Slow Cooker Ribs

Seriously, there is nothing easier than this recipe!  I urge everyone to try this at least once!  I sometimes babysit my friend's child at my home.  Her son is 9 months older than mine, and sometimes they behave really well, and sometimes, not so much!  So it's easier to just have something as simple as a slow cooker meal to set and forget! 

Yields 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• at least 2 lbs of baby-back or spare-ribs, whatever your preference.
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a 4 qt+ slow cooker. Cook on LOW heat for 6-8 hours.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

I have so many recipes to post still.  As usual, every day life has taken over and I am totally backlogged!  I hope to be able to post all of my recent recipes before the close of the month.  This is a simple, summery salad.  I actually had this as my lunch for yesterday, and it was de-licious!  My landlords have a vegetable garden that takes up their entire backyard.  One day, as I opened my door to come upstairs from a day at work, my landlady had left a bag full of cucumbers.  Nothing beats garden fresh produce!  These cucumbers were humongous!  Often we will get cucumbers and have cucumbers in vinegar for a side dish with dinner.  I decided that instead of a regular garden salad, I wanted to switch it up just a little bit!  I used chickpeas, but you could also use red kidney beans.  I added the tiny bit of feta cheese I had left (about a tablespoon's worth), but it wasn't enough to actually be detected so you could omit it if you wanted to.  I sent some over to my Mom to try, and she barely got a spoonful.  The younger of my two brothers scarfed it.  I guess that's a good sign, right?

Yields about 6 servings


Ingredients:

• 2 large cucumbers
• 3-4 tomatoes (I used vine tomatoes)
• 1 tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup of green olives (optional)

Directions:

• Drain and rinse your chickpeas.

• Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise, and then into 1-inch thick slices.

• Chop tomatoes into chunks and add to bowl.

• Slice onion thinly and add to bowl.

• Add the rest of the ingredients (vinegar, oil, cheese and olives) and toss to coat.

Honey-Lime Baby Carrots

I had bought a bag of baby carrots when I made Mediterranean Minestrone Casserole because it was cost efficient.  However, I only needed a small amount of carrots for the recipe!  So I had about 3 quarters of the bag left!  Our family is not big on carrots.  None of us like them all that much!  I found this recipe and figured that if we had to eat carrots, maybe making them sweeter would be better!  Eoin actually loved these.  They became the vegetable side, paired with Ricotta Stuffed Potatoes for a Chicken Cutlet dish.

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

• roughly 3/4 lb of baby carrots, quartered length-wise
• 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Directions:

• In a small saucepan, bring salted water to a boil.  Add carrots and return to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, until just tender.  Drain and set aside. 

• In a large skillet, heat onion, honey, lime juice and butter until bubbly.  Stir in the carrots, coating thoroughly.  Heat for about 2 minutes, until carrots are glazed throughout. 

 

Mama's "Hamburger Helper"

Two weeks ago was another week of fast dinners.  My Gram went back into the hospital, so it was another round of quick and easy meals so we could go up and visit.  It was also right before we were due to go grocery shopping, so I was trying to use up whatever I had left in my Lazy-Susan.  Who needs Hamburger Helper, when you have an imagination?  What is Hamburger Helper anyway?  It's just pasta (in some cases rice) and seasonings.  So I decided to make a Mama's version!  Quite simple, inexpensive and tasty!  Every meal I make usually has a meat, a starch and a vegetable, so that's exactly what this is!  I used macaroni and cheese, but next time I may use some beef-flavored rice (or any kind of rice for that matter).  I used peas, but I'm making another batch tonight (I need to make 3 days worth of dinners today), and will be using peas and carrots. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 box of macaroni and cheese (milk and butter needed as per package instructions)
• 1 can, or 1 (10 oz) package of frozen vegetables
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

• Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.  Season with pepper, onion and garlic powders.  Drain.

• Cook macaroni and cheese according to package directions.

• Add beef mixture to the macaroni and cheese.  Add peas.  Heat thoroughly.



Support Your Local Farmer's Market!

Becoming a Mom has changed me in so many ways.  I would cook before, but not nearly as often, and not nearly as healthy.  I always liked to cook, but it wasn't a necessity.  Now, of course that's changed!  My boyfriend may be the provider of this family, but I'm the nurturer. 

I am very particular of what goes into our bodies on a daily basis.  I do not buy strictly organic, I'll admit it.  There are not the same health regulations for organic products for one.  How am I to know that it really is organic?  The only surefire way to know that anything is truly organic, and not buying into all the hype is to grow it yourself.  I would LOVE to do this, but we live in an upstairs apartment, and besides my landlord has a vastly flourishing vegetable garden outside already.  So instead of wasting my money in the grocery store because a sticker tells me to, I opt for freshness. 

I usually go to the fruit store around the block from me to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.  The produce is fresher than the supermarket, and the prices are usually lower.  From time to time I will still go there, as Eoin LOVES his fruit, but a Farmer's Market has recently opened in my neighborhood. 

