Meat

Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

May 10, 2013

It’s getting warmer up here in Boston. So we’ve been doing some garden work and busting out the grill. I just love the summer and spending our time outdoors drinking icy cold beers, snacking on chips and homemade guac, and dining on burgers. So lately I’ve been dreaming up all the fun burgers we can make this year (all of these sound awesome) and one such burger on my mind was a Pimento Cheese Burger.

We first had Pimento Cheese Burgers years ago while in Charlotte. Ahhhh-mazing. I’ve only made them a few times since then since they are so rich and indulgent. But the flavor combos are so dang good. I love mayo on my burgers and obviously cheese burgers are better than plain burgers so it all just adds up perfectly.

So when it came to thinking up something for my Sprint Cup Snacks recipe for this weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 in Darlington, SC I pulled out my Pimento Cheese Burgers. So perfectly Southern! I whipped up some Mini Burgers since everything mini is just so dang cute. Plus I’m always trying to think of fun recipes for a crowd or ones to quickly nosh on while watching that week’s NASCAR race.

Pimento Cheese is yummy with just crackers but slather it on some burgers and it will become your favorite way of enjoying it. But, of course, putting it on sliders makes the whole situation that much better. Plus the best thing is that it is super easy to whip up. As much as I love our grill, I used my cast iron skillet since I didn’t want to run the risk of flipping the mini burgers through the grates. In all it took about 15 minutes of prep for this dinner. awesome!

I swear these will be a hit with you crowd!

Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

Makes 6 sliders

Ingredients

Pimento Cheese

8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounce jar of diced pimentos, drained
1/3- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
cayenne and black pepper to taste

Burgers

1 pound of 85/15 ground beef
1 teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
pinch of black pepper
6 whole wheat dinner rolls

Process

To make the Pimento Cheese, combine the cheese, pimentos, and mayo. Mix thoroughly. Add the cayenne and pepper to taste. Set aside to chill for at least 1 hour.
In a large bowl combine the ground beef and the Seasoned Salt and black pepper. Evenly divide the burgers into 6 rounds. Shape and flatten each burger so they are slightly thicker than 1/4″.
Cook the burgers until desired doneness.
Slice the dinner rolls in half. Place each burger on the bottom portion of the buns, then scoop about 2 tablespoons of the pimento cheese on each burger, and top off with the rest of the bun.

Pimento Cheese adapted from Epicurious

Guinness Irish Beef Stew

March 13, 2013

Guinness Irish Beef Stew is a hearty fulling stew that is filled with tender beef, onions, & mushrooms. Rich flavors made better with a strong Guinness.

A stew simmering away on your stove all afternoon is a great way to start to get you excited about your dinner. The smells will perfume your kitchen and you’ll be dying to dig in to this Guinness Irish Beef Stew.

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Steak Quesadillas

March 1, 2013

Well, we have made it through Race Week and the Daytona 500. While the Daytona 500 was exciting the previous day’s Nationwide Race had a very scary ending with one of the cars becoming airborne and slamming into catch fence. Driver Michael Annett is out indefinitely because of a fractured and dislocated sternum and 28 fans were injured when debris went into the stands. I can only hope that people recover quickly and that this provides valuable information to help NASCAR continue to work on driver and fan safety.

This upcoming weekend’s Sprint Cup race is at Phoenix International Raceway. Since the race is in Arizona I felt that something with a Mexican influence would be fun for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks. I decided on some Steak Quesadillas because I love how they are perfect for snacking but filling for a meal. Plus when you walk by some fantastic looking beef at your grocery store you can’t resist.

I swear I could eat quesadillas every day. They are just so amazing! It’s a twist on a sandwich that I can enjoy. Typically my least favorite part of a sandwich is the bread, either because it is too soft and plain or too hearty and heavy. If I were goldylocks the tortilla would be just right. Plus how can you resist

Besides enjoying these Steak Quesadillas while you watch the race be sure to make them for a party as they make for a great dish to serve as you can prep them right before the party and you can keep warm in a oven at 200 degrees. Or just make and enjoy for dinner with some rice and beans. yum!

Be sure to check back every week to see what Sprint Cup Snacks recipe I have whipped up for the upcoming race. The next race is in Vegas… oh the possibilities. 🙂

Steak Quesadillas

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 pound of beef loin sirloin tip
2 teaspoons adobo seasoning, divided
1 large white onion
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
12 ounces white mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 ounces of pepper jack cheese, shredded
8 flour taco tortillas

Process

Coat the sirloin with adobe seasoning. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
While the sirloin is resting, slice the onion and the mushrooms, slice the peppers into strips. Mix in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and then add the vegetables to cook until browned and soft.
Grill the steak until it is medium-rare with an internal temperature of 130 to 135 degrees. Let the cooked steak rest for 5 minutes prior to thinly slicing across the grain.
Assemble the quesadillas by laying out one tortilla, put 1/4 of each the shredded cheese, cooked vegetables, and sliced steak on the tortilla, then top with another tortilla. Repeat the process for the other 3 quesadillas.
Place the quesadillas on baking sheets and broil until tortilla has browned the cheese has started to melt. Flip to brown the other side.
Serve warm with condiments like salsas, guacamole, and sour cream.

