Bruschetta Pizza

Last day of Super Bowl goodies!

WOW!  This pizza packs a lot of punch for virtually NO work!   If you are looking for an easy, flavorful recipe ~ this is IT!  You can always make your own dough and bruschetta if you want.  Make sure you get the dough as thin as possible.

I saw something similar somewhere in my internet travels but I didn’t print it out thinking I would never make it.  It stuck in my head so I made what may or may not be exactly what I saw.

Bruschetta Pizza

1 THIN Boboli pizza crust
1 jar bruschetta ~ can also use refrigerated bruschetta; I used the whole jar but neglected to write down the size of the jar
1 cup Italian blend cheese or pizza cheese ~ use more if you like it cheesy

Preheat oven to 450º.

Place crust on a pizza pan. Spread bruschetta over the top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 8 slices.

Happy Cooking!

Slow Cooked Beef Sandwiches with Peppers

Day 3 of super bowl food!

These sandwiches are the perfect super bowl treat.  They cook in the slow cooker with not much fuss at the end and the peppers can be made ahead.  The meat can be kept in the cooker for a couple of hours set on LOW or WARM (if your cooker has that feature).

Slow Cooked Beef Sandwiches with Peppers

Beef:
1 (3.5) lb boneless chuck roast
salt and pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tbsps horseradish
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
8-10 crusty sandwich rolls

Peppers:
2 cups sliced red and yellow bell peppers
1 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
1 tsp pepperoncini juice from jar
1/4 cup parsely leaves, NOT chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of the roast and brown in the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Place in slow cooker. Place onion and next 6 ingredients on top of roast.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-8 ours or until meat is tender. Remove from cooker and throw away the vegetables. Strain the liquids into a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes or until fat rises to the top. Discard fat. Shred the meat, return to empty slow cooker and add 1 cup of the defatted liquid. The rest of the liquid can be thrown out.   Keep on low or warm. Add salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve on rolls with peppers.

To make peppers: In a bowl, mix all ingredients. Add salt and pepper. Serve on top of beef on rolls.

Makes 8-10 sandwiches.

Source:  Southern Living

Happy Cooking!

Spicy Bourbon Sliders a la Pioneer Woman

Super Bowl food day #2!

As I am sitting here waiting for the big snowstorm to start, I am thinking about how much I like watching the Pioneer Woman.  She has really grown on me over the last year or so.  I know she has her detractors ~ I’ve seen the websites ~ but I like her.  Her recipes are generally easy to make and easy to change up.

For this recipe, I changed the whiskey to bourbon with fantastic results.  Personally, I like the way bourbon tastes better when cooking with it.  I didn’t find the sauce very spicy either.  I don’t think the jalapenos in the jar are nearly as spicy as fresh.  Mr. Meat Eater ate three sliders.  He loved them!

Spicy Bourbon Sliders a la Pioneer Woman

1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsps butter
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup bourbon
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup jalapeno slices from a jar ~ I gave them a rough chop
6 slider rolls or dinner rolls split in half

Make 6 small burger patties from the meat ~ don’t forget to press down the middle of each burger so they won’t puff up. Sprinkle both sides of all burgers with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tbsps butter in a large skillet and cook the burgers on the stovetop until done to your liking.

While the burgers are cooking, in another skillet, melt the remaining 2 tbsps of butter. Cook the diced onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the bourbon (if you are cooking on a gas stovetop, turn off the burner before adding to reduce the risk of fire; turn back to medium after adding). Let bourbon reduce by half; about 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in jalapenos and barbecue sauce and let heat a bit.

Place each burger on a slider bun, top with a couple spoonfuls of the sauce. Serve.

Makes 6 sliders

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Happy Cooking!

Push Cart Onion Sauce for Hot Dogs

Today is Day One of Super Bowl food!

First up is onion sauce for hot dogs that is very similar to the kind sold on hot dog carts in NYC.  We were stationed in NYC for 9 years and, believe it or not, miss the hot dog carts (and the pretzel carts).  This sauce is very much like the kind sold on the carts and we love this version.

Make sure you cut the slices on the thin side or the onions will be hard to bite through and you will end up with a plateful of onions.  Don’t ask how I know.

I toss a package of hot dogs in the crock pot ~ we use Hebrew National  ~ and cook on HIGH for a couple of hours.  No additional liquid is needed.  At the 2 hour mark, I lower the heat to LOW and let them go for another hour or so.  They brown up nicely in the crock pot.  This is an easy way to cook hot dogs if you have a crowd.

Push Cart Onion Sauce for Hot Dogs

2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 onions, sliced very thin
1/4 cup ketchup
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 or 3 dashes of Tabasco
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup water

In a skillet over medium heat, saute onion slices for 10-12 minutes until they are golden and translucent.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients and stir. Bring to boil; reduce the heat and let the onions simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve on top of hot dogs.

Makes enough for 6-8 hot dogs.

Source:  Adapted from food.com

Happy Cooking!

Parmesan and Garlic Fries

These are to die for!  The hardest thing about this recipe is cutting up the potatoes.   I wanted mine to look like fries so it took a bit to cut them up and then I realized I had a little contraption that would have done it for me.   Argh!!!  No matter how you cut them up, you have to try them ~ they would be perfect for a Super Bowl party, too.

Parmesan and Garlic Fries

4 large russet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch strips ~ you can leave them unpeeled if you prefer
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425º.

In a large mixing bowl, place the cut potatoes and pour the olive oil over the top. Sprinkle on the garlic, thyme and seasoned salt. Mix well until the potatoes are evenly coated. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer. DO NOT throw away the oil that is left in the bowl.

Bake 30 minutes, turning the fries over halfway through (I didn’t do this because I forgot and I don’t think it really matters if you do or you don’t). After 30 minutes of baking, return the fries to the bowl with excess oil and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Toss to coat and return to baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes.

If desired, sprinkle fries again with a few shakes of Parmesan and a few shakes of seasoned salt.

Makes 4 servings.

Happy Cooking!