Dr Pepper Ribs (Recipe 26 of 150)

This recipe is just meh to me. It sounded good, but wasn't something I was excited about. In fact, it was so meh I don't really have anything to say about it. 

It smelled fantastic as it was cooking, but when do ribs not smell good? There. I found something good to say about them.

Dr Pepper Ribs

Recipe from Kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com

4.5 lbs. country style pork ribs

2 12oz. cans Dr. Pepper soda, divided

3/4 c BBQ sauce

2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

In the slow cooker, pour 1 can of soda over ribs.

Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours or on high for about 4.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.

Place a wire rack on prepared baking sheet.

Stir together BBQ sauce, liquid smoke, garlic powder and pepper with 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper.

Move ribs from the slow cooker to wire rack.

Brush ribs with sauce and bake for 15 minutes.

Flip ribs, brush again and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve hot with remaining sauce.

Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups (Recipe 25 of 150)

Last night I hit 1/7th of my goal. I hit recipe #25. I made these scrumptious little gems for the Niece's
birthday. 

Photo from Lemon
Tree Dwelling

This recipe screams to be doubled. Wonton wrappers come in packages more than 12 and cream cheese comes in an 8oz packet. So I doubled this recipe. 

The only negative is the wonton bottoms weren't crunchy. I can't explain them really other than it was more doughy than crunchy. Still delicious. Hindsight, I'd totally make a closed wonton and deep fry these bad boys. 

I only used one jalapeno because I knew we had a non spicy person coming. Personally, I'd add another for spicy, but one gave it good flavor without the heat.

Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups

Recipe from Lemontreedwelling.com

Serves 12

• 12 wonton wrappers
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 12 oz. bacon, cooked & crumbled (reserve 2 Tbsp.)
• 1 c shredded cheddar cheese, reserve 2 Tbsp.
• 3-4 jalapeños, seeded and chopped (for more spice, do not remove all the seeds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.

Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup; bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and cool slightly.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, and chopped jalapeños.

Spoon filling into wonton cups, then sprinkle with reserved bacon and cheese.

Return to oven and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until wontons are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza (Recipe 24 of 150)

This recipe almost feels like it's not a recipe and I'm cheating a little by including it. But I did say a "new" recipe to me is one I've not tried before, so my blog my rules. I'm counting it. 

While I didn't do it - cuz I like to make things difficult - this could be used for leftover chicken. I chose to cut a chicken breast into small pieces and sauteed it in a frying pan. Then hit the hot chicken with the BBQ sauce. It caramelized it every so slightly. 

I also used flatbread instead of raw pizza dough. Easier. 

Overall, this was a great, quick dinner. I have left overs too that'll be heated up for lunch. Oh and for the record, Sweet Baby Rae's is the BEST BBQ sauce for this. And everything. 

Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Recipe from I Heart Naptime.net

Serves 6

• 1 pizza dough , or flat bread
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce , more if needed
• 1-2 cups shredded or sliced chicken
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup red onion slices

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Roll out the pizza dough if needed. Lightly brush oil on a pizza stone or large baking sheet, then place dough onto stone or pan.

Place 1/4 cup BBQ sauce on the pizza dough with a spoon. Mix the remaining BBQ sauce together with the chicken.

Sprinkle cheese over the dough and then add the chicken and onions.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Beef Birria (Recipe 23 of 150)

Early in Feb I traveled to Tucson, stopping in Phoenix first. I met my friend for lunch and had beef birria enchiladas. I knew then I had to get home and make been birria. 

In all honesty, I did not follow any part of this recipe. I didn't read the instructions and assumed I knew what was happening. The result was delicious, and I'm sure if you actually follow the instructions they'd turn out just as good. 

I had made beef birria before, but a long time ago. And I had seen it made on TV. Those two things coupled with my own cooking knowledge I was sure I knew what I was doing. Again, it turned out ok. So you can follow my instructions or the actual instructions. After reading the instructions, they feel a little out of sync to me. 

