Dinner Tonight: Must LOVE Bourbon

Today, I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen, but wanted something yummy, so I decided to do Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker, with a Bourbon BBQ sauce, topped with Blue Cheese Cole Slaw with a side of Brussel Sprouts.

The pork was easy - 4lb pork tenderloin, spice rub, broth to cover the bottom of the pot, 10 hours (6 hours on high, 4 hours on low) in the crock pot. Take out the pork, shred it with a fork. Drain the remaining juices from crock pot. Put the meat back in the crock pot and pour the below BBQ sauce in, stir to cover the meat. Let it simmer on high another 30 min to an hour. Delicious. I made an extra batch of the sauce to pour over our open faced sandwiches.

I just knew I would love this sauce because it had bourbon in it... I must warn those people that just kinda like Bourbon - this sauce will be too strong for you! Even after cooking it down, you can taste the Bourbon. Love it!!! NOTE: Just use the part of the recipe to make the sauce, the ribs look good too though..

Bourbon BBQ Babyback Ribs

To serve the pulled pork, I split a slider bun, topped with meat, then this Blue Cheese Cole Slaw, and more Bourbon BBQ sauce.

For the side tonight, I made these Brussell sprouts. My friend Mindy was telling me that the recipe was out on the web and I had to try them. They are from a very high-scale recipe here in Cincinnati (BOCA) and are awesome. Well worth the wait (they take about 3 hours to cook). If you are looking for something healthy, it won't be these... There are only three ingredients, the sprouts, butter and salt.

Colorful Quick Quinoa Grecian Salad

Holly brought this over for a side with our burgers the other night - great choice! Very light and very good for you! We have made this several times and I really like making extra dressing, so it doesn't dry out. The quinoa really absorbs the liquid. I use 4TBSP's of olive oil and 4TBSP's of vinegar. I couldn't find the sherry vinegar (could find sherry wine) - I use the Rice Vinegar flavored with basil and oregano.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup thinly sliced radicchio
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped English cucumber
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 tablespoon minced shallots

Preparation

Place quinoa in a large bowl; cover with water. Let stand 5 minutes; rinse well, and drain.
Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan; stir in quinoa. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Uncover; fluff with a fork. Cool to room temperature.
Combine olive oil and next 5 ingredients (through sea salt) in a large bowl. Add cooled quinoa, tomatoes, and the remaining ingredients; toss well.

Margee Berry, White Salmon, WA, Cooking Light, APRIL 2006

Squash-Rice Casserole

I made this the other night, trying to find a recipe to work a few veggies in, hoping the kids would like them smothered in cheese. It worked and we liked it a lot too! I changed it slightly. I used 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, and a red bell pepper instead of just zucchini.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
8 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash with a potato masher. Combine zucchini mixture, rice, sour cream, cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and eggs in a bowl; stir gently. Spoon zucchini mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Preheat broiler.
Broil 1 minute or until lightly browned.

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2000

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini

In my quest to find a way to make vegetables so that Alex will eat them, I stumbled across this recipe on www.allrecipes.com. These were a success, I got the MMMMM approval from him! I added extra mozzerella to the tops since we like cheese so much!

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 10 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 25 Min


INGREDIENTS

2 zucchini, halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
Scoop out the seeds of each zucchini half with a spoon. Season the hollowed-out halves with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper.
Mix together the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper in a bowl. Divide cheese mixture between four zucchini halves. Arrange stuffed zucchini on greased baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until zucchini is tender and filling is beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.