Baking Goal: Apple Fritters

I'm drooling over here....doesn't this look great? Check out the recipe here!

Slow Cooker Ribs & Root Veggies

This is a great recipe and the best ribs recipe I have tried yet! Doesn't matter how expensive or "great quality" you buy. If you do this recipe you can get the cheapest ribs and it will make them tender and tasty!

Ingredients
4 pounds pork baby back ribs
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot sauce
5 red potatoes (don't peal, all the good stuff is in the peel!)
5 carrots (don't peal, all the good stuff is in the peel!)
1 medium onion
Olive Oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt and pepper.

Largely chop call veggies and put them in the bottom of the slow cooker. Drizzle a little olive oil on the veggies and season with a little salt and pepper. 

Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.

Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender. (Or 3-4 hours on high)

Optional: If you want to have a little more crisp to your ribs put them back in the oven, at 400 degrees for 10-20 minutes. 

Summer Salads

I often stick with what I know so I thought I would find some really great options and make myself try them. Here's what I've found so far and man I can't wait to try all of these!

Spicy Coleslaw with Apples & Pecans from The Cozy Little Kitchen

Field Greens & Strawberry Salad from Food, Folks & Fun

Asian Cob Salad with Berries from Beyer Beware

Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon  from Smitten Kitchen

from Steak n Potatoes Kinda Gurl

Grilled Alvarado BLT Salad from Veggie Converter 365

Frozen Berry Lemonade

Doesn't this look great? It reminds me of the blended strawberry lemonade at Starbucks...oh yum!

Check out the recipe at Fresh Plate

Baking My Way: Cherry Winks

If you've made cherry winks before you know that these don't look exactly how they normally do (no cherry piece right in the middle) but if you follow my blog you know I often don't stick right to the recipe. BUT with this one the only thing I really changed were: used half whole wheat half white flour, used walnuts instead of pecans, cut back on how many cherries were in it and didn't put the cherry on the top. Other then that (ya....I guess I changed a lot....) they're totally the same!

Either way this cookie is really tasty. Not overly sweet (I think mainly because I cut back on the cherries) but a nice treat with an interesting combination of flavors. They would make a good road trip or camping/hiking cookie!

Ingredients
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
2 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
10 maraschino cherries, quartered

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.

Cream the shortening with the sugar. Blend in the eggs, milk and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the chopped pecans, chopped dates and 1/3 cup maraschino cherries.

Shape teaspoonful sized chunks of dough into balls. Roll each ball in the crushed corn flakes. Place balls on the prepared baking sheets and top each cookie with 1/4 maraschino cherry.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in airtight containers.

Baking My Way: Fresh Orange Cookies

These cookies are great! I'm not usually a huge fan of orange in baking but I really liked this! I didn't use the orange peel in the frosting but I think it would be good either way (I think there was already enough orange going on in the cookie, but that's just me). This would be a great cookie for a tea party or a summer or spring time event. 

Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons grated orange peel

Frosting

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine sugar and 1 cup margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add sour cream and eggs; blend well. Add all remaining cookie ingredients; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

 

Bake at 375°F. for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

 

Meanwhile, in small bowl, blend all frosting ingredients until smooth, adding enough orange juice for desired spreading consistency. Frost warm cookies.

Health Tip of the Week: What You Need to Know about Your Metabolism

Metabolism gets blamed when people put on weight or have trouble losing weight, but you can learn how to speed up your metabolism. Increasing your metabolism can help you burn calories, replace fat with muscle and give you more energy. The key to increasing your metabolism is understanding what it is.

Metabolism is a combination of physical and chemical processes called anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is the constructive phase of metabolism in which body cells synthesize protoplasm for growth and repair. Catabolism is the destructive phase of metabolism in which complex substances are broken down into simpler compounds producing energy which is essential for the proper functioning of body cells. Together, these processes distribute nutrients which are absorbed into the blood after digestion.

Three factors determine your metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories your body uses every day. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate your body uses energy for vital body processes. The rate you burn energy during physical activity and the rate you use energy during digestion of food are the two other factors involved in your total metabolic rate. To improve your metabolic efficiency you only need to alter what you eat and what you do a little bit to experience a difference in how you look and feel.

Information found at www.consumeraffairs.com