Melt in Your Mouth Short Ribs

I've made these short ribs and/or beef ribs so many times I don't even measure ingredients anymore. But for you...I've made a template of recipe ingredients that you can follow or adjust to your liking.

These ribs remind me of what homestyle Sunday night dinners are all about. The smells in your home when family or company walks through the door is an invitation to the dining room table that no one can resist! It doesn't take a lot of skill, but makes you look like you've slaved over the stove all day! Meanwhile, the oven does a lot of the work:)

First of all, grab a large oven-safe pot with lid. You're going to start on the stove top and then head into the oven. If you don't have a dutch oven...I highly recommend them. I have 2. I use my smaller one for side dishes, meals for two, and baking bread. My larger pot I tend to use more because we love leftovers! I make large roast chickens with all the fixings, ribs-grilling and short ribs, and stews etc with this one.

I normally use 4 ribs for this recipe. Depending on the size of pot you have, number of people you are feeding, and how much leftovers you want...plan on one rib per person if they are large ribs. The pics below can feed a family of 4. You can spoon it over rice, potatoes, or noodles as well to add bulk and be able to sop up the broth. I don't add any thickeners to the recipe, but feel free if that's what you like at the end.

You can use any vegetables you have in the fridge. Use up whatever is in the crisper. It's all going to cook down and take on great flavour so don't worry about the condition of the veggies either (no slimy ones of course!)...If your carrots and celery are waving where they used to point...just give them all a rough chop and throw them in the pot. I enjoy cooking with leeks rather that regular onions. I use both the green ends and the whites. I love the flavour they add. Just always give them a good rinse before using. They tend to get a lot of grit in them.

The seasonings are really a personal preference. If you prefer whole bay leaves - use a couple but then remove them before serving. I use crushed sometimes. Whatever seasonings you have such as Mrs. Dash or garlic premixed seasonings are fine too. Also, I use tomato paste that comes in a tube rather than a can. It's so much easier when you don't need to use much and you can keep it in the fridge a lot longer. You can find the tubes in the pasta aisle in the grocery store.

If you don't have any beer or choose to use only broth you can. Just use the same amount. You can substitute any broth...beef is great for added rich flavour but chicken and vegetable both work fine too. I use the low sodium version as well. That way you can control how much salt you want in your meal.

Please let me know below in the comments if you make this meal! I'd love to hear from you!

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Melt In Your Mouth Short Ribs

Ingredients

• Ribs...Beef short or grilling ribs*

• 3 cups any kind

• Leeks, carrots, celery, peppers, mushrooms...all veg rough chopped**

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• 1/2 tsp chili flakes

• 1/2 tsp bay leaves***

• Few dashes Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 cup dark beer****

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F

2. Salt and pepper your beef.

3. Heat a dutch oven on the stove top with some oil

4. Sear the meat for a couple of minutes on each side...do this in batches so you have lots of room in the pot. Set ribs aside. Do not drain the pot

5. Add chopped veggies.

6. Saute veg for a few minutes

7. Add seasonings and tomato paste and give a stir for a minute.

8. Add beer and broth and stir

9. Add back in beef. Beef should lay in the liquid, but they don't need to be entirely covered

10. Bring to a boil on the stovetop

11. Place lid on pot and place dutch oven into oven for about an hour and a half to 2 hour

Tips

*I normally use 4 ribs. Depending on the size of pot you have, number of people you are feeding, and how much leftovers you want...plan on one rib per person if they are large ribs. The pics above feed a family of 4. You can spoon it over rice, potatoes, or noodles.

**You can use any vegetables you have in the fridge. Use up whatever is in the crisper. It's all going to cook down and take on great flavour so don't worry about the condition of the veggies either. (no slimy ones of course!) Just give them all a rough chop and throw them in the pot

***The seasonings are really a personal preference. If you prefer whole bay leaves - use a couple but then remove them before serving. I use crushed sometimes. Whatever seasonings you have such as Mrs. Dash or garlic premixed seasonings are fine too. Also, I use tomato paste that comes in a tube rather than a can. It's so much easier when you don't need to use much and you can keep it in the fridge a lot longer.

