McCormick Grill Mates Grillerhood Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Debbie from Mocha Me who is the winner of the McCormick Grill mates Giveaway!

She will receive this smokin' hot Grill Mates grill pack from McCormick's.

Thank all of you for entering and have a fantastic weekend!

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The Dinner@ Six Winner and Slow Cooker Ribs!

The lucky winner of the $100 gift card from the Dinner@ 6 Giveaway is Susitravl from Mad for Mexican Food.  Congratulations Susitravi!!!  Please email your mailing/contact information to me ASAP.

Here is Susitravl's favorite six ingredient recipe:

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 jar salsa
2 limes, halved
1/2 bunch cilantro

Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot, cover with spices (I mix them into the salsa) and salsa. Squeeze the juice from the limes on top and throw in the limes (discard limes before eating). Toss the cilantro on top and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Can be used for chicken tacos or burritos.


Slow Cooker Ribs


The weather is gorgeous, we've been steadily working in the yard all day long, trimming, planting, mulching.   I’m ready to head inside, clean-up, pour a glass of wine and sit outside on the back deck and relax..  I'm also ready to sit down to some real food. I remembered that just before I headed outside this morning, pot of Beef Short Ribs in the crock pot. Now, my mouth was watering for them. This doesn’t have to be just a fantasy—follow this recipe and you can whip up a pot of your own whenever you want!

The Rub

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

The Ribs

3 pounds trimmed beef short ribs or pork baby back ribs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cups low sodium beef stock
4 carrots (2 cups) cut into 2-inch chunks
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 Vidalia or Spanish onion, (leave whole)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons AP flour
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, soaked and softened
1/2 lemon juiced

Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.  Rub the mixture evenly and thoroughly onto the ribs with your hands.

Then, in the tablespoon of vegetable oil, sear the ribs in a large sauté pan over high heat until they brown completely on all sides, which should take roughly 10 minutes.

Transfer the ribs to the slow cooker.  Remove all of the oil from the pan (save the brown bits!) you used to brown the ribs and  deglaze the pan with 3-1/2 cups of beef stock, scraping up the brown bits.  Pour the broth, plus the carrots, potatoes, onions, honey, and pepper flakes to the ribs in the slow cooker.   You can cook on high for 3-1/2 hours or the method I prefer, cook them on low for 6 hours until the ribs become fork-tender.

Discard the onion and strain the fat from the surface of the sauce. Then whisk the flour and the rest of the stock together  in a large measuring cup or medium sized bowl.  Once completely blended, pour it into the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Add the chopped up apricots. Simmer the sauce  for another 30 to 45 minutes.

Right before serving squeeze the lemon over the pot and stir the juice into the sauce and simmer for a final 30 minutes.  

You can either serve it plain or over some steamed rice.

Appliances Online, who sell dishwashers and other goods.

Giarard's Giveaway - Last Call and Brick Chicken

Girard's Giveaway ends Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 8:00 PM EST.  You can enter by commenting on this post or the previous post, Greek Grilled Chicken Salad, by following this blog, tweeting about the giveaway and by following me on Twitter.

I apologize for mis-communicating the contents of the prize package the prize package includes the four new Girard's salad dressings:  Old Venice Italian Salad Dressing, Greek Feta Vinaigrette, White Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Light Champagne Dressing.

Let me show you this awesome Brick Chicken recipe I got from Girard's, I just loved it!

1 3-1/2 lb. fryer
3/4 cup Girard's Old Venice Italian Dressing
2 fresh rosemary sprigs

Butterfly the fryer by removing the backbone with a pair of poultry shears.

Place the chicken in a shallow dish and loosen the skin around the chicken breast and tuck several small pieces of rosemary under the skin and pour 1/2 cup  of the dressing over the chicken.  Turn the chicken several times to coat well.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. 

Cover a brick with foil, I didn't have a brick so I used a cast iron skillet covered in foil.

Pre-heat your grill to medium-high and make the grill grates are spray with non-stick cooking spray or coated with oil to prevent sticking.  Place the chicken on the grill skin side down and place the brick (skillet) on top of the chicken and grill for 8 to 10 minutes.  Turn the chicken and place it on the cooler side of the grill so you are cooking using indirect heat.  Place the brick (skillet) on top of the chicken, lower the heat to medium and continue cooking until the temperature registers 165 degrees F at the thigh.  Turn the chicken approximately every 10 minutes.

