BBQ beef and a shepherd's pie

I often find myself many times picking recipes because of the pictures. Sometimes that can be a good thing and sometimes not so much. That's one reason I picked this, and also because I figured it has everything Dave loves: BBQ Beef, check; mashed potatoes, check; corn, check; Frito's, check check!! It's a little bit of barbecue beef + a little bit of shepherd's pie + Frito's. I was nervous about it, but Dave ended up loving it. A happy tummy = success!

Barbecue Beef and Corn Shepherd's Pie Source: Betty Crocker website

• 1 pound lean ground beef


• 8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)


• 1 cup barbecue sauce


• 1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained


• 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles, undrained


• 1/2 package Betty Crocker Four Cheese mashed potatoes (1 pouch)


• 1 1/2 cups hot water


• 1/3 cup milk


• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine


• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


• 1 cup corn chips

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef and 1/4 cup of the onions in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce, 3/4 cup of the corn and the chilies. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low to keep warm.




2. 
   
   Meanwhile, cook potatoes as directed on package for 4 servings, using 1 pouch Potatoes and Seasoning, hot water, milk and butter. Stir in remaining onions and corn; let stand 5 minutes.
   

3. Spoon potatoes onto center of beef mixture, leaving 2 1/2- to 3-inch rim around edge of skillet; sprinkle cheese over potatoes and beef mixture. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle corn chips around edge of skillet.

Reubens!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This was the first time I've ever made anything special for St. Patty's Day. I've never been huge on the whole corned beef/cabbage/sauerkraut thing but I saw a picture for this Reuben recipe and my mouth was watering and thought this would be a great time to be open minded about try this recipe. Yup that's right, I may like to try new things but there are some things I have a hard time being open minded about, such as sauerkraut. There's just something about it that makes me wrinkle my nose up at the site of it (and I'm even doing it as I write about it too!).

But I have to say this slow cooked sandwich was pretty darn delicious. The corned beef was so juicy and flavorful and the Swiss cheese is a perfect compliment. I just wished I would have used a thicker rye bread because that sauerkraut can sure make the bread soggy. Here's a tip when putting your sandwich together, don't but the sauerkraut on the bottom! Put it on top of everything so the juice has to make its way thru the corned beef, cheese and dressing barrier before finding the bottom piece of bread that will soak it up!





Slow Cooker Reuben Sandwiches

• 1 package (2 pounds) refrigerated sauerkraut
• 1 package (2 to 3 pounds) corned beef brisket
• 1 cup Thousand Island dressing
• 16 slices pumpernickel rye bread, toasted
• 8 slices (1 ounce each) Swiss cheese

Directions:

1. Place sauerkraut in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Place beef brisket on sauerkraut. (If brisket includes packet of spices, sprinkle spices over brisket.)
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 9 to 11 hours.
3. Remove beef from cooker; place on cutting board. Cut beef into slices. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon dressing on each toast slice. Using slotted spoon to remove sauerkraut from cooker, top 8 slices toast with 1/2 cup sauerkraut each. Top sauerkraut with beef slices and cheese slice. Top with remaining toast.

Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

Chocolate + Mint

You know how I love things semi-homemade....this is a great recipe to add to the list. As there's not a whole lot you have to add to the brownie box mix! Plus chocolate and mint go great together. I made these for our St. Patty's Day celebration at work.

Okay so I stole the picture, mine didn't turn out this beautiful looking but they were still delicious :)

Mint-Chocolate Brownies
Source: Betty Crocker


Brownies

• 1 box Supreme Premium brownie mix
• water, oil, and oil called for on brownie mix box
• 1 cup mint-flavored chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans, optional

Mint Frosting

• 1 cup vanilla frosting (from 16oz container)
• 1/4 tsp mint extract
• green food coloring, if desired

Chocolate Glaze

• reserved mint-flavored chocolate ships
• 4 tsp butter
• 4 tsp corn syrup
• 1-2 tsp hot water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F degrees. Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan (I used a 9x13). make brownie batter as directed on box, stir in pecans and 2/3 cups of the mint chocolate chips, reserve remaining chocolate chips for glaze. Spread batter in pan.


2. Bake as directed on box mix, depending what size pan you use. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.


3. In a small bowl, stir frosting ingredients using spoon until well blended (I used the entire can of frosting since I used a bigger pan). Spread frosting over brownies.


4. In 1-quart saucepan, heat Glaze ingredients over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Stir in hot water, a few drops at a time, until mixture is then enough to drizzle. Let cool about 5-10 minutes to thicken up a bit. Drizzle over frosted brownies. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until glaze is firm. Cut and serve!

Quesa - Dillas

Okay so what's what my husband calls them and it's obviously beginning to rub off! This was one of the fastest meals to throw together, it seriously took a total of 15 minutes to get all of them make and sit down to eat. Who doesn't love a quick dinner?! And on top of that, their good too :)

Chicken-Chile Qusesadillas
Source: Betty Crocker

• 1 pkg flour tortillas for burritos (8 tortillas)
• 2 cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 2 cups shredded or finely chopped deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken)
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 cup salsa

Directions:

1. Top one half of each tortilla with cheese, chicken, green chiles and onions. Fold other half of each tortilla over filling; press down with back of pancake turner. Lightly brush melted butter on both sides of each filled tortilla.


2. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 2 filled tortillas at a time 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and thoroughly heated. Cut into wedges. Serve with salsa.

Tip: Once you cook a filled quesadilla in the skillet, transfer it to a cookie sheet in a 300F degree oven while you cook the remaining quesadillas to keep warm.

BBQ Pizza

I finally made homemade pizza dough! Yea! Okay I admit I made this a few weeks ago I've just never got a chance to post it. Although I will experience with other recipes I went with this one since it was easy.



Pizza Dough

Makes: 2 thin-crust or pan pizzas, 8 mini pizzas or 2 calzones

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water (120F or 130F)
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil or olive oil

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of the four, the yeast, ans salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the raining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth ans elastic (6-8 minutes total). Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. I made 2 12 inch pizzas. I used half the dough one night for the pizza below and saved the other half in the refrigerator to make a regular pepperoni pizza a few days later. You can also freeze the other half of the dough for another time.
   
   

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  

1. Preheat over to 425F degrees. Prepare pizza dough above, roll out dough for one pizza into a 13 inch circle. Build up edges slightly; prick dough with fork. Bake about 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
2. In a pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onions, jalapenos, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, thyme, and oregano, then stir well and cook until fragrant. Add the ketchup, mustard Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and vinegar.
3. Raise the heat to medium-high and simmer, while rapidly stirring, until everything is blended and smooth. Lower the heat to a simmer and add the chopped chicken. Stir to coat the chicken, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
4. Leaving a 1-inch border pour the BBQ chicken and sauce evenly over the crust. Top with cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella. Bake about 10 minutes more or until bubbly and cheese is melted.