I did use all the ingredients though, so there's that. 

First I started a pot of beef broth on to boil so I could get my dried chilis steeping. Rookie mistake though, I didn't seed them before I steeped them. Be sure to stem them and seed them before you steep them - it's easier. 

While those were steeping, I sautéed my onions. Then browned my beef.  Put both of those in a slow cooker. 

Once the chilis are steeped, I dropped them and the seasoning into a blender and blended until smooth. 

I dumped that and about 3 c of beef broth the chilis steeped in into the slow cooker. Let it cook for 6 hours on low.

I would make this again. Maybe I'd follow the recipe. 

Beef Birria

Recipe from Hungry Foodie

Serves 6

• 2 T olive oil
• 5 pounds chuck roast  cut into 2 to 3 inch chunks
• sea salt
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large onion, sliced in half and peeled with the stem left on
• 8 c beef stock
• 3 dried guajillo chiles, seeded with the stems cut off
• 3 dried chile de arbol, seeded with the stems cut off
• chopped red onions, cilantro, and lime wedges, for serving

Heat the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the chuck roast pieces generously with salt on all sides.

Add the chuck roast to the pot and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the oregano, bay leaves, chili powder, cumin and cloves to the pot and stir to coat the beef in the spices.

Add the garlic and onion, then pour in the beef stock. Increase the heat to high to bring it to a boil. 

Once the broth is boiling, skim the foam from the top and discard.

Add in the guajillo and chile de arbol chilis and let them boil for 10 minutes.

Remove the chilis and garlic cloves from the broth and put them in a large blender. Add three to four ladles of the broth to the blender, and blend until smooth.

Strain the blended chilis back into the soup using a fine mesh sieve.

Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for two to three hours or until the meat is tender. Stir every 30 to 45 minutes. Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Remove the onion before serving.

Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Remove the onion before serving.

Garnish with red onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Photo from Hungry Foodie

Honey Garlic Asian Chicken Kabobs (Recipe 22 of 150)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, chicken gets boring! A good solid marinade makes all the difference. I've tried a thousand chicken marinades - some great, some not so great. 

This one falls into the GREAT category. Spicy and flavorful. 

The ONLY modification I made was I did not use 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce. 1 was enough for me. 

I marinade this for 2.5 hours. It could have gone more I think. There's no real acid in this marinade that changes the texture of the chicken for me, so I let it go. 

Honey Garlic Asian Chicken Kabobs

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 4

• 1/4 c oyster sauce
• 2 T ketchup
• 2 T honey
• 2 T chili garlic sauce
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 1/2 T canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, combine oyster sauce, ketchup, honey, chili garlic sauce, Dijon, garlic, ginger and 1 tablespoon water. Reserve 1/3 cup and set aside.

In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine oyster sauce mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, up to 8 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.

Thread chicken onto skewers. Brush with canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Add skewers to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Brush skewers with reserved oyster sauce mixture, cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

Indian Spinach Dip (Recipe 21 of 150)

Photo from allRecipes

I couldn't find too many Indian appetizers that weren't time consuming. I wanted to find something easy and a little filling. Enter Indian Curried Spinach Dip. 

I made only a couple modifications. 

1. I didn't use 10 oz of spinach, it's just too much spinach in a dip for me.
2. I added about 1/4 c mayo to it. It didn't have quite the right texture. 
3. You don't need the vegetable cube at all. I don't think it did anything to it. 
4. I added chopped water chestnuts. It needed some crunch to me

I'd make this again if I was going to an Indian themed gathering.  

Indian Curried Spinach Dip

Recipe from AllRecipes

Serves a lot

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (such as Greek Gods®)
• ⅓ (8 ounce) package cream cheese (such as Philadelphia®)
• salt and pepper to taste

Pull thawed and drained spinach apart and place it in a small bowl to use later.

Mix cumin, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl and set spice mixture aside.