Allow the chicken to rest  for about 5 minutes before carving.  Serve with the remaining Old Venice  Italian Dressing.


Hope you're have a sunny and dry Labor Day!

Cook Book Winners and Roasted Potato Salad

First, the winners of Jennifer Chandler's Cookbook, Simply Suppers!!!

Larry from Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings

Lynn from What's Cooking on the Mommy Porch

April from Polka Dot 'n Pinky Swears 

Congratulations Larry, Lynn, and April.  Email your addresses to me and we'll get the books right out to you.

Thank all of you for participating.  This was a fantastic and fun cookbook to review.

 I came across this recipe from Paula Deen.  She originally did it with a blue cheese sauce and since I can't stand blue cheese in any way shape or form, I substituted goat cheese.  Don't judge!  I also think crumbled Feta cheese would be great in this sauce also.

The major pluses are NO PEELING and NO BOILING.  Does potato salad get any better?  Oh yes it does.  Once you taste this, it will become part of your family favorites.

 

2-1/2 lbs.pounds russet or red potatoes (I figure one potato per person and then an extra potato or two for leftovers)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Goat Cheese Sauce recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large shallow roasting pan with nonstick aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, tossing gently to coat. Arrange the potatoes, in a single layer, on the prepared pan. Bake until potatoes are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions; cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add the vinegar. Stir until the vinegar evaporates, about 5 minutes.

In a large serving bowl, combine the potatoes, onions, remaining salt and pepper and Goat Cheese Sauce. Serve or cover and refrigerate to serve later. It’s better to bring to room temperature before serving.

Goat Cheese Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise
4 to 5 ounces crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small bowl, slightly whisk or stir to combine the mayonnaise, goat cheese, sour cream, horseradish, and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Just in time for Easter!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Susan D from This Day!  Susan won the Girard's Salad Dressing Giveaway!

Please send me your mailing address so we can get your prize to you right away!

Have a great weekend!

Girard Salad Dressing Giveaway!!!!

Do you know what I like better the getting to tryout new foodie products?  Sharing them with you!!!!

The kind people at Girard's are not stopping at sharing coupons, they are sponsoring a giveaway that one of you lucky readers will win!   One lucky winner will win a beautifully boxed package of four of Girard's gourmet salad dressings.

Just think how much fun you will have experimenting and creating your own signature dishes.

Leave a comment on this post by midnight EST Thursday night.  The winner will be announced Friday morning.  If you do not have a google ID, please be sure to give me your email address so you can be contacted if you win.

Good luck!

And the Winner Is...............

When looking around our house, I didn't realize how many of these things we had.  This is a manget on the door from our garage into the house.  You don't care about that do you?

The Saints won and to say the least, I couldn't be happier.

April from Abby Sweets won the cookbook1  Congratulations April.  April was one of the first people to ever comment on my blog and she lives in my hometown!  We'll have to meet for lunch so I can give the cookbook to you in person!

I am in NYC and rushing to get ready for dinner.  I'll try and keep the blog updated.  You aren't going to believe what we're doing tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Who Dat!  Believe Dat!

It's Super Bowl Time - Time for A Giveaway!!!!

A few of you know how that I am looking forward to the Superbowl....ok I'm totally crunked, making everyone crazy, saying,  "Who Dat Baby!" to everyone that comes in contact me.  It's been a crazy week, good crazy!

I am very honored that Jane Doiron of Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms sent a copy of new first cookbook to me!

Look at the cover, isn't the picture gorgeous? 

Guess what?  I'm giving this away!

Spread the joy, I can't keep this to myself.

Let me tease you with a snapshot of a couple of recipes from Jane's book.  I poured over this book from cover to cover.  I wanted to cook something from this book so bad this week, but my husband's scheduled changed, life happened and I really haven't cooked this week.

Check out some these family pleasing recipes.  They mainly use basic pantry ingredients.

A lot of the prep work can be done the day before.  When you come home from work or come home after running around with your children, wa-la a wonderful, tasty and healthy dinner is on the table.

The drawing will be Sunday night, February 7th by Random Number Generator.  Enter by leaving a comment on this post I can only ship in the US).  Get an extra chance if you're a follower or become a follower.  Get another chance by Tweeting about the giveway (let me know you're tweeting).  The winner will be announced Monday, February 8th before I leave for NYC.

Drool......

Who Dat Baby!