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{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

NASCAR races at the Phoenix International Raceway for the second and the second to last race of the year. There is a triv oval racing track as well as a 1.51 road course configuration. The stands seat 67,000 fans… consider that is A LOT more fans than these new Baseball Stadiums- Marlins Park (36,742) and Yankee Stadium (50,287).

Track: 1 mile

Shape: “D”-shaped Tri-Oval

Banking: 10-12 degree banking in Turns 1 and 2; 8-9 degree banking in Turns 3-4; 10-12 banking in the Backstretch; 3 degree banking in the Frontstretch

Surface: Asphalt

Race: 312 laps for 500 kilometers

2012 winners: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick

‘Shroomy Philly Cheesesteak Burgers

February 27, 2013

I love cheese steak sandwiches. I think it’s because they are loaded up with so many delicious things- meat, sautéed onions and peppers, and cheese. And I might buck tradition and piss some traditionalists off but I add a ton of steak sauce. I can’t pass steak sauce off since it packs to much flavor. I could put steak sauce on bread and be happy…

You know umami? Umami is one of the 5 basic tastes that we identify in foods. Basically, umani equates to savory flavors which is often related to foods that contain high levels of L-glutamate, IMP and GMP. Foods associated with umami are fish, shellfish, cured meats, vegetables, like mushrooms and ripe tomatoes, green tea, and fermented and aged products, such as cheeses, shrimp pastes, soy sauce, and – what for it – steak sauce.

To put a twist on the traditional steak sandwich I transformed a burger into a ‘Shroomy Philly Cheese Steak Burger by piling it high with sautéed onions and mushrooms and tons of melty cheese. And what about my favorite steak sauce? Well that is there too! As well, I seasoned the burger itself so it would be so juicy and flavorful.

This is a massive, juicy burger!! The steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce in the burger mixture makes the burger really flavorful and juicy. Of course if I am going to make a cheeseburger, I am going to cheesy!! The onions and mushrooms piled high make is a great Philly cheesesteak burger. It all comes together in a huge bite and then the theme song of The Fresh Prince pops into your head, right?

Enjoy your burger with some fries and a cold beer!

‘Shroomy Philly Cheesesteak Burgers

Makes 6 big burgers

Ingredients

2 large yellow onions
12 oz white button mushrooms
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 pounds of ground sirloin
1/2 cup of steak sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
18 slices of Provolone Cheese
6 bulkie rolls

Process

Slice the onions and put into a skillet with 1 tablespoon oil and cook over medium- low heat until translucent and caramelized. Add salt and pepper when done.
Slice the mushrooms and put into a skillet with 1 tablespoon oil and cook over medium-low heat until browned and reduced in size. Add salt and pepper when done.
While cooking the onions and mushrooms, in a large bowl, mix together the ground sirloin, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and pepper. Divide the mixture into 6 equal sized burgers
Grill the burgers until just under desired doneness. Place 3 slices of cheese on each burger and cook until melted and burger is done.
Place a cooked burger on the bottom portion of the bulkie roll, smother the burger with the onions and mushrooms. Top with steak sauce and top of roll. Enjoy!

Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs- SRC

July 30, 2012

Another month is wrapping up so it means it is Secret Recipe Club time! How is this summer flying by?!?! It is crazy! At least it has been jam packed with great food, lots of fun with family and friends, and some awesome adventures. It just makes me wish summer was so much longer.

This time I had the blog called Without Adornment by Bean. The blog is packed full of gluten free recipes, as well as other allergen free recipes. This is perfect for someone with allergies, as well as anyone who just likes great food. I immediately saw her Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs and knew they would be perfect for a satisfying summertime dinner.

The original recipe was just a guide with the ingredients, and not the amounts used. I generally cook that way so I liked that there was freedom to have my own stamp on this recipe. I added some soy sauce to the marinade just so it would not be too sweet for my liking. I also had zucchini in the fridge so I added that to the kebabs too. I served this with some rice that I prepared while Price grilled up the kebabs. Totally loving our new grill, this summer, and this recipe!

Beans recipe was gluten free which I respect because for a while last year I ate gluten free and enjoyed the process and felt better from it. Anyway, I did add the soy sauce for flavor but it does wheat so if you want this to be gluten free just be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce. Or you can use Worcestershire Sauce which is naturally gluten free instead of the soy sauce and has 80% less sodium than soy sauce.

Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs

Serves 4

Ingredients

For Kebabs

1 pound of pork tenderloin cut into 1″ cubes
pineapple cut into 1″ cube pieces, approximately half a pineapple
1 red pepper, cut into 1″ x 1″ pieces
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4″ thick pieces
8 oz whole white button mushrooms

For Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 gloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, known as sambal
1 cup of diced pineapple
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

Process

Soak 10 wooden skewers for at least an hour before using them.
Prepare the marinade first by combine all of the marinade in a bowl or large plastic bag. Mix thoroughly and then add the pork pieces to the marinade. Store in the refrigerator while the meat marinates for at least 1 hour minutes.
Once skewers are soaked and the meat is marinated, thread the pork, pineapple, pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Repeat the series twice and end with a piece of pork.
Grill the kebabs over medium-high heat. Using a basting brush, brush the kebabs with the marinade each time you turn the kebabs grilling each side.
Cook the kebabs until done with an internal temperature of the pork is 145 degrees. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

June: Cheesy Garlic Knots

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Beef and Mushroom Hot Pot

April 24, 2012

I love my slow cooker. It has been there to pull me out of some tough weeks when I don’t have the time to cook but don’t want to get take out. I realized that I was neglecting it this year so I pulled out the Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes 2 and went right to a recipe I had bookmarked for a while now. I was always drawn to it because it was affordable, quick, and flavorful… sign me up!

I really enjoyed this slow cooker meal. I know I’ll make it again because it was so flavorful and was so simple. I made some changes to the recipe to suit out palate and what we had on hand. For example, since we always have carrots around I used fresh instead of the frozen as specified. My advice for the recipe to come out well is use low-sodium beef broth and to not cook it for too long. The broth concentrates so it would be way too salty if you use regular broth. Because of my schedule I actually had to cook it for 10 hours. I wish I could simply tell work I need to leave early to manage me slow cooker… imagine! ha! The rice was a bit gummy/mushy at the bottom. It didn’t ruin the meal at all but just something I noticed comparing the rice at the top verse the rice at the bottom.

Beef and Mushroom Hot Pot

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 pounds stew meat, cut into small pieces
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced (2 80z packages)
4 carrots, cleaned and sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds
1 box (6 oz) of wild rice blend
2 14 oz cans of low sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Process

In a small bowl combine the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Mix together well and set aside.
In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients together.
Set slow cooker for 6-8 hours.
Mix halfway through, if the mixtures looks like it is drying out or too soft in areas.
Enjoy!

Guinness Brat Sandwiches with a Guinness Cheese Sauce

March 17, 2012

A recent St. Patrick’s Day/Guinness discussion on twitter lead me to making this recipe. I was mentioning to Pricer how I think brats cooked in Guinness in a slow cooker would be good, then maybe I could make a cheese sauce for it. He agreed saying that I would have to test it out for science. I am not one to pass up an opportunity for trying things out in the name of science so off I went to the store.

While this recipe is great to enjoy for St. Patrick’s Day, it is great for any dinner. I personally think it would be great to enjoy while watching a foodball game since it is hands off cooking, being that the most work is toasting the buns and making the quick cheese sauce right at the end. The Guinness makes the brats and the veggies very flavorful and juicy. Nestle the brats and soft veggies on a toasted roll and drizzle some Guiness Cheese sauce on top… pure perfection.

Guinness Brat Sandwiches with a Guinness Cheese Sauce

serves 5

Ingredients

1 package of brats, containing 5 links
2 green peppers
2 large onions
1 1/2 14.9 oz cans of Guinness
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
4 oz of white cheddar cheese
5 sub rolls

Process

Cut the peppers and onions into long strips.
Place the peppers and onions in a slow cooker and then place the brats on top. Pour the Guinness onto the brats at well.
Set your slow cooker for 6 hours.
When the grats are all done, remove them and the peppers and onions and set aside.
Strain the liquid from the slow cooker into a measuring cup.
In a skillet, combine butter and flour creating a roux. Slowly add 2 cups of the liquid into the skillet when the flour is golden and the roux is smooth. Continue to wisk the mixture and add in the cheddar cheese.
Place the brats, peppers, and onions on a toasted roll. Drizzle some cheese sauce on top to finish it off.

Mexican Style Hot Dogs

July 23, 2011

I have a love hate relationship with hot dogs. Love them grilled or off a griddle. Put them in a pot of water and we are no longer friends. However, hot dogs from the carts in NYC are classic and I will tolerate them from fresh from a hot bath. You can not argue with dirty water dogs.

When I went to the BAC I used to run over to Spike’s Junkyard Dogs down the road to grab some dinner between classes. They are one of my favorite hot dog places in Boston, the bread they use for their bun is amazing. That being said, I started to love Chicago Style Hot Dogs because of the unique combination of toppings. I loved getting my hot dogs ‘dragged through the garden’.

