Coca-Cola Short Ribs

I am not a soda drinker, but Mr. O-P loved it. So much so, that, when he passed away, I was left with a refrigerator full of cans of soda of various varieties. Because I don't drink it, and hesitate to offer it to the frequent young people I have visiting, I decided the best way to use it was to cook with it.

It's surprising how many different varieties of sodas are used in cooking. In the past I've made Root Beer Pulled Pork, 7-Up Biscuits, Coca-Cola Meatloaf, Coca-Cola Cake, and today I made the most flavorful and tender short ribs on the planet using, once again, a can of Coke.

This recipe could not be simpler. Essentially, 1 to 2 pounds of short ribs are put into the bottom of a crockpot, a bag of dry onion soup mix is sprinkled on top, and then you pour a can of Coca-Cola over it. That's it, just let it hang out on low all day long, enjoy the aroma as it wafts through the house, and wait until dinner.

During the last hour of cooking, because I wanted my entire meal in the crockpot, I threw in a handful of Melissa's Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes, mushrooms, quartered onions, and baby carrots. That's all I did, and I had an excellent meal.

If you need a printable recipe, I'll do my best to provide you with one below. Really, though, this is one that can just be committed to memory.

Coca-Cola Short Ribs

1 to 2 pounds boneless short ribs
1 packet Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 12-oz. can Coca-Cola (NOT diet)

Various Vegetables to your liking

  Place short ribs into the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix on top, and cover all with the Coca-Cola. Set crockpot to “low,” and cook until tender, 6 to 7 hours. During the last hour of cooking, add vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, or anything to your liking). When vegetables are fork tender, serve.

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to: Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home,Celebrate Your Story, Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday,  Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Slow Cooked Short Ribs

This is the easiest meal you will ever prepare, and certainly one of the most delicious.  You will win the hearts of the beef eaters in your family, so get ready to hear moans of appreciation. The meat is fork tender, intensively flavorful, with a richness that exceeds this simple cut of beef.

I used to prepare this just for Mr. O-P and me, because it was just so easy that it seemed unworthy of being served to company.  Then one night we had a friend over, it was already simmering in the Crockpot, so what could I do but serve it atop a mound of creamy mashed potatoes?  This was three years ago and he is still talking about that meal to this day.  I’ve never written out a recipe for it before – it is that easy --, but having been asked numerous times, here goes.

Slow Cooked Short Ribs

1-2 pounds boneless short ribs

1 package Lipton dry onion soup mix

½ cup brewed coffee, cooled

1 cup red wine (preferably Chianti)

6-8 Melissa’s Boiler Onions, peeled

Place short ribs into the bottom of a 2.5 quart Crockpot.  Pour dried onion soup mix over the top, followed by the wine and coffee.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  One hour prior to serving, toss in boiler onions (you can really use as many or as few as you like here).  You may also use whole button mushrooms in place of, or in addition to, the onions.  To make it an entire meal, toss in baby carrots or some tiny potatoes.

Serve to your happy guests.  This recipe may be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.  Just increase the size of your slow cooker.

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

The Scoop

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday
Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Boston Market Cornbread

As lazy summer days approach, time in the kitchen is displaced by [sunblock-laden] fun in the sun.  Meals should be quick and easy, and there is nothing easier than what I put together for tonight.  Hands-on time, including making the cornbread, was about 12 minutes.  I’m not kidding.  TWELVE!

The menu consisted of boneless beef short ribs, carrots, and those delicious little potatoes from Melissa's Produce, slowly cooked in a beef/wine broth, with a hunk of freshly-baked cornbread on the side.  I used a 1.5 quart Crockpot, into which I poured 1 cup of beef stock, 1 cup of red wine, a packet of onion soup mix, a pinch of salt, and generous grindings of fresh pepper.  The ribs (1 pound weight) went in next (I turned them to coat with the mixture), and simmered on low for about 5 hours.  At this point it was time to add the washed potatoes that I nestled alongside the meat.  I allowed them to simmer for 45 minutes, wherein I dumped what was left of a bag of baby carrots, adding another 30-45 minutes of cooking time (depending upon the size of your carrots, spear them with a fork to test for doneness).

Clearly this has to be assembled early in the day, but that’s the beauty of it.  When you are freshly out of bed, having your coffee and planning your day, this can be thrown together and you’ve finished the dinner preparation for the day.

The cornbread is a clone of Boston Market’s recipe.  Nothing could be easier.  It’s sweeter than what you may be accustomed to, but it’s a favorite of mine; I found it paired very well with the beef and vegetables.

 

Boston Market Cornbread

2 (8.5-oz) boxes Jiffy cornbread mix

1 (18.5-oz) box yellow cake mix

5 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Here is our little dinner for two.  Looks delish, no?  It was!  Try it for yourself, and enjoy your day off.

This post is linked to:

 Seasonal Sunday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Lacquered Short Ribs with Spicy Ginger Sauce

During this very busy time of the year, quick, but delicious, hearty, strengthening meals are a must.  With so many errands to run, gifts to buy, and chores to do I find I rely more on my Crockpot now than during any other season.  So, when disaster struck two weeks ago in our Fibber McGee Closet when the electric skillet plunged to its death, landing on top of the Crockpot, cracking the bowl, I knew I had to do something fast.

Coupon in hand, I was off like a shot to Bed, Bath and Beyond where I purchased a newer model with a timer (Yay!), and made this delicious recipe for tonight.  (I also made Dorie Greenspan's Parisian Mushroom Soup - more about that later.)

I was lucky to have found seriously meaty, dense short ribs.  I bought only 1-1/2 pounds of meat, so halved the recipe (but not the cooking time, and chose the low setting over the high one).  As frequent preparers of ethnic foods I happened to have all of the ingredients in our pantry, but if you don't, this recipe is worth the purchase.  It is a bit spicy, so if a little heat bothers you, consider cutting back on the pepper flakes and Sriracha sauce.  It is tasty and different from any other short rib recipe I've tried.

It goes together in the morning before you head out, and is the perfect meal for a frigid day, warming you both inside and out.

Lacquered Short Ribs with Spicy Ginger Sauce

Cuisine at Home, Slow Cooker Menus

(Printable Recipe)

For the short ribs:

3 lbs. short ribs, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 T. olive oil

For the spicy ginger sauce:

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup minced fresh ginger root

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 Sriracha sauce

1/4 cup molasses or cane syrup

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Brown ribs in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Work in batches and don't crowd the ribs. Transfer the ribs to your crock pot.

Combine the scallions, ginger root, brown sugar, Sriracha sauce, molasses or syrup, hoisin sauce, lime juice, fennel seed and pepper flakes. Pour the sauce over the ribs. Cover and cook on high for about five hours or low for 8 hours.

Serve over rice or noodles.