 cupLset on heat for a couple minutes.
When the muffins are done, take out of pan and poke holes in the tops and spoon sauce into and on top of. It's really good if you stuff some of the coconut down inside.

If you don't have toasted coconut you can make some by spreading coconut evenly in shallow dish and baking at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until golden. You may need to toss the coconut a little.

Because this could be a breakfast or dessert, I would rate it about a 7 because they are best just out of the oven.