Since being done with the BAC and farther away from Spike’s, I have started to experiment with building my own ‘extreme’ hot dogs. I love loading hot dogs to the point that a complete meal. Skip the sides and just slap it all on top of the hot dog. So I began to wonder how can I make an amazing, different hot dog that would include some of my favorite summer time ingredients. I ended up creating a Mexican Style Hot Dog. This is topped with some of your favorite Mexican things like fresh corn salsa and avocado.

July 23rd is National Hot Dog Day so it is the perfect day to make this, but really any day is a great day for a hot dog.

Mexican Hot Dogs

8 hot dogs

8 top split hot dog buns

2 ears of corn

1 cup of black beans

handful of cilantro, chopped

1/4- 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, optional

juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tomatoes

1 avocado

1 cup of sour cream

salt and pepper

Grill or cook hot dogs on a griddle. Lightly toast the buns.

While the hot dogs are cooking, remove the corn from the cob. Toss the corn, beans, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice together in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

Halve and slice an avocado. Slice a tomato. Keep both of the avocado and tomato slices very thin.

When hot dogs are cooked to perfection, lay them in the bun to begin topping. First layer the salsa, and then add the slices of avocado and tomato. Lastly, dollop or pipe sour cream on top. Enjoy!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Sausage Meatball Subs

April 10, 2011

I’m all about the best of both worlds thing when it comes to food. I love the combination of things and how that enhances the meal from donut muffins, Oreo chocolate chip cookies, to this. The combination of a meatball and sausage sub satusfies my love of meatball subs, while getting spice and flavor from sausage.

When I was younger, I never was a huge fan of Italian sausage (get your mind out of the gutter!). I didn’t think that Sweet Italian sausage had much flavor, and while I liked the spice from Hot Italian Sausage I could not get past all that damn fennel seed. I have slowly come around to it. Mainly because I typically have it grilled or cooked in beer, loaded up with peppers and onions with spicy mustard.

While you can use Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage, I really suggest using the Hot variety because it will be able to stand up against the plain ground beef. If you happen to like sweet sausage you might want to make it 1 pound to be even with the ground beef. The only thing I suggest adding to the meat mixture is a grated onion, to add some flavor and moisture. Anything else, besides salt and pepper, would compete with the seasoned sausage.

Sausage Meatball Subs

makes 4 subs

1 pound of ground beef (80/20)

3/4 pound of Italian Sausage (I suggest Hot)

1 small white onion, grated

4 small sub rolls or 2 large loaves, halved

8 slices of provolone cheese

generous drizzle of olive oil

2 cups of marinara sauce

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Preheat oven to 400, drizzle bread with olive oil and toast bread until light brown, add cheese for last remaining few minutes to melt.

While the bread is toasting, remove Sausage from casing to prep it for being incorporated into the ground beef.

In a large bowl, combine a grated onion, beef, and sausage.

Roll 20 meatballs out.

Cook meatballs in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Evenly roll and brown on all sides while cooking.

Once meatballs are all evenly browned and almost done, add in 2 cups of marinara sauce. This will heat up the marinara and finish off the meatballs while they simmer in the sauce.

Assemble the sub with 5 meatballs each and enjoy!

Porcupine Meatballs

September 25, 2009

I had a craving for porcupine meatballs on Wednesday night. Luckily, my dad wrote down this recipe along with other family ones a few years ago that I turn to every now and then. There are only 6 ingredients, including water, so I went to the grocery store on my way home from class and grabbed the 3 that I needed.

Porcupine Meatballs is a simple meal made of meatball filled with rice- making it spiky- and served with gravy over noodles. Simply put it’s an inexpensive meal and easy to make. Plus there is a good chance you already have most of the ingredients in your cabinets like me. You can do this with beef but we try to keep it lean so we use turkey. If you use beef then adjust the gravy and rice-a-roni to match the beef flavor. This is so comforting because it is warm and filling- a real autumn/winter food. I made large meatballs to get cooking faster (too tired after a 3 hour class) but you really should make smaller meatballs. This allows the meatballs to cook faster and the rice cooks better when they are smaller.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb of ground turkey

1 box of rice-a-roni (I used chicken flavor)

1 egg

2 cups of water

1 lb of wide egg noodles

1 family size jar of turkey gravy

Start water on high heat to cook egg noodles until al dente.

Combine the ground turkey, rice-a-roni (including seasoning packet), and egg. Form into small meatballs (1 1/2 dia).

Brown meatballs in a skillet with oil. (You can drain off oil/fat, if you prefer). If the skillet gets too busy with the meatballs you can remove some to get enough room to brown all of them. Once all meatballs are browned, reduce heat to med/low and add 2 cups of water. Cook for 20 minutes. If the water begins to reduce too much, add a bit. When the meatballs have i a few minutes left add in the gravy.

Serve the meatballs with the egg noodles. Enjoy 🙂