Tamale Pie

Easy, hearty comfort food at it's best!

Tamale Pie

1 lb. ground beef 

1 medium onion, chopped 

1-2 cloves garlic, mashed 

1 (15 1/2 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained 

1 C. tomato sauce 

1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained 

1 (15 1/2 oz.) can corn, drained (or about 1 1/2 C. frozen)

1/2 C. sliced black olives 

1/3 C. chili powder 

1 t.oregano

2 t. cumin 

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten 

1 C. EACH milk and cornmeal 

1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. In large skillet, brown beef, onion, and garlic; drain. Add tomatoes (with liquid), tomato sauce, kidney beans, corn, olives, chili powder, oregano, and cumin; simmer 10 minutes. Spread mixture into 3 qt. casserole. In a medium bowl, combine eggs and milk, then stir in cornmeal. Spoon evenly over meat mixture, making sure cornmeal is well distributed. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until top is set and lightly browned.

Sloppy Joes

If your idea of Sloppy Joes is frying up a pound of ground beef and dumping in a can of Manwich sauce, you really need to try this recipe! With only slightly more effort, you can make something from scratch and adjust it to your own tastes.

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 lb. ground beef 

1/2 C. chopped onion 

1/4 C. chopped red bell pepper 

1/2 C. chopped celery 

1 large carrot, grated 

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce 

1 T. yellow mustard 

1/4-1/3 C. brown sugar 

1/3 C. ketchup 

1 heaping teaspoon chili powder 

few dashes Worcestershire sauce 

Brown meat with the onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot; drain well. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat to desired thickness (about 20 minutes). Serve over toasted hamburger buns.

Mongolian Beef

In almost the time it takes to boil rice, you can have this delicious dinner on the table! Throw in a veg and some frozen egg rolls or pot stickers, and you have a complete meal on the table faster than getting takeout!

Mongolian Beef

2 T. oil

1 lb. beef of your choice (I use the "special trim" beef I get from Cash & Carry... flank steak, sirloin, or top round would work just as well), very thinly sliced across the grain

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 T. grated fresh ginger

4 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Marinade-

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. soy sauce

2 T. water

2 t. mirin or rice wine vinegar

Sauce-

2 T. hoisin sauce

1/4 C. soy sauce

large pinch Korean chili flakes

1 t. sesame oil

2 t. sugar or to taste (you can omit this if using mirin)

Salt to taste

Combine marinade ingredients, mix with beef and let stand about 30 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. Heat wok with 1 T. of oil and stir-fry beef until half done (should still have some pink). Remove from wok and set aside. Heat remaining oil; stir-fry ginger and garlic until fragrant but not browned. Add back beef and sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the beef slices are almost done, then add the scallions. Do a few quick stirs. Serve with hot cooked rice.

Italian Plum BBQ Sauce

Around here, Italian plums are the zucchini of fruit. Almost everyone has a tree in their yard and come harvest season, they're desperately trying to find someone to take bags of them off of their hands.

Italian plums (stock photo)

I am one of the unfortunate souls who does not have a tree in their yard, although (to be completely honest) I am more than happy to not deal with the tree itself and just take other people's overflow. 

The other night, I was gifted with over 30 lbs. of ripe plums and have been trying to come up with new and exciting things to do with them before they go south. So far, I have made a plum cobbler, two pints of Chinese plum dipping sauce, and three pints of this WONDERFUL bbq sauce. It's sweet, spicy, tangy goodness works especially well with poultry and pork.

3 1/2 C chopped Italian plums

2 C ketchup

1/2 C finely chopped onion

1/2 C maple syrup

1/4 C honey

1/4 C red wine vinegar

2 t. paprika

1/2 t liquid smoke

1 T Dijon mustard

1 t ground black pepper

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until plums are soft, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with immersion blender until smooth (you can also do this in a food processor). Makes 3 pints.

Tonight, I applied it liberally to grilled Cornish game hens.

Onion Bombs!

For several years now, friends of mine have been making (and raving about) these things called onion bombs. I've been meaning to make them myself for EVER, and tonight I finally did!

Onion bombs are basically halved, separated onion layers, stuffed with seasoned meat, reassembled, wrapped in bacon, smoked and indirect grill-roasted, then brushed with bbq sauce to finish.

In other words... heaven.

The meat mixture I used was -

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
3/4 C. finely chopped mushrooms
1 T. finely chopped onion
1/2 C. dry bread crumbs (or substitute of your choice)
heaping tablespoon dried parsley
about 2 t. Worcestershire sauce (just shake it to taste)
1 t. Montreal steak seasoning
1 T. ketchup

2 medium onions
1 - 12 oz. package bacon
bbq sauce of your choice

wood chips for smoking, soaked

Slice stem and root ends from onions, then slice in half lengthwise. Carefully remove papery outer layers. Separate inner layers, keeping matched pairs together. You will get 3-4 pairs of good size from each onion. Chop some of the remaining onion for the filling, and save the rest for another use.

Combine all ingredients for meat filling, mixing well.

Fill each onion half with meat, pressing the matching halves back together. Wrap each onion with 2-3 slices of bacon until covered, securing with picks.

Preheat grill for indirect cooking, to about 400°. I used a drip pan, because bacon grease all over the inside of my grill is not my idea of a good time. Place onion bombs over drip pan, throw some wood chips in there (using your preferred grill-smoking method), close the lid, and let them roast for about an hour, turning occasionally. Brush with bbq sauce during the last 10 minutes or so. Remove to plate and let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Mesquite wood chips on the left.

About halfway done cooking. Should have used a little more bacon on a couple of these, but oh well...

Served with my Awesome Broccoli Slaw, they were (dare I say it), da bomb.

Everything Must Be Grilled!!

If you've read this blog for more than five minutes, you know how much I love to cook outdoors. It's an especially happy day when I can do an entire dinner on the grill! Since grilling proteins is kind of a no-brainer, I'd like to focus on a couple quick and easy side dishes that are perfect to throw along side of whatever else you have going.

This particular dinner was bone-on chicken breasts marinated in store-bought Italian dressing, so I wanted something with similar flavors to go with them... roasted green beans and lemon/thyme orzo fit the bill perfectly.

Roasted Green Beans

(all amounts are approximate and to taste)

Frozen green beans (whole or cut)

Extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

granulated garlic

white balsamic

In a disposable aluminum pan, toss frozen beans with oil, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Grill over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until edges of beans start to brown a little, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from grill and splash with balsamic to taste.

Lemon Orzo with Fresh Thyme

1/2 T. each butter and olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 C. orzo

1 3/4 C. chicken broth

1 T. fresh thyme, lightly chopped

zest and juice of half a lemon

1/4 C. grated Parmesan

pepper to taste

In a heavy, medium-sized pot, combine butter, oil, garlic, and orzo. Saute over medium-low heat just until orzo starts to brown a little. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is done, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

I hope this inspires you to think a little outside of your normal grilling box and try utilizing your grill to it's fullest potential!

Melon and Cucumber Salsa

Here is another "what the heck is taking up so much room in my fridge?" recipe I came up with. It turned out very well, and was the perfect accompaniment to the spicy jerk chicken I made for dinner that night! I think it would also pair very well with almost any simple grilled (or roasted) chicken breast, pork, or fish recipe.

Melon and Cucumber Salsa

1 C. cantaloupe, cut into small dice

1 C. honeydew melon, cut into small dice

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice

1 T. grated fresh ginger

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 large jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

zest and juice of one lime

1/4 C. cilantro, chopped

1 T. honey

large pinch of kosher salt

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Served with jerk chicken and Jamaican rice and peas.