Bootsie’s squash casserole, ribs

Here’s a recipe for squash casserole we had for Mother’s Day by request.

The recipe came from Bootsie Peebles so you know it’s good.

Mom wanted this exact recipe. I wanted something more cheesy and creamy, but since it was Mother’s Day she won.

I was very surprised at how good it was with so few ingredients. The green chiles made the dish.

I got a bottle of Hatch roasted green chiles at Costco and they were so good. We even ate them on chips.

Also, I did sneak in a little grated Parmesan when Mom wasn’t looking.

Bootsie’s Squash Casserole

6-10 summer squash

Water and/or chicken broth

1 onion

1 tbsp. butter

1 or 2 cans green chiles

Bread or cracker crumbs

Slice the squash into ¼ inch rounds. Boil in water and/ or chicken broth until tender. Drain in a colander. Place a plate on top and a heavy weight on the plate. Get as much water out as you can. Slice the onion and sautee in butter until nice and brown. Add the green chiles. Add this mixture to the well-drained squash. Place in a greased 9x13 pan. Top with bread or cracker crumbs (and some Parmesan cheese when your mom isn’t looking.) Bake at 350 until bubbling. There will be water in the bottom of the pan but don’t worry.

Here’s another recipe I tried recently. Marion Grasby’s Four Ingredient Ribs, with ribs being one of the ingredients. Even Helen Zapata will like this one.

If you like Asian food you will like Grasby. You can follow her on YouTube and Facebook, and she has a website. Just Google her.

It does call for one ingredient that you can’t buy in Rockdale, unfortunately. It’s called gochujang and there really isn’t a substitute for it. If you separate the syllables it’s easier to say: “go-chu-jang.” Just like it’s spelled.

You can buy it from Amazon which is what I did.

This was my first time using gochujang and I have to say it is delicious but very spicy. I was afraid that the ribs would be inedible if I added Sriracha so I substituted dark sweet soy sauce. You could also substitute honey or molasses.

Four Ingredient Ribs

2 racks pork ribs

½ cup gochujang

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup Sriracha

Use a small paring knife to help you remove the thin white membrane from the underside of the rib racks. Season the racks with salt. Preheat oven to 250. Combine the three sauce ingredients in a bowl. Reserve 1/3 cup for basting later.

Apply the remaining mixture to the ribs with your hands or a pastry brush. Wrap each rack tightly within 2 sheets of foil, sealed at the edges to form a “parcel.” Roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours.

Remove the ribs from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400. Carefully open up the foil parcels. Line a clean baking tray with foil and transfer the ribs to the new tray. Scoop up any thick sauce and cooking juices and spoon over the ribs.

Then take the reserved sauce mixture and liberally brush each rack with the sauce. Place the ribs back in the oven, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes or until the edges of the ribs are just starting to char.

Remove the ribs from the oven and serve with plenty of napkins.