BBQ Rub
This is my go to rub that I use on ribs, pulled pork, sometimes beef!
Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp black pepper
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 Tsp cayenne pepper
Macaroni 'n Cheese
My favorite mac n cheese is easily boxed Kraft Mac n Cheese. It could be the simplicity or the nostalgia or both!
However, I have honed my skill at making homemade mac n cheese. One of my favorite tools to use is the Instant Pot. However, using a great stock pot is always great!
Ingredients
1lbs elbow macaroni
1 8oz medium or sharp cheddar, shredded.
1 cup shredded gruyere
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 8oz can of evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
Directions:
1) Cook elbow macaroni as directed on the box.
2) Once macaroni is cooked and drained, return to the pot. Add whole milk and evaporated milk.
3) Add shredded cheese, stirring occasionally until melted.
Salad with Diced Turkey
My partner expressed a desire to begin to eat healthier. What a better way for a Foodie to support someone than to create meals to go that are healthy, but also flavor full dishes. To substitute for cheese, I crumbled tofu, sauteed it in a pan with fish sauce and sesame oil.
Ingredients
1 bag of 50/50 blend salad
Ranch dressing
1 Packet of dried cranberries with walnuts
1 package extra firm tofu
Ranch Dressing
Deli Turkey
Fish sauce
Sesame Oil
Directions
1) Drain liquid from extra firm tofu, crumble into a small bowl.
2) Add a few dashed of fish sauce and a few dashes of sesame oil. Stir to combine.
3) Heat a small skillet and few dashes sesame oil. Once heated, add tofu crumbles to pan and sauté until cooked and slightly browned.
4) In a bowl or other serving dish place the desired amount of 50/50 salad blend.
5) Taking a few slices of deli turkey, dice and scatter on top of salad mix.
6) Take a few tablespoons full of tofu crumble and spread over top of salad.
7) Add the desired amount of dried cranberries and walnut to the top of salad.
8) Drizzle with ranch dressing.
Spicy Tuna Bowl
This Spicy Tuna bowl is over a bed of brown rice with shredded carrot, diced cucumber, and a drizzle of Yum-Yum sauce. Think Poke bowl.
Ingredients
1 Tuna Steak
1 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
Dash of Onion Powder
1 Cucumber
1 Carrot
2 Cups of Brown Rice
1 Bottle of Yum-Yum Sauce
Directions
1) Cut tuna steak into bite sized pieces. In a bowl, combine the Siracha, Seasame Oil, and onion powder. Stir to combine. Place tuna into marinate and coat to combine. Cover and place in refrigerator for 4 hours.
2) Prepare brown rice per package directions.
3) Once rice is cooked, allow to cool.
4) Cut cucumber length wise, using a spoon remove the seeds. Cut down the middle of the half and dice.
5) Peel carrot and grate.
6) In a bowl, place a bed of brown rice, then cucumber and grated carrot, followed by marinated tuna. Lastly, drizzle with Yum-Yum sauce.
Spaghetti Squash with Meatball and Marinara Sauce
Spaghetti squash with a meatball and jarred marinara sauce. Easy week night meal that is perfect for the Autumn weather.
Ingredients
1- Spaghetti Squash
1- Jar Marinara Sauce
1.5lbs Ground Sausage
1.5lbs Ground Beef
1 Tbsp Mince Garlic
1 Egg
1/2 Cup bread crumbs
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Onion Powder
Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400. Cut off the ends of the spaghetti squash, slice in half. Scoop out seeds.
2) Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes.
3) While squash is roasting, combine ground sausage, ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1 Tbsp minced garlic. Combine and form into meatballs.
4) Once squash has finished roasting, remove from oven and use a fork to “shred” squash pulp into spaghetti strands. Since there is a lot of moisture in squash, place on a large plate with paper towels.
5) Place meat balls on a clean baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
Place a bed of spaghetti squash on a plate or in a bowl, with a meat ball in the middle, top with warmed marinara sauce. Enjoy!
Salmon Cake Breakfast
One day I was shopping my local grocery store and they had a sale on Salmon. Now, I am not a big fan of Salmon, one would almost say HATE! But It was cheap, so I gave it a go!
This is a smoked salmon cake, on a toasted English Muffin, topped with an over easy egg and hollandaise sauce, paired with bacon wrapped asparagus.
Ingredients
2 slabs of salmon
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 English muffin
6 spears of asparagus
1 slice of bacon
1 jar of hollandaise sauce
Directions
Salmon Cakes
1. Salt the salmon and refrigerate for 24 hours. When ready to smoke, rinse off the salt and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Set your smoke to its lowest possible temperature. When ready, place salmon on the smoker for 60 minutes.
3. After 60 minutes, remove the salmon from the smoker. Remove the flesh (it should come off easily) and place in a medium size bowl.
4. Add about 1 cup of bread crumbs, 1 egg, and about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. Using a fork, combine. Form into patties and place on a baking sheet or plate.