****If you don't have any beer or choose to use only broth you can. Just use same amount. You can substitute any broth...beef is great for added rich flavour but chicken and veg broth both work fine too. I use low sodium broth as well. That way you can control how much salt you want in your meal.

Lovely Lemon Cheesecake For 2

If you are looking for a date-night dessert...look no further! My lovely lemon cheesecake is the perfect dessert for 2.

I was so excited when I received a set of three 4-inch springform pans! For a person who adores making cheesecakes, but only has a family of 2 to feed...there's always way too much left over. Sometimes you just want enough...but not too much. I made these 3 and gave 2 away to friends with significant others as a treat for Valentine's Day this year and they were a hit! If you aren't lucky enough to own 4 inch springform pans...don't worry. You can use a pre made graham pie shell or a pie pan and the same graham amount in this recipe. No changes needed.

I used raspberry jam, homemade whipped cream and sprinkles to decorate in the pictures. You can use any flavour of jam you prefer, fresh berries or a coulis. All of these pair well with lemon. And sprinkles...you can change the occasion of any cheesecake with sprinkles. Think red and green for Christmas, hearts for date night, multi coloured for birthdays...endless possibilities! :)

Water baths are optional here. I don't use them when I am topping the cheesecakes. (Meaning whether they happen to crack or not is not an issue). And since the cakes are smaller, they don't cook as long, so I found they cooked evenly without browning too much.

Make your crust first, if not using a pre-made version. And bake it for a few minutes so it can set up and hold together. While the crusts are in the oven, cream the room temperature cream cheese with a paddle in the stand mixer. Room temp for your ingredients ensures it with be lump-free and the eggs will incorporate well.

I always zest my lemons right over the top of white sugar using a microplane. This allows the oils from the zest to land right in the sugar and offers up extra flavour. Then I press the zest into the sugar with a wooden spoon capturing even more flavour! The more lemon - the better!

So into that cream cheese goes the zested lemon sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat that together. Then add the eggs one at a time. Don't over mix. Top up the pans almost to the top and pop them in the oven. Mine took 30 to 40 minutes to bake. Try not to open the oven for at least 30 minutes. Cool completely and decorate as desired!

Hope you enjoy! Leave a comment below if you try this recipe...I would love to hear from you!

Lovely Lemon Cheesecake for 2

Ingredients

• 2 bricks softened cream cheese

• 1/2 cup sugar

• zest from 1 lemon

• 1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 2 eggs

• 1 1/2 cups graham crumbs

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 4 tbsps melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Prepare three 4-inch springform pans with parchment paper*

3. In a bowl stir together graham crumbs, 1 tbsp sugar and melted butter

4. Press graham mixture into pan**

5. Pop in the oven for 10 mins (optional step...it will set up the grahams a bit more if you find them crumbly)

6. Cream the softened cream cheese with a paddle in a stand mixer

7. Add zest to sugar and press the oils into the sugar. Add zested sugar to cream cheese mixture along with the lemon juice and vanilla

8. Beat well.

9. Add eggs one at a time and only mix until just combined***

10. Pour into pans. You can pour almost to the top.

11. Place in oven and bake for around 30 to 40 minutes. Resist opening oven until close to the end

12. Cool in pans then pop in the fridge for a few hours****

13. I decorated with whipped cream, raspberry jam, and hearts sprinkles.

Tips

*I used 4 inch pans and made three 2-person cheesecakes out of this recipe. It also works to use one ready-made graham crust pie shell. Same directions and ingredients

**I pressed my graham base into the bottom and up the sides using a cup. You can simply press it into the bottom and not up the sides if you prefer

***Add eggs last and do not over whip. It can cause the cheesecake to rise and collapse and/or crack.

**** When you remove the cakes from the oven (if using springform pans) run a knife around the inside of the pan to loosen. This improves the likelihood that as they settle they won't crack. Don't worry if they are cracked though because as they sit in the fridge...they tend to come back together. Besides...you are decorating with jam or berries and whipped cream so the top won't be seen:)