Dissolve bouillon cube in warm water in a bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 3 minutes. Add spice mixture and spinach to the skillet and stir well to combine. Pour vegetable bouillon into the skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer until most of the moisture has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Mix yogurt and cream cheese into the spinach mixture in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper.

Creamy Butter Chicken (Recipe 20 of 150)

Photo from
The Country Cook

Yesterday was our Indian Extravaganza Sunday dinner. Most of the attendees had never made Indian
food, so this was an adventure for sure. We had Daal, naan, paneer, biryani, samosas, curry chick peas and butter chicken.

This recipe was easy enough to make. I wouldn't change anything about this recipe in fact. It was tasty and a little spicy. The naan was great for soaking up the butter chicken sauce. 

And the best part, the left over today was fantastic. And you know I don't eat leftovers too often. 

Creamy Butter Chicken

Recipe from Thecountrycook.net

Serves 6

• 2 T oil
• 1 ½-2 lbs chicken breasts cut into pieces
• 6 T butter
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T grated fresh ginger
• 1 T garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 c chicken broth
• 1 c heavy cream
• ¼ c chopped cilantro optional

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir to cook until done, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Melt butter in the same skillet, then add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook until onions are translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the garam masala, turmeric, smoked paprika, chili powder and salt and mix well, cooking about a minute to let the flavors meld together.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken broth and return the cooked chicken to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered 10 to 15 minutes, until sauce has thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream and cilantro.

Serve over rice, if desired.

Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja (Recipe 19 of 150)

Ropa Vieja is not a new recipe for me. I've made it a couple of times and then repeated one of the recipes a couple of times. You can find the other recipes here and here. By far my favorite is the one from Cook's Country. 

In case you haven't read my blog every day here's what I wrote about what Ropa Vieja is. 

The story behind Ropa Vieja goes something like this:
A man, too broke to afford meat for his family, stirred some old clothes (ropa vieja in Spanish) into a pot of broth. He then prayed over the pot and later, after some devine assistance, ladled out a rich stew of beef and vegetables.

This recipe is a solid, good recip. Easy for sure. Flavorful and filling. I, of course, don't put green peppers in my ropa vieja, but by all means, you should if you like them. Blech. 

I serve mine over rice, but you could easily just eat it plain or with a tortilla. Truly though, if you want to try Ropa Vieja, make the Cook's Country version linked here.

Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja

Recipe from Spicysouthernkitchen.com

Serves 6

• 3 T vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 c tomato paste
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
• 1/2 c water
• 1 (2-pound) flank steak
• 1 T distilled white vinegar
• 3/4 c green olives with pimentos
• cilantro and rice for serving

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion and peppers and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and cook one more minute.

Add tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir the tomato paste into the onion and peppers and cook for 1 minute.

Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.

Add soy sauce, bay leaves, chicken bouillon, and water to the slow cooker.

Season the flank steak with salt and pepper and add it to the slow cooker. Spoon some of the tomato mixture on top of it.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours.

Discard bay leaves. Shred meat with 2 forks. Stir in vinegar and olives. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Mini Kahlua Cheesecake (Recipe 18 of 150)

Photo from Glorious Treats

Tomorrow is book club. You know, my drinking group with a reading problem? Yah, that group. Book club is hosted by the person who's book pick it is. I found myself last year getting comfortable with bringing the same thing each time. Basically getting lazy and just bringing an easy appetizer. I decided this year I was going to mix it up. Each month, I'd select another "course" to bring. This month I'm bringing dessert. Enter Mini Kahlua Cheesecakes.

First off, I didn't make "mini" cheesecakes. I don't have mini pans and wasn't going to buy them for this one recipe. Instead I put it in a 5X7 baking dish. You could put it in a 8X8 too. I just wanted to have smaller servings and no leftovers. 

Overall, this recipe is very easy. I swapped out the Oreos with gluten free Oreos - they taste the same honestly. And I swapped the sugar with Swerve low carb sugar. 

