hot and spicy

Spicy-As-Heck Sticky Ribs

- Mama 1 Comment

Some links in this post about sweet and spicy ribs may be affiliate links.

Do you like it hot? These spicy-as-heck sticky ribs are for you, then! A little bit sweet, a lot spicy, and oh-so-finger-licking delicious…. Use your favorite hot sauce to really kick up the heat level more, and more, and more for these spicy ribs you can make in your oven at home! Tone down the spice with a little sweet brown sugar, and you’ve got a meal that will stick to your own ribs, and your fingers, in the most delicious way. | oven-baked ribs | spicy ribs | sweet ribs | barbecue ribs | baby-back ribs |

Being from Kansas City, not much beats a good barbecue rib. Burnt ends, sure, but when it comes to ribs, around here, it’s usually barbecue. Now, I love barbecue ribs, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes I really want to take it up a few notches and to do that, I have to get spicy. That’s when these spicy-as-heck sticky ribs come in.

Why spicy-as-heck? Because you’re using a whole heck of a lot of hot sauce on them. And why sticky? Because to offset all of that spice, you have to have a little bit of sweet, and that comes in the form of brown sugar that caramelizes on the ribs and makes these stick to your fingers (in the best way… you’ll be licking them clean, trust me). You can bake these in your oven or toss them on the grill and have these spicy ribs practically falling off of the bone.

Read more

The Snowballs are On Fire!

- Mama 3 Comments

Fire! Fire! Help Me! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Anyone else an IT Crowd fan? No? I’m telling you, that’s an underrated show if I’ve ever heard one…

Well, either way, you’re going to need a fire extinguisher if you’re trying this recipe.

These sweet snowballs made of chocolate and powdered sugar look awfully harmless, don’t they? Well, until you see the secret ingredient…

Whew. Jalepeño peppers!

Okay, I’m going to pause the recipe here for a little joke…

Why was the pepper nosey?

…It was jalapeño business! Ha. Ha ha. Just go with it, guys.

De-seed those so you don’t totally burn your tongue off.

Dice them up into little pieces.

Now, set those aside.

In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 package (12 oz) of Nestle’s Semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of Nestle baking cocoa, and 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Microwave that for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate bits are completely melted.

If you stop here and do nothing else, this makes a great cupcake filling.

Today, though, we’re going to keep going.

Dust your peppers with 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and then fold those into the chocolate mixture.

Once they’re folded in, refrigerate the whole mixture for a couple of hours until the mixture is firm.

Grab 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. You’ll want plenty of powdered sugar.

Take the chocolate by the spoonful and roll it into balls. Don’t try answering the phone or typing an email or anything else during this time, because your hands can pretty much only roll these balls right now.

Drop the balls into the powdered sugar and toss them until they’re coated. After one coat, they’ll look a little something like this:

Roll them around in the powdered sugar a second time, making sure each one is completely coated… and then enjoy them.

If you’re feeling naughty, serve them to your unsuspecting guests. Feeling nice? Give them a little warning about what’s inside.

Comment below and tell me which you are– naughty or nice– and whether you’d warn your unsuspecting guests about the fire that waits. These are sure to be the most unique thing that appears at your holiday cookie exchange, and they’re delicious, too.