CookinJones

Contributed by: Donna Wheatley

Oven roasted chicken marinated in zesty Italian salad dressing mix.

When Earl and I married, his mother, Jean, presented me with a recipe box full of their family’s favorite recipes: each one typed. (She was a legal secretary) This is one of those recipes and it has been one of our family favorites since 1975. It’s an easy one to make ahead. You can take chicken out of the freezer in the morning. Pour the marinade into the Ziploc bag with it, and leave it out to thaw all day. Then when you get home, put it in the oven and you have supper in an hour. (If you have an oven with a timer, of course, this is a great meal to do for Sunday lunch, or to have ready to put on the table when you get home from work in the evening.)

Marinade:

Marinate serving size pieces of chicken in the above mixture for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator). Arrange chicken in a shallow baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees (no cover). It’s a good idea to baste the chicken and turn it over at the halfway mark, but it is not necessary. Serve with rice pilaf. (Rice a Roni makes a good one!)

Jones :: Aug.24.2007 :: Entrees :: No Comments »

Pork Spare ribs ready to come off the grill

Contributed by: David LaFerney

This is a really good-looking main dish recipe, especially if you bring it to the table in one big slab of ribs. Season the ribs with the dry seasoning, place in the oven bag, tie shut and poke a hole or two in the bag to keep it from popping in the oven. If you don’t have an oven bag, just wrap the whole rack of ribs in a couple of layers of saran wrap and then wrap that in aluminum foil. It sounds wacky, but it works just fine at this temperature. Bake on top of a sheet in a 250-degree oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The time and temperature are both pretty critical, any less and the ribs won’t be quite tender, any more and they will tend to fall apart before you can finish them on the grill. While the ribs braise get your grill hot. Don’t apply the sauce yet. Place the ribs on the grill over direct heat and grill both sides until they start to brown, then start brushing on the sauce thusly:

Brush the top of the ribs then turn immediately, then repeat brushing the top and immediately turning until you have 3-4 layers of sauce on each side or you run out of sauce. Rest the meat away from the heat for 10-15 minutes if you can stand it, then cut between the bones and enjoy. 6-8 servings.

Jones :: Aug.22.2007 :: Entrees :: 1 Comment »