Rib Tips 'n Kraut and Beans, Soul Food

Rib Tips n' Kraut and Beans

Maybe 6 weeks ago I went to the butcher and questioned him regarding St. Louis Style ribs. I have always preferred baby backs and usually bought them. Brian wanted to try the St. Louis style which amounts to me purchasing 3 whole slabs of spare ribs and having the butcher cut the rib tips off. That made enough to BBQ for all of the family that week and I froze 2 pkg. of meaty rib tips for another day!!

Today is the day. I am slow roasting the ribs in the oven at 325 degrees F after seasoning them well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. After about 2 hours I added the kraut, put a lid on the pan, and turned down the heat to 275 degrees F. They can just lounge around in the warm steam of the kraut while I heat up some pinto beans.

As Brian would say, "That's down home cooking." I would have added fried potatoes and cottage cheese were I not on this diet. Since I am, nix the potatoes and add some sliced tomatoes.

It made a good supper on a cloudy rainy evening in Southern Indiana. It is a penny pincher meal to boot, as rib tips are next to nothing if you buy them and it was cheaper to buy the whole slabs and have the tips cut off than it would have been to have gone to the big box grocery and just purchased St. Louis style ribs.   Cha-ching.

I like to feel like I spend our food dollars wisely so I can splurge for a prime steak every once in a while!! Making dollars stretch is wise on any body's budget and these rib tips are delicious.

Sunday Pie Baking with Emily

Buttermilk Pie

The phone rang early Sunday afternoon and on the other end I heard one of my favorite voices say, "Grandma"??

It was Emily the older of my two wonderful granddaughters. She asked if she could come and make desert for our "Sunday Dinner"? Of course I said sure and a bit latter she arrived. She sat going through my big recipe book and picked out her Mother's favorite, Buttermilk pie.

Desert at it's best!!

If you have never eaten this pie I urge you to try it. It is laden with vanilla and a hint of fresh nutmeg and makes a sweet, luscious, filling in a sinfully flaky crust.

The pastry recipe we used is, PASTRY FOR THREE CRUSTS posted on 10/29/10, you can use the finder box at the right under the topics column, just type in what you are hunting. You can do the same for the BUTTERMILK PIE posted on 11/8/10. Or you can click the deserts and pies topic and they will all line up for you to scroll through.

At any rate it was the first time she made a pie 100% by herself and it was just perfect!! So I felt the recipe was worth repeating here.

So plunge in and make a pie this week. You won't be sorry you did.

Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp Sacmpi

Today I am hungry for pasta and Shrimp Scampi sounds good to me!!

It is Sunday, my binge day on the diet!! I have a lovely 2 pound bag of frozen raw shelled and deveined shrimp and all of the other fixing so this meal is a GO!!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. shelled and cleaned shrimp
1 stick butter (1/2 C.)
1/2 C. Olive oil
8 cloves of garlic chopped (1/4 C.)
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 2 lemons
fresh bunch of parsley rough chopped (1/2 C.)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 lb. Angel hair pasta prepare according to package directions.

This recipe is a quick cook so it is by far the best to have everything prepared (cleaned, chopped, and measured out) prior to starting. I would prepare the pasta water by salting well and bringing to a boil before hand and turning it down a bit until I was ready to cook the pasta so it will be hot and ready to boil quickly as angel hair only cooks a very few minutes.

Melt together the butter and oil in a large flat bottomed shallow pan or skillet over medium high heat.

Bring the pasta water back to a boil and cook it per pkg. directions.

Add the shrimp and garlic to the skillet and stir well as it cooks, adding the zest, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes as you go. Add the lemon juice and stir well. The dish is done when the shrimp is white or pink and you need to turn it off quickly at that time.

Garnish with additional parsley and lemon slices.

Drain the pasta and toss it onto a large serving platter or back into the pan with the shrimp. Whichever you prefer. I like to put the pasta on a platter and cover it with the shrimp and garlic sauce. 

Garnish generously with the chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread. Add a side salad if desired depending on the appetites of those you are serving. Yield 6 servings.