Ground Beef Stroganoff

Posted on by May 23, 2024

5/22/2024 – Mary made this several months ago and it was great. But, it was not added to this website. So, the ingredients and methods below are what she did today that was also great. This dish was inspired by the recipe here.

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Red pepper flakes made from cayenne peppers from our garden to taste
  • 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp salt, adjust to taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, adjust to taste

Instructions

  • Brown ground beef and stir to break down beef into tiny pieces. Add onions and minced garlic and saute. Add red pepper flakes.
  • Add sliced mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms soften.
  • Add flour and stir until there are no lumps.
  • Add 1 cup beef broth, 1 cup Half-n-Half, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Bring it to a low boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
  • Remove from the heat and add in sour cream. Stir to combine everything and adjust seasonings.
  • Serve over Jasmine rice.

Mediterranean Chicken Thighs

Posted on by May 11, 2024

5/10/2024 – This was made with large thighs from a 10 lb. bag of leg quarters. Four were seasoned with our Mediterranean Seasoning blend and six with Kit’s Creole Seasoning.

Loosely followed https://www.recteq.com/blogs/sandwich-recipes/smoked-pulled-bbq-chicken-sandwich

  1. Drybrined trimmed thighs the day before.
  2. An hour before smoking shook on our Mediterranean seasoning and the Creole Seasoning.
  3. Preheated Rectec to 375°.
  4. Smoked to an IT of 160°.

BBQ Chicken with Ribs slow cooked on Recteq

Posted on by May 6, 2024

5/5/2024 – We started BB Ribs at 225° and had 6 thighs to smoke/cook as BBQ chicken. Of course, the ribs need to slow cook at 225 but our recent BBQ chicken on the Recteq was done at 275 then finished at 300 to an IT of 185.

So, the alternative plan at lower temperature is to:

  1. season the thighs with Creole Poultry Seasoning
  2. smoke them at 225° to an IT of 125° then sauce them with So-Good+ACV+6POGS on the skin side then let smoke to set the sauce, flipped and sauced the non-skin side,
  3. smoked to 140° and sauce on both sides like step 2.
  4. smoked to 150° and sauce on both sides like step 2.
  5. finished to an IT of 160°.

Egg Salad

Posted on by April 24, 2024

4/22/2024 – This is a kicked-up version of our traditional egg salad and was good. This was inspired by the recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp. yellow mustard – See note below.
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to serve
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper – Next time use 1 tsp.
  • 1 tbsp. dill pickle juice – See note 1 below.
  • 1/4 tsp. paprika, plus more to serve
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper – Next time use 1/4 tsp.
  • 12 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled
  • 1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 c. finely chopped dill pickles juice pressed out in the spoon – See note 1 below.
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill – Did not have it for this prep but it should be a good addition. See below where another recipe used 1 ½ teaspoons of dried dill weed.

Directions

  1. Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne until well combined.
  2. Coarsely chop the hard-boiled eggs; fold into the dressing with the onion, pickles, chives, and dill. Cover and refrigerate the egg salad until ready to serve.

Notes

  1. An alternative to the dill pickle juice plus finely chopped dill pickles would be to use dill pickle relish with the juice. 3 tbsp of relish with the juice would likely be too much. Try 2 tbsp.
  2. The 2 tbsp of yellow mustard was too much for us. Try 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard.
  3. Use more cayenne pepper and black pepper.
  4. Some finely chopped celery would be a good addition.
  5. A tsp of horse radish could be a good addition.

Ingredients from other recipes to try with 12 eggs

  • Bacon
  • 2 tsp chile-garlic sauce such as Sriracha
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 stalks celery, minced

Hamburger Steaks with Onion & Mushroom Gravy

Posted on by April 18, 2024

4/15/2024 – This is a kicked-up Salisbury Steak dish inspired by the recipe here. It was very good.

Ingredients:

  • Hamburger Steaks:
  • heaping teaspoon of ground mustard
  • heaping teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound ground beef (80/20)
  • 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Onion and Mushroom Gravy:

  • 10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • dried thyme leaves
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, hot
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • red pepper flakes

Directions:

  1. For the hamburger steaks: Whisk together the mustard, smoked paprika, egg, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Mix in the ground beef and breadcrumbs by hand, then form into 4 oval patties, about 1/2 inch thick.
  2. Set a large pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the patties and brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the patties to a plate; set aside.
  3. For the onion and mushroom gravy: Turn the heat down to medium and add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and are browned. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate; set aside.
  4. Melt the butter in the pan, add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until lightly golden. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring. Pour the broth and Worcestershire into the pan and stir until the flour is dissolved.
  5. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir the mushrooms back into the pan and nestle in the beef patties. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low. Let simmer until the sauce has thickened and a thermometer inserted into the patties registers 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
  6. Turn the patties over a few times to coat in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad

Posted on by March 31, 2024


3/30/2024 – This dish turned out very good and was a nice change from our family’s traditional salad. It was inspired by a recipe at SouthernLiving.com who got it from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, cook Blair Hobbs of Oxford, Mississippi. Servings: 12. We made a half recipe for the two of us and had a lot of leftovers. This would be fun to take to potlucks as it is different from the usual potato salad. It was very good when still warm from the hot potatoes and the next morning cold from the refrigerator.

Ingredients

5 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
4 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled. In our half-recipe we put 3 eggs.
1 Tbsp. table salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 cup sweet pickle relish, drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimiento, drained
2 Tbsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
~1 rounded Tbsp of pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped small
1 to 2 tsp. celery salt
4 drops of hot sauce
smoked paprika sprinkled on top for looks

Directions

  1. Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover 20 minutes or until tender; drain and cool 15 minutes. Chop potatoes into 1″+ pieces and place in a large bowl. Add eggs. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat.
  2. Blend the mayonnaise and next 13 ingredients. Gently stir into potato/egg mixture.
  3. Sprinkle with paprika; adjust seasoning.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

Posted on by March 25, 2024

3/23/2024 – Made for the Fellowship Sunday School class at Christ United. Inspired by Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. This dish was very good and well-liked by many.

INGREDIENTS

  • 16 ounces of breakfast sausage.
  • 1 cup small diced multicolor sweet peppers. Mell called for Bell Peppers.
  • 1 cup small diced yellow onion
  • 8 large eggs – See Next Time below.
  • 1 cup half an half milk
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ~1 teaspoon salt
  • enough fresh-ground black pepper
  • 24 ounces frozen tater tots but only use enough to cover the bottom of the dish.
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
  • Chopped green onion or chives, for garnish
  • Sour cream and salsa, for serving (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Remove the sour cream from the refrigerator ahead of time to warm up some so it will blend into the milk. Then add the eggs.
  • Whisk the eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper until smooth.
  • Brown the sausage, peppers, and onions, crumbling the sausage into small pieces as it cooks, until it is no longer pink and cooked through and the veggies are tender. Drain the grease.
  • Spray PAM in a 9×13-inch Pyrex casserole dish. Place the tater tots in a single layer across the bottom of the pan. (Use only as many tater tots as will fit in a single layer).
  • Sprinkle sausage over the tater tots followed by the veggies. Sprinkle cheese evenly across the top.
  • Pour the egg mixture evenly over and across the top. Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Uncover and baked about 45 minutes until set. To set took longer than Mel’s recipe even though it was in our convection oven.
  • Sprinkle with green onions.
  • Put into the insulated carrier and took in the SS. Cut into approximately 2.5-inch squares and served about an hour after removal from the oven and it was still hot. It cut better after it had rested and set more firmly.

Next time:

  • Chopped ham or cooked bacon would work great, too, in place of the sausage or in addition to the sausage.
  • Add jalapenos depending on the crowd. Cilantro could also be interesting.
  • Substitute shredded hash brown potatoes as the tater tots were large chunks of potato.
  • The tater tots needed to be seasoned as the chucks were a bit bland. Salt and fine ground pepper would have helped and clung to the rough exterior.
  • Alternatively, to help the tots break down use 2 additional eggs to add to the moisture that soaks in overnight. The sausage and veggies were protruding from the sauce a bit much and could have been more covered.
  • This cook used Rouces store-brand sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack shredded cheese. The cheese flavors were mild and could be improved.
  • Given it was not set after the original recipes time ran out, and once it did the edges seemed not as moist, take it out of the refrigerator ahead of time to warm up some to allow it to cook more evenly.
  • Serve with something other than the small triangular cake/pie spatula as some of the class embers had trouble keeping the large high square on the narrow pointed spatula until over the paper plate.

Pastrami from Store-Bought Corned Beef

Posted on by April 19, 2024

3/17/2024 – St. Patrick’s Day

This smoke is cheating as we did not corn the brisket but bought a 2.66 lb. Murphy and David’s Corned Beef Brisket at Rouces. The piece selected appeared flat in the package and without muscle seams. Once opened it was a very clean, square piece of the brisket flat. This cook turned out great.

  1. Preheated the Recteq to 225° with Master Blend Pellets.
  2. Washed off the red basting liquid from the package and let drain, then used a paper towel to remove most of the water.
  3. Seasoned moderately with 6POGS and heavily with fresh ground coriander seed.

Mediterranean Chicken Recipe

Posted on by April 20, 2024

3/2/2024 – This was the first time we made this recipe inspired by Suzy here. It was very good and has a lot of potential for mods based on what is on hand. The leftovers were even better.

Ingredients

  • 4 skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 minced garlic cloves
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano, divided
  • 2 tablespoons EVO
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped to ¼ inch.
  • 1 large can of Marzano tomatoes. She called for 4 small tomatoes, diced, about 1 ½ cups.
  • ¼ cup capers or she said to use sliced green olives.
  • Crumbled feta cheese to garnish

Instructions 

  • Dry brined the skinless thighs two hours ahead.
  • Rub the garlic on both sides of the chicken, pushing some garlic into slits made with a knife. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with our Mediterranean Grilling Rub, blend no. 4.
  • In the large Calphalon skillet, heat the olive oil and sear the chicken on both sides. Then add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Then simmer to reduce by half.
  • Add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Sprinkle the remaining ½ tablespoon of oregano on top and turn the heat to medium. Cover with the lid. Cook, turning the chicken over until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
  • Top with chopped onions, tomatoes and olives. Cover again and cook for 3 minutes. Finish with feta cheese (if using).

Suzy suggested adding chopped spinach.

Pork Chops Seared on the Recteq

Posted on by July 15, 2024

2/22/2024 – Seared five ½-inch thick, large bone-in pork chops on the Recteq Searing Grates. They turned out good.

  • Preheated recteq to 400ºF with a Sear Kit on the right side of the grill.
  • The chops had been dry brined several days ago. Seasoned them with 6POGS on one side and Creole Seasoning on the other.
  • Sear pork chop for 10 minutes per side.
  • Allowed to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Next Time – Preheat to 450 for thin chops and let it go for 10 minutes or more once it reaches temp to be sure the grates are also hot so there are darker sear marks as opposed to indentions with little color.

This follows a Recteq recipe for “thick” chops where the smoker was preheated to 500° and grilled on each side for 6 minutes each to an IT of 140°.