The Ranch Kitchen's Egg Roll Bowl

Tonight I wanted to cook something a little different, yet use what I had at my house.  I tend to have a little problem with the grocery store and usually impulse buy a little too much of certain things.  But thankfully it's good to overstock the pantry and fridge when you live in the country.

My motto should be to 'don't go shopping hungry'. Yesterday I bought two bags of 50% off Valentines candy that I certainly did not need. However, I did already have the cabbage, soy sauce and brown sugar because I always buy those in excess.  And as for the chocolate...it was put to good use. 

The Eggroll Bowl I prepared tonight was an easy dish that called for most of the ingredients I use in my Granny's Wilted Cabbage recipe.  Adding soy sauce and brown sugar along with the sliced ham steak was a great addition and made this a meal in itself. 

Thanks goodness for the pork we raise on our ranch from my daughter's FFA project.  It was put to good use in this fantastic recipe. 

We served this pork dish over white rice, but I also think it would be excellent over pasta.  This recipe will be easy to reheat and a treat for my lunch tomorrow.

Click here for The Ranch Kitchen's Eggroll Bowls



So if you need a relatively low calorie dish that is full of flavor and just a little different from the meals you normally serve each night, this is your recipe.

Enjoy!

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen

Friends of The Ranch Kitchen Recipes

 

 

Recipes are timeless.  Nothing is more relaxing to me than sitting down with a good cookbook and reading through recipes of years gone by.  I especially love reading the stories behind the recipes getting a sense of the creators life and motivations.  Sometimes we are left material things when a loved one passes.  My most cherished treasures however are the recipes that we can cook.  These recipes always bring back a flood of memories of meals past and times spent together laughing and talking around the table. 

One of my newest features at The Ranch Kitchen is my Share A Recipe link where anyone can share that family treasured recipe with our readers.  It's gradually started to pick up speed and readership and it's one part of my site that I am most excited about. I want everyone to be able to catalog their recipes that mean so much to them and have the ability to share with their family and friends here on The Ranch Kitchen as well.  Plus it's like Christmas when I open up my site and see someone has taken the time to share with me their recipe!  I love, love trying every recipe I get sent and having something new to serve my family! 

My dear friends Paula Acheson and Michelle Beran of Kansas were truly the first to share on The Ranch Kitchen site.  Fantastic cooks in their own right, they cook for the masses and their family ranch families, communities and have been a major supporter of myself  and The Ranch Kitchen.  With both of these ladies I've had the priveledge of serving on the The National Hereford Women and they'll forever be a part of my life.  We've spend many hours talking beside our beloved Hereford cattle and children. I look forward to the summer ahead with them and our  NHW board at our Jr. National Hereford Expo in Grand Island Nebraska cooking, visiting and supporting our Hereford youth! 

As I sit here this rainy Sunday a.m. contemplating my week off for spring break, it's their recipes I wanted to share with you.  All of these are and can be prepared using Cerified Hereford Beef and you can access more great recipes by clicking on their great site I've linked too. 

If you'll share their recipes or link to these I've shared today on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter please try using hashtags like #CertifiedHerefordBeef or #theranchkitchen #beef  after your comments as this will link others to Certified Hereford Beef and The Ranch Kitchen in order to get out our sites out there please.  Hashtags are well known in the younger crowds and all of us 'older folks' are just learning how to utlize them!  As a Hereford breeder and agvocate it's important that we get the message out about our lean beef and ranching heritage. 

 

We hope you'll try these recipes soon, leave us a comment about them and consider sharing a recipe on The Ranch Kitchen site.  We promise it's simple and once checked over for clarity, I'll submit it and you my friend are published on the web!

Check out all recipes submitted by followers of The Ranch Kitchen at Friends of TRK link on my site.  Click on the 'more' spot beside each category to take you to each sections total recipe selection.

Retha Riffel's Salisbury Steak

 

 

This recipe is in honor of Paula's mom Retha who fixed this for her growing family.

 

 

 

Craig's UnKabobs

 

Michelle's husband Craig cooks these in large batches without the skeweres.  You can see I used them here, but I like his idea better!

 

 

Chelle's Beef Chili

 

This chili is just how my husband likes it with Certified Hereford Beef and plenty of beans!

