Chicken Crack Pasta

Many food bloggers are sharing recipes of Crack Chicken Dips, Sliders and Buffalo style dips. I decided to make it more of a meal. I served it with pasta. In this case, spaghetti! You can make this in an instant pot in 8 minutes or a slow cooker on high for 4 hours. 

2 chicken breasts pounded thin
1 cup chicken broth
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 package dry ranch seasoning, or 3T mix
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

3-6 drops of hot sauce (I used 4 drops of Texas Pete)*
2-4 servings of spaghetti noodles

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt pepper and garlic.
Add chicken breasts to an instant Pot.** In a glass bowl, microwave cream cheese for 1 minute to soften, then stir in ranch seasoning and chicken broth. Pour over chicken in the Instant Pot.

Place the lid on the instant pot, and press the pressure cook button. Select the high setting, then set to cook for 8 minutes. 

While the chicken is cooking, boil spaghetti noodles or your favorite pasta until done. 

When the chicken has finished cooking and pressure is released, open lid when safe to do so. Shred chicken inside pot with two forks.

Add pasta, hot sauce and cheese to chicken, and stir.

Garnish with scallions and crumbled bacon if desired.

* Taste the sauce after adding a little hot sauce, and adjust by adding more until you get the desired kick. 

** If you don't have an instant pot, you can use a crock pot/slow cooker. Cook on high for about 4 hours. 

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

When I went to shop for a catering job, I notice that my local Piggly Wiggly grocery store had Baby Back Ribs on sale for $2.99 per pound. Here, that is an awesome deal. I actually bought 3 slabs of them. I've also been looking at a dry rub and finally decided to try it. I usually just use my house blend of salt, pepper and garlic, but this dry rub has caught my eye several times. I tend to stay away from spice blends that are loaded with paprika because to me, it makes them bitter. This blend has paprika, but it is very well balanced. The flavors blend very well, and none stands out to strong. Willie's Hog Dust is a very good dry rub for these ribs! I heard that the manager of The Pig uses it on his steaks every time he grills out! I'm sold!

1 slab of Baby Back Ribs
Willie's Hog Dust

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. I cut the ribs in half and heavily dusted the ribs with Willie's Hog Dust. Place them on a grill pan or a rack in a pan.

I cooked them for an hour 

and turned the pan for them to cook even. 

I cooked them for about 2 more hours.

Sauce:

1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp butter
1 cup ketsup
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Texas Pete hot sauce
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce

Saute onion and garlic in butter in a large pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove ribs from oven and slather heavily with sauce. Increase the heat to 300 degrees and return them to the oven for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and created a sticky glaze on the ribs. (Be careful not to let the sauce burn!)

Done!

This one has a sweet yet spicy rib sauce...

 This one has Daddy's BBQ Sauce...

 Potato Wedges on the Side...

This is when I remembered that 

I hadn't taken a picture of the finished ribs! LOL

Deviled Ham

I don't think I've ever made deviled ham before. I usually don't have enough ham leftover. This time I made 15 Bean Soup with Ham and now Deviled Ham... and I STILL have ham leftover! I have no idea how that happened! LOL

Ham, cut in chunks (about 3 to 4 cups) 

1 very small onion, quartered

3/4 cup mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon mustard 
4 or 5 drop hot sauce 
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 teaspoon dill pickle juice

In a food processor, pulse diced ham and onion until finely chopped.

In a bowl, combine ham, onion, mayonnaise  mustard, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and pickle juice. Stir until combined well. Refrigerate for about an hour for the  flavors to combine. 

Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet Blender and Food Processor (Google Affiliate Ad)

Baked BBQ Hot Wings

Baked BBQ Hot Wings

Wings
salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste

Sauce:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp oil
1 cup ketsup
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Texas Pete hot sauce***
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season wings with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place wings in a baking dish or sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until done. Saute onion and garlic in oil in a large pan. Drain any excess oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. 

Remove wings from oven and drain the pan. Coat the wings well with bar-b-que sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes, making sure not to let the sauce burn.

*** This recipe makes a mild/medium wing. If you want hotter wings, add more hot sauce or your own hot peppers to the sauce while cooking.

Southern Fried Chicken Tenders

To me, "fried chicken" is a very Southern thing! I can remember watching my Grandmama Bradham go in to the yard and catching a chicken for Sunday Dinner. She would grab the chicken without even looking at it, and with a simple flick of the wrist, it was done. Now, before I receive hate mail, my Grandparents were simple country folk. They raised chickens for food and eggs. We had goose, goat, chicken, pig, squirrel, doves, fish, frog legs and probably a turtle or two. If you can catch it, hunt it, shoot it or gig it, Mama and Grandmama could cook it... and make it delicious!!! I can remember my Granddaddy BBQ-ing a goat and telling me how to clean and skin them before cooking. He said, "You know how an old billy-goat smells? Well, if you let the hair of that goat touch the meat, that's how it will taste!" I think I was about 5 years old at the time. In their house, nothing was wasted. You fried chicken necks and backs with the rest of the bird. That's why, when I buy a chicken cut up, I get the country-style cut so I get the whole bird! No waste...

6-8 chicken Tenders 
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Oil for frying

Make an egg wash by beating the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a shallow dish. Mix flour and spices in another shallow dish. Dip chicken breast pieces in egg wash then dredge in the flour mixture. For a thicker crust on the chicken, repeat that step again... egg then flour. In a heavy skillet, heat about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of oil to 365 degrees. (Or heat a deep fryer to 365 degrees) Place chicken in hot oil. (If the oil is not up to temp, the coating will not stick. Do not crowd the chicken in the pan or it will boil in the oil and not fry crispy.) Fry for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and no longer pink inside.

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Bar-B-Que Sauce

Cooking Spray
1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper

garlic powder
1/2 cup Blackberries
3 tablespoons prepared thick bar-b-que sauce
2 T Texas Pete

In a small bowl, mix blackberries with a sprinkle of sugar and let sit until they release some of their juices. Then mash them with a fork to break apart. 

Spray grill grates with no-stick cooking spray. Heat grill to 350 degrees F to 375 degrees F. Generously season tenderloin with salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

In a sauce pan, add blackberries, barbecue sauce and Texas Pete. Heat until warm; stir to blend. 

Grill pork, turning occasionally, 16 to 20 minutes (or until thermometer reads 160 degrees F). Baste liberally with 1/4 cup blackberry barbecue sauce during last 5 minutes of cooking. Transfer tenderloin to platter, tent with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve pork over brown rice, drizzled with additional sauce and sprinkled with chopped parsley, if desired.