Although a little more expensive than the fruit store, the produce is super fresh and locally grown.  Last week I went and the carrots were fat and humongous and the tomatoes were damn near the size of my head!  Whether you opt to go organic or not, supporting our local farmers is a great cause. 

When you go into the supermarket, your oranges aren't from Florida but rather Mexico.  Most of what you buy isn't grown in the U.S.  I feel when I buy from the Farmer's Market, I am getting the freshest product available and it is being grown in the area.  With the way our economy has been going, I'd rather support our local suppliers! 

Not my picture, but beautiful nonetheless!

Last year, we went to the Long Beach Farmer's Market for the first time.  We went in October, so I'm not sure if there was something special going on that particular weekend, but they had a lot of vendors and live music!  It really was a great experience!  I got the largest bunches of leeks for my Potato and Leek soup that I had ever seen! 

The Elmont Farmer's Market has about 7 tents.  They have organic juices (Eoin loves the apricot juice), fruits, vegetables, fresh pasta and Italian specialties, and organic bread, pastries and desserts (every time I go, Eoin gets a plain croissant so I can do my shopping in peace).  From my personal experience, I highly recommend getting peaches there.  They are incredibly juicy and delicious!  I have also gotten two breads so far, both fantastic.  I got a 9 mixed grain bread, which even Bill liked!  I also got an olive chiabatta, which was also great!  The next time I go back, I think I'm going to try some fresh ravioli and tomatoes for a tomato salad! 

For a listing of Long Island Farmer's Markets, click on one of the links below:

Find a Farmer's Market

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets  This one gives you a listing all throughout New York State, excellent!

LI Green Market

Mediterranean Minestrone Casserole

My son never ceases to amaze me!  This was another meal that I was sure he would turn his nose up at, and yet he absolutely loved it!  I will be making this again in the future!  I used a mixture of half regular pasta, and half whole wheat pasta, and no one could tell the difference!  This is a great meal to just have cooking on a Sunday afternoon, so you can have lunches for the week!  It's nice and filling, convenient AND healthy!  Another recipe from Betty Crocker:  The Big Book of Slow Cooker, Casseroles and More!

Yields 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, sliced (1-1/2 cups)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons sugar (I used Splenda)
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 to 16 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained, rinsed
• 1 can (6 oz) Italian-style tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
• 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (3-1/2 oz) (I used 1/2 cup regular, 1/2 cup whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2oz)

Directions:

• In a 3-to-4-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except green beans, macaroni and cheese.

• Cover; cook on LOW heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
•  Stir in green beans and macaroni.  Increase heat setting to HIGH.  Cover; cook about 20 minutes longer or until bean a macaroni are tender.  Sprinkle with cheese.

My Mom's Eggplant Parmesan

Don't get me wrong, I love going to an Italian Resturant or a Pizzeria and ordering Eggplant Parmesan.   I absolutely love eggplant, so whenever I can order it, it's a real treat.  But...no one beats my Mom's Eggplant Parmesan!  I know, I know, it sounds like I'm kissing up.  But really, it's the best.  My Mom doesn't like breaded eggplant, and her old friend Tina (who happens to be Sicilian) taught her how to make Eggplant Parmesan the Sicilian way.  Let me just say, it's phenomenal (and EASY)!  I honestly could eat a whole batch myself!  This has been one of my absolute favorite dishes for as long as I can remember.  I was quite pleasantly surprised that Eoin loved this as well!  I honestly didn't think he would even try it, so I made something else for him.  He was so intrigued he started picking from my plate.  He absolutely loved this!  At the end of summer, I may make another two batches, that way I can freeze one for a nice hearty meal during the fall.  This time I used Meaty Hearty Pasta Sauce, but you could use any red, tomato-based sauce you like.  When you cut the eggplant, cut it a little thicker, it gives the dish a nice flavor and consistency.  As my regular followers know, I am a big fan of cutting eggplant thick, I actually LIKE to taste the eggplant in the dish!  I got my eggplants for this recipe from our local Farmer's Market, which I will be posting about very soon.  If you want a breaded alternative, be sure to check out my recipe for Crunchy Eggplant Cutlet Parmesan. 

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized eggplants
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, more as needed
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese (your preference as to whole milk, part skim...)
• 1 jar of marinara sauce (I used a 1 lb container's worth)

Directions:

• Peel the eggplant(s) with a vegetable peeler.  Cut eggplant(s) lengthwise into at least 1" slices.
• Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
• Fry each slice until just tender.  Remove from heat and let cool on paper towel lined plate.

• Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.  After eggplant has dried and cooled, start assembling casserole as you would a lasagna.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of the baking dish:

followed by a layer of eggplant,

and then cheese. 

Repeat until baking dish is full.

• Bake for 45-60 min at 350.