Have a fantastic week ahead.  We are looking forward to blue skies, no more snow, sleet or rain and showing cattle at the Houston Livestock Show!  Bring on spring and warmer weather, and summer get here quick!

Share your recipe today!

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen

The Ranch Kitchen's Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those meals you can feed a crowd and for sure have a few leftovers from.  Last night we fixed this easy Italian dish that my youngest daughter wanted to cook.

It's a pretty standard lasagna recipe with a pre-made spaghetti sauce that made even better with the beef from our ranch.  In my younger years I made my own homemade spaghetti sauce, but for ease and quicker meals I enjoy my Ragu and Hunt's 4 Cheese variety meat sauces now a whole lot more!  My dad tells me my spaghetti is the best and I tell him it's truly because of the home grown Certified Hereford Beef we use from our ranch that makes the difference.

You can also use ground pork instead of beef as we do this from time to time. 

We served this with my The Ranch Kitchen's Italian Green Beans, a side salad with bacon and garlic toast. 
 

 

Click here for the recipe for The Ranch Kitchen's Lasagna

 

Audrey browning hamburger meat in the pan.

 

So proud she likes to cook!

 

Can of tomatoes already added and first layer of lasagna noodles...then first layer of 1/3 meat sauce.

 

Ricotta Cheese being added.

 

Second layer of lasagna noodles going on.

 

About 4 to 5 layers of lasagna noodles...this picture is minus two more noodles.  Notice they are not cooked. 

 

Audrey perfecting her method.

 

You need a pretty big casserole dish to make lasanga. 

 

Last 1/2 layer of Ricotta Cheese. 

 

Spreading on the Ricotta is not easy and gets a little messy...but no one knows the difference!

 

Last layer of spaghetti meat sauce is added.  Next add foil and cook on 400 for one hour.

 
 

Ricotta Cheese is a must when making lasagna.  I like the Frigo brand best..but they are all good.

 

Sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese this dish is ready to eat.

Enjoy!  Alise - The Ranch Kitchen



 

Spaghetti Sauce Goulash

                                 

August....hot, busy, work, both daughters back to jobs and college, and school about to start. Life is full and busy around our house and ranch. We've been blessed and our guardian angels have watched over us this summer as I totalled out my car while sitting at a stop sign (God love that little 88 year old).  We were all unharmed along with the other three cars. Later in the summer we made the nine hour drive home from our National Jr. Hereford Show to yet drive another 5 hours the next day after the youngest had braces put on after teeth removed..(my plan was to do laundry and nurse her and her mouth back to health)!  But an emergency appendectomy was on the slate for our oldest daughter so what does any parent do? You hop back in that car and get there asap! All went well and home again the next day to help both girls recuperate and allow both the parents and the suburban rest! A special thank you to her best childhood friend Kalyn for taking good care of her until we got there!

So now as school begins and I've been so far to a wonderful 3 day writing training with Abydos Literacy Learning.  Only after teaching four days of new and returning teacher inservice last week I've tried my best to cook dinner!  The dish I made a couple of nights ago was with what I had in left my pantry out of desperation. I'll have to say it turned out pretty darn good and will now become a regular until the hubby says to stop making it!  It's pretty economically priced using Italian seasoned frozen ground turkey meat and a dollar can of Hunt's Four Cheese Tomato Sauce with cooked elbow macaroni. As we are still getting fresh zucchini from our garden, I cooked that on the side with a can of Hunt's Chopped Tomatoes with Onions and Bell Peppers.  Using this last of tomato can on the zucchini recipe below is why I had to get creative by using the spaghetti sauce!

Hope you'll try this not so expensive recipe idea.  I layered grated cheddar cheese on at the end on this goulash resisting the urge to pour Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning on it! If you are regular on my blog you know how I love Tony C's!!

Spaghetti Sauce Goulash

1 pound Italian Ground Turkey Meat
1 onion chopped
1 -16 ounce can of Hunt's Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
2-3 cups water
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning spice
1 bell pepper chopped, optional
3 cups grated Cheddar Cheese

Brown ground turkey meat and chopped onion in skillet. I prefer to use a Teflon coated skillet. Drain off excess grease. Add elbow macaroni noodles and then Hunt's Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce and 2 -3 cups water.  You'll want just enough water to cover your noodles and mixture by 1/2 inch. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a low fire (low boil). Cover mixture and stir occasionall.  Cook for about twenty minutes until noodles are fork tender.  Turn off heat, uncover and add 3 cups of cheddar cheese. Allow cheers to melt and then serve with the zucchini recipe below.

