This is #1 of 6 recipes for my Pin It & Do It Challenge

The reason I chose this recipe instead of the one of the many others on the web, was because it has a 5 star rating from 1038 reviews. How could it not taste good with that kind of rating?

Simple BBQ Ribs
2 1/2 pounds country style pork ribs
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup barbeque sauce

Place ribs in a large pot with enough water to cover.
Season with garlic powder, black pepper and salt.
Bring water to a boil, and cook ribs until tender.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Remove ribs from pot, and place them in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Pour barbeque sauce over ribs.
Cover dish with aluminum foil

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Changes I Made
I didn’t follow this recipe exactly. Instead of bringing the water to a boil, I turned the burner on low and just let the ribs cook for about 4 hours. I also poured a whole 18 oz. bottle of Stubb’s Hicory Bourbon BBQ Sauce over them instead of 1 cup.

What I Thought
WOW, these ribs were so tender! I’ve never had ribs that were that tender before. They tasted really good. We loved them and I’ll definitely make them again. I’ve added this recipe to my list of favorites. The next time we have a family get together, these are definitely going on the menu. Best ribs I’ve ever had!! There were a few ribs left, so the next day I made a sandwich with colby/jack cheese and pickles. Yummy!

This counts toward my Pin It & Do It: Food challenge

Hosted @ Beth Fish Reads

I’ve been craving the Cheese Ravioli w/ Broccoli & Alfredo Sauce that I’ve made before. This time I wanted to try it with cheese tortellini and switch the broccoli with peas and corn.

Cheese Tortellini With Peas, Corn & Alfredo Sauce
2- 16 oz. Cheese Tortellini
16 oz. frozen peas
16 oz. frozen corn
2- 16 oz. jars Alfredo Sauce

Weekend Cooking is hosted @ Beth Fish Reads

Italian Sausage Baby Broccoli Pasta with Oregano Gremolata and Pramesan

9 oz  Sweet Italian Sausage
6 oz  Gemelli Pasta
6 oz Baby Broccoli
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Cloves Garlic
1 oz Almonds
1/4 oz Oregano
1 Lemon
1 T Olive Oil

Wash and dry all produce. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Line up the baby broccoli
on your cutting board, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Discard the ends.
Roughly chop the garlic. Pick the oregano leaves off the stems.
Discard the stems.

Place the sausage onto a baking sheet. Cook in
the oven for about 15 minutes.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook 9-11
minutes, until al dente. While the pasta cooks, add the baby broccoli
to the same water. Cook 3-4 minutes, until tender. Remove the baby
broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the almonds, oregano
leaves, and chopped garlic in a pile on your cutting board. Run your
knife over the mixture until finely chopped (some larger pieces of
nuts can remain). Check on the pasta, drain when ready, then return
to the pot.

Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan
over medium-low heat. Add the gremolata mixture. Cook, tossing, for
3-4 minutes, until beginning to turn golden brown. Season generously
with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat. Zest about 1 teaspoon
lemon directly in the pan, and stir thoroughly to release the lemon oils.

Thinly slice the sausage. Halve the lemon. Toss the
sausage, baby broccoli, gremolata, half the Parmesan cheese, and
a drizzle of olive oil into the pot with the pasta. Reheat over medium
heat if necessary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in
a squeeze of lemon, to taste. Divide between bowls, serve with the
remaining Parmesan cheese.

Thoughts
I really liked this and thought it had a nice flavor. My son Anthony liked it but didn’t think it had enough flavor. After sprinkling with garlic salt he was satisfied with the taste.

The recipe was easy to do and didn’t take that much time, about 30 min.

Weekend Cooking is hosted @ Beth Fish Reads

Ham, Turkey, & Sharp Cheddar Panini
2 slices bread
2-4 slices each of ham and turkey
1-2 slices deli sharp cheddar cheese
butter

Butter one side of each of the bread slices
Place one piece of bread butter side down on a panini press
Layer the ham, turkey and cheese on top of the bread
Top with the other bread, butter side up
Close the Panini press and let grill until bread is golden brown

I enjoy a good Panini once in a while, and this is a good one for when you don’t have a tomato or avocado on hand. I definitely would have added them if I’d had some, but this was still a yummy Panini. Sometimes it’s good to go simple.

The June/July book selection @ Cook The Books is Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

I’ve never read this author before so I was excited to read this book.

The book is about Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather who are starting a catering business in Dublin. Add some relatives, friends, and some minor characters here and there and well, I thought there was just too many characters.

It’s a bit longer than what I prefer, and I do think it could have been a shorter and still had the same impact on the reader, but it did flow along well enough to keep my interest.

The book ended rather abruptly I thought, and kind of left me wondering what was next. Overall, this was a good book and I’m glad I read it.

There were so many foods mentioned in the book, and I wrote the name and page number of all the ones that I thought I might make. I finally narrowed it down to  two, Paella, which is mentioned on page 156 and Irish Stew which is mentioned on page 480.  I finally settled on Paella since I’ve never had it.

Here is what is said when the Paella is mentioned:

I found a recipe here, and adapted it a bit:
Quick Chicken & Chorizo Paella
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
14 ounces chorizo, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pimenton or paprika (I used pimenton, which is just smokier)
2 cups short- or medium-grain rice
1 pinch saffron threads
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 pounds chicken, cut into chunks (didn’t use)
1/2 cup frozen peas (I used a cup)
1 tomato, chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400°F.
Heat oil in a large casserole or paella pan over high heat.
Add chorizo and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.
Add rice (medium or short grain rice), pimenton, saffron, and bay leaves.
Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute.
Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Add roast chicken, frozen peas, and tomato; stir to combine.
Transfer skillet to oven.
Cook uncovered until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

I had both the chicken and chorizo on the counter to use, but decided to go with just the chorizo. The next time I make it I’ll use just the chicken, then both.

This was really good and very easy to make. The paella was full of flavor and was all I needed as a main dish. The recipe made enough for 6 bowls, so there’s plenty leftovers, saving you from having to cook the next night and/or trying to figure out what to take for lunch.

Cook The Books

Weekend Cooking

When I posted about my Mary Kay Andrews win @ Karen’s Korner , I took these photos of the recipes that were included but forgot to put them in the post. So here they are:

I plan on making both, but think I’ll start with Colcannon

Weekend Cooking is hosted @ Beth Fish Reads