Category: recipes

main dishes · recipes

Pork ribs on the smoker

klaventure1976Leave a comment

We have tried a lot of different ways to make pork ribs and I’m pretty sure this makes the best fall off the bone ribs.

Start by removing the membrane off the back of the ribs if your butcher hasn’t already done that for you. It really makes a huge difference in how tender your ribs are.

Next season with your favorite spices. We like blackened Saskatchewan, cayenne pepper, black pepper, steak spice and a little chilli powder.

Start your smoker and leave it on smoke. Once it has fired and is ready to go place your ribs curved side down (meaty side up) on the smoker and leave smoke for 3 hours.

Pull the ribs off and set your smoker to 200-225. Wrap your ribs in tinfoil with beer and seal. I usually do 2 racks, so I use 1/2 a beer in each and wrap them tightly and then put them back on the smoker for 2 hours.

Take the ribs out of the tinfoil (be careful the steam from the beer will be hot) and place them back on the smoker. They will be easy to break apart at this point so be very careful when moving them.

Now the easy part…baste repeatedly for an hour with your favorite barbeque sauce. We generally use our homemade bbq sauce, but whatever you like works perfectly.

After an hour they should be ready to take off the smoker and enjoy.

Homemade calzones
main dishes · recipes

Homemade calzones

klaventure19764 Comments

Start with a great dough:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp warm water
3/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
add oregano and parmesan to dough

I triple this recipe so that we can have leftovers the next day

Directions:

mix first 3 ingredients in bowl and leave for 5 min

put rest of ingredients in bread machine, add yeast mixture and run through dough cycle

place in bowl and refrigerate overnight

take dough out and let it get to room temperature for 2 hours before using

If you are in a rush you can use it the same day, we did tonight and the calzones were still great.

The filling can be a mixture of whatever you like. Tonight we made a pizza mixture, you chop up everything you would put on a pizza, cube your cheese, add in a small amount of pizza sauce (just until everything is coated) and we always add a little parmesan and Italian seasoning.

Roll your dough into small circles, about 1/8” thick, put your filling in, fold and pinch, make slits and then put an egg wash on top. We also sprinkled Italian seasoning and parmesan on the dough.

Ready to bake

Bake at 425 for 15-20 min (or until golden brown).

Spicy Beef Broccoli
recipes

Spicy Beef Broccoli

klaventure1976Leave a comment

This is a fast easy meal that we have enjoyed for years.

Ingredients:

1 can condensed beef broth (aka beef consume)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp peanut oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 cup white onions, sliced
1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Thinly slice your steak (or you can use a roast if you are making a bigger batch). This is easier if the steak is partially frozen.

Once steak is sliced brown in a little oil. Add in broccoli and onions, fry for a bit and then add soy sauce and condensed beef broth and crushed red pepper. Can add more if you like it spicier. Once that has simmered for a bit thicken with water and cornstarch.

Serve over egg noodles, pasta of your choice or mashed potatoes.

Instant pot opinions:

Use your instant pot to saute your thinly sliced steak, once sauted add in your beef consume and soya sauce and pressure cook on high for 15min, then natural release for 10min. Add rest of ingredients and saute until broccoli is partially cooked and then thicken with cornstarch and water.

recipes

The best barbecue sauce

klaventure1976Leave a comment

There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but trust me it’s worth it. My husband and I have searched for the perfect barbecue sauce for years and tried numerous recipes. We finally each found one that we thought was pretty good, just not perfect. Then we had the brainwave to mix them together. Success, the perfect barbecue sauce.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeño finely chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/2 cup spiced rum
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp Chipotle sauce
black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Sauté onions and garlic in oil until caramelized, add jalapeño then add dry spices and brown sugar and mix.
add rest of ingredients and simmer until it reduces down to desired thickness.

You can refrigerate the remaining sauce if you don’t use it all. It’s great on ribs, chicken, pork and I love my sausage dipped in it. I also really enjoyed it mixed into my scrambled eggs.

Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we do.

main dishes · recipes

Brined turkey

klaventure1976Leave a comment

This Easter we tried something different with our turkey, we didn’t just roast it in the oven, or smoke it on the smoker, we tried a brine instead. I have to say it was one of the most flavourful and moist turkeys we have had. It’s pretty easy, just needs a little extra prep time. We actually put the frozen turkey in a cooler with the brine and it was perfect. We put it in Friday at noon and put it in the oven Sunday at noon.

1 gallon vegetable stock
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup salt
Fresh thyme bunch or 1 Tbsp dry
Fresh rosemary or 1 Tbsp dry
Boil for a few minutes

Then add 1 gallon ice water to whatever container you are going to put the turkey in and soak 24 hrs.

Roast as normal in the oven. We always stuff butter under the skin and did that again with this one.

They say you can also do it with a chicken, you just soak it for less time. I haven’t tried that yet. But when I do I will be sure to share.