Dinner in under minutes!  Yes!  Hot, filling and twice as good the next night!

                                    

Zucchini and Tomatoes

1 small to medium sized zucchini, chopped in one inch quarters
1/2 onion, chopped
1 - 8 ounce can of Hunt's Tomatoes with Bell Peppers and Onions
Garlic salt and Italian seasoning to taste

Slice zucchini and onion and place ina small sauce pan. Add Hunt's Tomatoes and 1/2 cup water.  Cook on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low, season with Italian Seasoning and garlic salt, and continue cooking uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until zucchini and onions are tender. Serve as a side vegetable with any meal.  It's is especially good spooned over cornbread. 

Alise

Country Style Pork Ribs

Sometimes I think cooks shy away from cooking ribs of any kind in the kitchen. They believe it is delegated to the outside grill and not to the indoor oven.  For years I have cooked all styles of ribs in my house much like you would do a simple roast.  Even though we raise Hereford cattle on our ranch, I do love pork ribs.  

Probably the thing I like best about pork ribs is the ability to have tons of leftovers that can be used for my favorite of all pork enchiladas that I cook usually the next night or two after the first night of our rib dinner. 

Foil is your best friend when cooking ribs because no one enjoys scrubbing baked-on grease off a pan.  I simply prep my foil with cooking spray and lay in a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish or roasting pan.  I then layer my ribs, seasoning as I go with Tony Chachere's More Spice or their Creole Seasoning and then add water to just up half of the ribs.  Next, I secure my foil on top by folding upwards with the bottom piece of foil to make an airtight packet for the meat to steam/cook in.  In my convection or regular oven, I turn the temperature to 400 degrees and cook about 1 and one-half hour or until the meat forks easily away from the bone and the meat has turned white.  You do not ever want to eat pork that is pink and not cooked well.  As I rule I allow the ribs to sit five minutes and then I place on a platter and cut in serving size chunks to serve.  Sometimes during the last thirty minutes, I will brush with BBQ sauce and uncover the meat for those last few minutes of cooking time.  Make sure you have used enough foil so that no water escapes and cooks under your packets.  The bake on the mess you will have is never any fun later.

This is a go-to meal when I have a large group of guest or family over.  I am always amazed that people have never had them.  We haven't found anyone who doesn't always love country-style ribs.

I usually prepare a large amount so that I can use the pork in a variety of ways like my enchiladas I describe earlier.  The Ranch Kitchen's King Ranch Enchilada's  are wonderful when you use leftover shredded pork instead of chicken.  A lot of the times I will also use the leftover rib meat in jambalaya or in open-faced BBQ sandwiches the next night.  Since these ribs do tend to be fatty, I always remove the fat and discard.

I am sure you can find other ways to use your leftover pork or for that matter beef rib meat.  If you have a recipe, I'd love to hear about it. 


Country Style Pork Ribs

4 - 8 Country Style Ribs (bone-in or out)
4 cups of water
Pam Cooking Spray
Tony Chachere's More Spice, Creole Seasoning or any quality BBQ Seasoning
Foil
Glass or metal roaster

Prepare pan by spraying with cooking spray.  Lay foil on the bottom of the pan making sure that foil comes out by at least 5 inches or more so that when you attach the 2nd layer or top piece or layer of foil they will fold together easily. 

Season meat and place in a single row with fat side up.  Add water to just up to half the pork ribs.  Cover with remaining foil, forming a packet by folding foil upwards.  Cook on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 - 1/2 hour or until pork is cooked.  Be careful when unfolding the foil as the steam that escapes will burn your hands and arms. 

Allow meat to sit for at least five minutes to seal in juices.  Remove to a platter and cut in serving size pieces. 

You really can't get much simpler than this meal and the smell coming out of your kitchen will make everyone beg for dinner!  Enjoy!

I also have enclosed a link to the www.porkbeinspired.com site that will give you more ideas for great country style rib and pork recipes.  Give these country-style pork ribs a try this weekend.  You'll love them. 

http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1970/Carolina_Country_Style_Ribs.aspx#.UBvVzlbmFCk.blogger

Remember that no one said cooking had to be hard!

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen