Sharing the wealth: Introduce some new flavor to your kitchen with these reader submitted recipes.
Clearly, there’s a lot of cooking taking place in and around Philly, to judge from the recipes sent into the Northeast Times food column. I’d like to share some of the submissions that weren’t randomly drawn in the ongoing gift-card contest. A great many of the submitted recipes really are winners, culinarily speaking, and I plan to share them with you in future columns.
If you entered a recipe, it could be published here, so please check back in the months ahead. The following recipes were among those received in the early months of the contest.
With the Final Four ready to take to the basketball court this weekend, get your game on and try some of the following recipes. But the only basket you’ll need is the one that holds bread to go with dinner. Guard your appetite so you can leave a little room for a spicy treat — tomato soup cake.
This Reader’s Recipe was submitted by Lori Behr, who shared her family’s secret recipe for ribs with homemade barbecue sauce. She wrote that, “This is the best sauce you will ever taste.”
BBQ RIBS WITH HOMEMADE SAUCE
1 Slab pork or beef ribs
Season to taste with a dry rub (I like Adobo and Savon)
Place ribs in roasting pan and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Make sure ribs are thoroughly cooked.
BBQ SAUCE
4 Tbsp. minced onion
1 cup ketchup (I prefer Heinz)
¾ cup water
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
¼ cup honey
In a pot, combine all ingredients in order listed.
Heat to boiling.
When ribs are browned, drain off any grease, and cover ribs with BBQ sauce.
Place ribs back in oven on 350 degrees. They are done when bubbling. Sauce will thicken in the oven.
As a side to the ribs, serve Patsy’s Baked Beans. This recipe was submitted by Veronica Lewis, and it turned out great. Personally, I always drain canned beans in an effort to reduce or eliminate some of their gas-inducing properties.
PATSY’S BAKED BEANS
½ lb. bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
(Reserve 2 Tbsp. bacon fat)
3 cans (15.5 oz.) butter beans, drained
¾ cup water
3 Tbsp. catsup
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. paprika
1 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
½ onion, minced
Combine all ingredients. Cover.
Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours.
Sent in by Times reader Carol Brisendine, the Tomato Soup Cake has been known as the “Mystery Cake” because it contains a secret ingredient — tomato soup. The soup replaces oil or milk usually found in cake recipes. It’s an easy cake to make just about any time, as you probably have all of the ingredients on hand in your kitchen. It originated in the Depression years, and is considered an heirloom recipe — one that has been passed down through generations. Something like a spice cake, it is good with some powdered sugar sprinkled on top or iced with a little cream cheese frosting. The cake-eating crew in my house really enjoyed it. They thought it tasted very similar to the Spanish Bar loaf cake that used to be sold in some of our area supermarkets.
TOMATO SOUP CAKE
¼ lb. butter
1 cup sugar
1 can tomato soup
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups flour
½ cup raisins
Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add baking soda to tomato soup, mix and add to butter mixture.
Add baking powder, spices and flour.
Add raisins. Mix.
Grease and flour an 8×8-inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Eat well, live long, enjoy!
Don’t forget:
Send in your favorite recipe for a chance to win a $100 ShopRite gift card. Mail your recipe to Readers’ Recipes, c/o Northeast Times, 3412 Progress Drive, Suite C, Bensalem, PA 19020. Or email your recipe to WhatscookinNEPhilly@gmail.com. Please include name, address and telephone number.