5. Heat a sauté pan or griddle with butter or oil. Cook salmon cakes until brown on both sides, about 7 minutes per side.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
1. Take 6 spears of asparagus, chop off about 1/2 inch of the base.
2. Using your favorite flavor of bacon, wrap the asparagus.
3. Place in a saute pan over medium high heat cooking bacon to desired doneness, about 4-5 minutes per side.
4. Remove bacon from the pan.
Since you have leftover bacon grease, I like to cook my egg in the leftover grease. Cook to your desired doneness.
Toast an English muffin, top with the warm salmon cake, your egg, top with a health drizzle of hollandaise sauce.
Vegetarian Minestrone
Recently a friend experienced a traumatic injury and health complications. She is vegetarian and LOVES soups. So, what better to make than a vegetarian minestrone soup!
Ingredients
1 medium onion diced
2 celery stalk sliced
2 large carrots sliced
1 zucchini sliced into quarters
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon organo
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
15oz can kidney beans
15oz can white beans
1 box of noodles (I chose Ziti)
Directions
1. In a large stock pot, add the onions, celery, and carrots with oil. Stirring occasionally until vegetables are soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the zucchini, thyme, oregano, and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes with juices, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, about 20 minutes.
4. Cook pasta as directed. Once soup base is ready, add pasta to soup. ENJOY!
If you want to can the soup, ladle into mason jars, add lids and wrings and process in boiling water for 20 minutes. I recommend washing rings and jars to sanitize in advance.
Reuben Sandwich with Colcannon
We thought it would be fun to give Reuben Sandwiches with Colcannon a try.
Home made Rye bread, slow roasted corned beef, with homemade mashed potatoes for the Colcannon.
Ingredients
2 small briskets (I used the point and flat)
1 package of Swiss cheese
1 can of sauerkraut
1 bottle of Thousand Island
4-6 russet potatoes
1/4 head of cabbage
4 green onions
1 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Reuben Sandwich
1. For the brisket, I purchased the corned beef package from the grocery store. Discard the seasoning packet. Liberally season with salt and pepper.
2. Place in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 5 hours.
3. When complete, remove from oven and cover in tinfoil, allow to rest for at least 1 hour.
3. Remove the fat (I chose to leave it on during the roasting process as it adds flavor). For sandwiches, thinly slice.
4. Take slices of Rye bread, or bread of your choice, slather on Thousand Island, top with several slices of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese.
5. Place in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp.
Colcannon
1. Dice russet or yellow golden potatoes, place in lightly salted, boiling water fro 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
2. While potatoes are boiling, rough chop approximately 1/4 head of cabbage (you can also substitute with Kale), dice approximately 4 green onions.
3. When potatoes are ready, drain, return to pot (easier for mixing/mashing), mash the potatoes (I use a hand mixer). Add 1/4 stick of butter and approximately 1 cup of whole milk.
4. Fold in cabbage and green onion. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tri Tip with potatoes and mushrooms
We had a Tri Tip in the refrigerator that needed to be used. I sliced into steaks, seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled. Added sautéed garlic potato rounds and topped with sautéed baby Bella mushrooms and red wine vinegar.
Ingredients
1 Tri Tip cut into 3 steaks
1 yellow or russet potato cut into slices
1 container of baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Directions
1) Heat a grill to around 350 degrees, using olive oil or butter, oil the surface. Grill Tri Tip steaks to a mid rare, depending on thickness around 7-10 minutes per side.
2) While Tri Tip rests, place seasoned (salt, pepper, and garlic powder) potato rounds on grill. Grill until tender, about 12 minutes.
3) In a pan with oil, sauté sliced baby Bella mushrooms. Approximately 5 minutes, add splash (about 1 Tbsp) of Red Wine Vinegar.
4) Slice Tri Tip steaks, layer potatos, Tri Tip, mushrooms.
Beef and Chicken Stroganoff with Mashed Potatoes
It was a cooler Saturday this weekend in Minnesota and I had plenty of leftover ingredients that needed to be used. So why not make both a beef and chicken stroganoff!
Ingredients
2 steaks (top sirloin, or cheapest is what I used)
2 chicken breast
1 container button mushrooms
2 sprigs of green onion
1 cup of heavy cream (divided)
1 bag egg noodles
4 Tbsp red wine vinegar (divided)
Oil
Salt, Pepper for seasoning
Garlic powder
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup stick butter (softened)
4-6 russet potatoes diced
Directions
1) Season steak and chicken breast with salt and pepper. Slice into bite sized chunks.
2)Heat a skillet over medium high heat with cooking oil (I prefer olive oil)
3) In separate batches (steak and then chicken) sauté proteins until browned on the outside. Remove and set aside in separate bowls/plates.
4) Add a bit more cooking oil, and then half of the mushrooms. Sauté for about 3 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and about 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar.
5) Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Add in your steak. Stirring occasionally, simmer for about 5-7 minutes on low to medium heat.
6) Add prepared egg noodles, about half. Toss. Serve!
7) Repeat these same steps but with your chicken!
I topped my stroganoff with sour cream vs. incorporating it.
For mashed potatoes, I made simple, homemade mashed potatoes but added garlic powder and then topped with sliced green onions.