Root Beer Pulled Pork on Cheesy Biscuits....in 30 minutes

It seems like everyone I know is crunched for time, lately. The holidays, work, kids, pets....aack! But you still need to eat, right? And if you're anything like me, you like to have at least a smidgen of homemade in whatever you make. Deride Sandra Lee all you want, she is successful for a reason---what she makes is easy, fast, tasty, and semi-homemade. :)

I cook like most home cooks. Once in awhile, I take a shortcut. Or two. But when I take those shortcuts, I put my touch on them. Biscuits from a can get a cheesy, crunchy coating and one of those refrigerated pork entrees gets all shredded up and doused with a quick, homemade barbecue sauce (using up my sample of Red Gold Tomato Sauce). Take a look-see.

Quick and Easy Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Printable Recipe

1 (8oz) can Tomato Sauce (or use 1 cup of the 15 oz can)

1/2 cup Root Beer

1/4 cup Orange Juice

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Molasses

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger 

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized heavy saucepan; stir until combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 25-35 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced and starts to thicken.

While your sauce is simmering, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Now, combine 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese, 2 tablespoons Panko Bread Crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. Break open a can of biscuits...get the 8 ct. big, flaky kind. Lightly spray each side of the biscuits with cooking spray. Coat each biscuit in the cheese/breadcrumb mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkling any extra over the tops of the biscuits. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden.

The cheese and the breadcrumbs make for a crunchy biscuit and the two kinds of pepper add a little spice. If you prefer, mix in some Italian seasoning instead of the pepper.

My husband always has to eat one hot off of the pan.

I was a little leary of these microwavable meat entrees, but it turns out they are pretty tasty. If you are going to use the barbeque sauce, be sure to get the pork au jus and not the pork in gravy.

Now just nuke your entree for about 4 minutes (follow the package directions), dispose of the "au jus" (I save it to mix in with the dogs' food), shred the meat, and mix in the barbeque sauce.

This time, I topped it with pickles, but sometimes I like coleslaw on my sandwich.

There you have it...a semi-homemade meal in less than 30 minutes....and it all starts with a can of Tomato Sauce. 

Disclaimer: I was given a sample of Red Gold Tomato products in order to give a review. All opinions, however, are my own.

Fiery Tomato Chile Cheese Buns

Let's take a little break (at least 10 minutes) from all of the sugary holiday treats. Remember those cans of tomatoes I got from Red Gold Tomatoes? Of course you do. Just scroll on down and look at the Cincinnati Chili Pizza I made from the can of sauce. Well, on the same day that I made the pizza, I experimented a bit with the other half of my pizza dough. I couldn't wait to try out these spicy diced tomatoes with green chilies, so I tossed some on top of my pizza slice...they were pretty tasty (since the tomatoes are canned  fresh off the fields, I imagine they taste fresher that some of those mealy ones you find in the stores this time of year). Oh ya, where was I? The pizza dough. Sometimes, the quickest ideas are the best. Just look at what I made with the rest of my dough.

I opened this to use some on my pizza....

....and got the bright idea to make it into rolls.

Roll out the dough into a 9X12 square, just like for cinnamon rolls. Then sprinkle some olive oil and garlic powder over the dough, along with some well-drained diced tomatoes with green chilies.

Sprinkle about a cup of shredded cheese over the tomatoes, roll up the dough from the long side, and slice it into 12 slices. Put them in a buttered a 9X13 inch baking pan and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.; bake for 25-30 minutes.

And, behold a tasty treat!

Next time, I'll try some crumbled sausage, pepperoni, or bacon in these, too. Don't you just love an easy snack? What would you roll up in these?

Disclaimer: I did receive some free product from Red Gold Tomatoes for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Quinoa Salsa Salad....three ingredients.

I love Trader Joe's. Yesterday, Pete and I made our weekly grocery store rounds and just had to stop in to get some of their tortillas. Have you seen them? They are called "hand made" tortillas and I'm guessing they are as close to homemade as you can get from store bought. Just a guess, though, since I've never made them.

My new favorite tortillas....

 At any rate, the first thing we usually do when we get to Trader Joe's is to hustle on to the back of the store where they are giving out product samples. Yesterday's sample was a quinoa salad. I was disappointed, at first--healthy food? I did have a box of it at home that I had been reluctant to try. You know what? It's really good! They had it prepared with black beans, roasted corn and sun dried tomatoes. I was shoveling it in my mouth when another customer asked if they used a recipe or if it came made that way. It was a recipe, and a pretty darn easy one.

Ok--here it is: Prepare 1/2 package quinoa (about 1 cup) per package directions, stir in one package of Trader Joe's sun dried tomatoes and one container of Trader Joe's Black Bean & Roasted Corn Salsa. Finished. Period. The End. Oh--I did squeeze a little orange juice in it, just because I never leave well enough alone.

The quinoa only took about 15 minutes to cook

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, cooks up fast, and doesn't have a heavy flavor so it pairs well with almost anything.

My sister and my niece were on their way over...I simply threw some biscuits in the oven and whipped up the quinoa. Lunch was ready when they got here.

The quinoa went over well. I served it warm for my sister (who even heats up her ice cream--she needs everything warm), but you can eat this cold or at room temperature, too. There weren't too many leftovers...for dinner I made myself a quinoa burrito with one of those handmade tortillas. :)