Spring/egg rolls in a bowl
main dishes · recipes

Spring/egg rolls in a bowl

klaventure1976Leave a comment

I’m sure by now you have all seen the instant pot recipe for egg rolls in a bowl…I had looked through numerous versions, but none of them seemed like they needed the instant pot, and they didn’t sound as appealing as my sister in laws spring rolls (she is from Thailand and makes the BEST springrolls). I have helped her make springrolls a few times, and I suck at it. They are a lot of work and I’m too slow at rolling them. By the time I’m done making them we would have caved and ordered something 🙂 So I figured I would take her recipe and just make it into the egg roll in a bowl that everyone is sharing on social media. We had them last night, and they were amazing. I also think they are much healthier because nothing is deep fried.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb ground beef or pork
  • 2 cups bean sprouts
  • 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup broccoli slaw
  • 2 small packages of rice vermicelli
  • 2 small pckg of beef oxo
  • 2 tsp seasoning salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 pckg egg roll wrap

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. put vermicelli in a big bowl with warm water for 15min and drain
  2. fry ground pork or beef until no longer pink
  3. add all remaining ingredients (minus wrappers) and fry until vegetables are tender, once veggies are tender add the vermicelli noodles in and mix well
  4. while that is cooking slice the wontons into wide strips, brush with oil and bake at 350 for ~10min until crispy
  5. serve with your favourite spring/egg roll dipping sauce.
Instant Pot Pork Chops
main dishes · recipes

Instant Pot Pork Chops

klaventure19764 Comments

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 or 5 pork chops
  • seasoning salt
  • pepper
  • 2 cups broth saved from the beef roast recipe
  • 1 can mushroom soup
  • (corn starch or flour to thicken sauce)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. season the pork chops well on both sides with seasoning salt and pepper
  2. add 1 Tbsp butter to instant pot, put on sauté and when hot add the pork chops. brown on each side and when finished take them out and set on plate.
  3. add some of the broth and deglaze the Instant Pot using a wooden spatula
  4. once pot is deglazed push cancel to shut it off, add the rest of the broth and the can of mushroom soup to the pot (no need to mix)
  5. put the pork chops back into the pot
  6. seal and set for 12min
  7. allow to natural release for at least 10min
  8. remove pork chops, set aside
  9. thicken with a couple tbsp of cornstarch mixed with water and then added to the pot that has been put back to sauté, mixing until thickened. Or make a roux and thicken sauce that way.
Beef Roast in Instant Pot
main dishes · recipes

Beef Roast in Instant Pot

klaventure19761 Comment

INGREDIENTS

  • 5 lb blade or chuck roast
  • 1 pckg gravy mix
  • 1 pckg ranch dressing mix
  • 1 pckg onion soup mix
  • 1 can beer

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. place the beer in the bottom of the instant pot, then place the roast in.
  2. sprinkle the rest of the packages on top and around the roast
  3. close the instant pot and seal it.
  4. press the meat/stew button and set for a 120min cook time. let it decrompress (natural release). remove and serve.

We have made this recipe with many different cuts of roast, it doesn’t seem to matter what cut you use it comes out melt in your mouth tender.

This isn’t rare or even pink, it’s very well done, but falls apart because it is so tender. I use it mostly for the tougher cuts of meat that would take hours to cook in the slow cooker to get mediocre results. This makes the tough cuts fall apart tender. It is also worth mentioning that the liquid makes the best tasting gravy. I generally make a roux and then make the gravy using that.

I also suggest you save 2 cups of the broth from this recipe to use to make these pork chops
https://commonscentsliving.blog/2019/02/21/instant-pot-pork-chops/

You can freeze the 2 cups of broth to use to make the pork chops at a later date.

Grilled pork chops with bacon and mushrooms
main dishes · recipes

Grilled pork chops with bacon and mushrooms

klaventure19761 Comment

A friend of ours shared this recipe with us a while back and I finally got a chance to make it. It is a fantastic way to cook pork chops if you you are looking for something different.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 to 4 bone in pork chops
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp cracked pepper
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp oregano
  • 1 Tbsp sea salt
  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/4 cups shallots chopped
  • 1/4 cups of white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups of spinach
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. lather pork cops with Dijon mustard and season with black pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano and sea salt. add chops to skillet and let cook for 8 minutes per side.
  2. while chops are cooking, add bacon to wok and cook for about 5 minutes per side.
  3. when chops are halfway done, add mushrooms and shallots to wok and cook for 2 minutes. finally add white wine and spinach to wok and let simmer another 5 minutes.
  4. stir occasionally and finish with lemon juice on top.
  5. once chops are done, add mushroom sauce on top of meat and enjoy.

just as a side note I just barely sprinkled garlic powder on ours because my hubby doesn’t love garlic and they were still fantastic.

Seafood cocktail sauce
recipes

Seafood cocktail sauce

klaventure1976Leave a comment

You will never buy cocktail sauce ever again. This is so easy and tastes so good.

1 cup chili sauce
2 tbsp horseradish
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
few shakes Tabasco sauce
black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together

Chill and serve with shrimp or use on surprise spread or in any recipe that calls for cocktail sauce