Be sure to read the instructions carefully. You set the oven at 350 to begin with, then turn it down immediately when you put in the cheesecake. My cheesecake did not cook at 250 in 25 minutes. It took me more like 45. I started with 25 and did 5 minute increments until it was set. I think they have you cook it at a low temp to avoid the cheesecake from cracking during baking. 

Mini Kahlua Cheesecake
Recipe from Glorioustreats.com

Serves 12

Crust

• 11 Chocolate sandwich cookies Oreos
• 2 tablespoons butter

Filling

• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 12 oz cream cheese 1 and 1/2 packages
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup Kahlua coffee liqueur

Prepare the cheesecake pan by rubbing the inside of each cheesecake well with a lightly oiled paper towel.

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Make the crust

Melt the butter in a small bowl. Place the oreo cookies in a large ziplock type bag, and crush using a rolling pin. Place crushed cookie crumbs in a medium sized bowl and combine with melted butter. Add about 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture into each of the 12 mini cheesecake wells. Pack down the crumbs using a shot glass or glass spice bottle. Bake crust for 10 minutes in preheated oven.

Filling:

Melt chocolate in a small bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend cream cheese until very smooth. Add sugar and continue to blend until fully incorporated. Add egg and vanilla, and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add melted chocolate, and blend. While blending, add Kahlua. Beat an additional 30 seconds or so.

Reduce the oven temperature to 250*F.

Open a large ziplock bag and place it in a large glass, pulling the sides of the bag down over the glass. Add the cheesecake filling to the bag, then close the bag. Snip off one corner of the bag, and fill each well of the cheesecake pan a bit more than 3/4 full with filling. If there is a bit of extra filling, you can bake it in a small ramekin for a little "tester"

Place cheesecake pan in the 250*F oven and bake cheesecakes until the filling is set, 22-25 minutes. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, then place entire pan in the refrigerator about 4 hours before removing cheesecakes from the pan.

Once cool, carefully remove the cheesecakes from the pan (pressing up on the removable bottom of each well). Keep the cheesecakes in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with whipped cream, a chocolate covered espresso bean and a sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa powder.

Chicken Tacos (Recipe 17 of 150)

It's TACO TUESDAY! And it's no secret I'm a taco fanatic. Street tacos are my thing. I don't like a lot in / on my tacos, so the street tacos fit my preferences perfectly.

Street tacos usually just have meat of some type (seasoned) and a simple salsa of onions, cilantro, and lime juice. Sometimes that pica de gallo has tomatoes and jalapenos in it too. That's it. Tortilla, meat, onion salsa. The perfect combination that gives you really bad breath - thanks onions!

This recipe is not that different from another Chicken taco recipe I made last year. Pretty much the same combination of seasonings with a few exceptions. This recipe, like that one, was DELICIOUS!

I cut my chicken into small pieces, seasoned it, then fried it in a non-stick skillet. The crispy sides of the small pieces really add to the texture of the taco. I made a onion salsa of 1/2 sweet onion finely diced, a tablespoon or two of minced cilantro, juice from 1/2 of a lime (it was a very juicy lime or I would have used the whole lime).

Chicken Tacos
Recipe from Justapinch.com

Serves 4

• 1/2 c chili powder mild or spicy
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp mrs dash original blend
• 1 tsp chile lime seasoning
• salt to taste in seasoning
• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Mix together seasonings, taste, add salt if desired. Set aside. For 4 thighs you will use about half of the mixture left, keep remaining seasoning in air tight container or reduce recipe in half.

Dice boneless chicken thighs into small pieces.

Sprinkle seasoning evenly over diced chicken and mix thoroughly. Set aside while you heat tortillas and do any other prep you need to.

Add a little olive oil or cooking oil to hot skillet, about 2 tbsp for four thighs. Sear and toss on high heat for about 3-4 minutes then turn heat down to medium heat, cover and cook for about 5 or 6 minutes, toss again and turn off heat. Leave cover another 3-4 minutes. Serve with flour or corn tortillas and your favorite condiments.