Homemade Teriyaki Jerky

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Mirin or sweet cooking wine
1/4 cup teriyaki marinade
2 Tblsp. sugar
3 coins (each about 1/4" thick) or 2 tsp. fresh ginger or powdered ginger
1 crushed garlic clove
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 lbs. trimmed beef top or bottom round, sirloin tip, flank steak, or wild game - partially frozen
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 Tblsp. Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 Tblsp. "The Salt Lick" dry rub (or dry rub of choice)

Plan ahead!  This recipe requires marinating overnight.

Combine all ingredients except meat in a gallon-size Ziploc bag.

With a sharp knife, slice beef into 1/4" thick slices AGAINST the grain.  Trim off any fat or connective tissue.

Put beef slices into bag of marinade; seal and massage marinade into meat to coat completely.  Refrigerate overnight.

For smoker:  start smoker on "Smoke" with lid open for 4-5 minutes or until fire is established..  Remove meat from marinade and discard the marinade.  Pat dry with paper towels if needed.  Smoke for 4-5 hours or until the jerky is dry but chewy and still pliant when bent.  Immediately transfer the jerky to a Ziploc bag and let it rest for an hour at room temperature.  This will help the jerky stay soft and chewy as any condensation in the bag will be reabsorbed by the jerky.  Squeeze the air out of the bag and keep the jerky in the refrigerator.

Spicy Guacamole

3 avocados, peeled and chopped
2 Tblsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno or serrano peppers, seeded and diced
1 onion, small, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cumin

Mash/mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and chill in refrigerator.

Photo credit:  natashaskitchen.com

Chicken Buffalo Dip

two (2) 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, cut into small pieces
2 c. shredded white meat chicken
2 c. shredded cheese
1 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. Frank's Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce
1 tblsp. flour
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 c. parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 c. crumbled bleu cheese
fresh vegetable sticks and/or crackers, for serving

Put cream cheese, chicken, cheese, buttermilk, hot sauce, flour, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder in slow cooker - stir to roughly combine.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.  The mixture should be bubbling and the cheese melted.  Stir until combined and smooth.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and bleu cheese.  Reduce heat to warm and serve with fresh vegetable sticks and/or crackers.

Photo courtesy of Food Network Magazine
Recipe derived from "Lightened-Up Slow-Cooker Chicken Buffalo Dip" recipe by FNM.

Queso Fundido

"Queso Fundido translates to "molten cheese" or "melted cheese," and this skillet of wonderfulness definitely has cheese to spare!  This is a classic Mexican munchie that you can customize however your heart desires!" - Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.

1/2 lb. hot breakfast sausage or chorizo
1 whole medium onion, finely diced
2 whole small bell peppers (any color combination), seeded and finely diced
1 lb. Monterey Jack cheese (or Mozzarella, or other stringy melting cheese), grated
sprinkle of chili powder
3 whole roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
tortilla chips for serving

Preheat oven to 400F.

In large skillet, cook and crumble sausage until brown.  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towel.  Pour off any excess fat from pan.  Add onions and bell peppers to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until veggies are soft and golden brown, about 7-8 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To build the skillet, place 1/3 of cheese in a medium-sized ovenproof skillet.  Add 1/2 the sausage.  Add another 1/3 of the cheese, then as much of the veggie mixture as you'd like (you may have a little left over).  Add almost all of the remaining cheese, the rest of the sausage, and then whatever cheese you have left.  Sprinkle the top very lightly with chili powder.

NOTE:  Depending on the size of your skillet or baking dish, you may have some ingredients left over.  Just build so that the ingredients roughly reach the top of the skillet; they'll shrink quite a bit once the cheese melts.

Place into the oven and start watching it after about 4-5 minutes.  You want to bake it until the cheese is totally melted, hot, and slightly bubbling . . . but before the cheese starts to firm up/harden.  (In other words, you still want the cheese to be extra gooey.)

Remove from the oven, top with the diced tomatoes, sprinkle on the cilantro, and serve immediately with tortilla chips.

NOTE:  Be sure to have everything ready so you can serve the queso fundido pretty much right out of the oven.  It's best when piping hot!

IMPORTANT:  Wrap a cloth around the skillet handle so guests won't burn themselves.

From the kitchen of Ree Drummond.
The Pioneer Woman  

Perfect French Fries

Twice-fried potatoes make the best French fries.  Crisp on the outside, soft in the middle.  Sheer bliss.

Prep:  3 hours
Cook:  30 minutes
Serves 8

5 lb. Russet potatoes
vegetable or peanut oil for frying
sea salt

In a nutshell, here it is:  Soak potatoes, dry potatoes, fry potatoes, drain potatoes, then fry again!

Peel and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in four or five vertical pieces, then cutting each piece into sticks.  Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water, then allow them to soak for two or three hours.  (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak for several hours or overnight.)

When you're ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay them on two baking sheets lined with paper towels.  Blot them with paper towels to dry them.

Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 F.  In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes for at least 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until the potatoes are soft.  They should not be browned at all at this point!  You just want to start the cooking process.  Remove each batch and drain them on a new/dry paper towel.

Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 F.  When the oil's hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp.  Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle fries and sea salt and dive in!

From the kitchen of Ree Drummond, www.thepioneerwoman.com
Photo credits:  Ree Drummond

Parmesan and Garlic Potato Chips

I haven't tried these yet, but they sure sound yummy!

peanut oil, for frying
3 russet potatoes
2 Tblsp. grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Special equipment:  mandoline

In a deep-fryer filled halfway with peanut oil, heat the oil to 350 F.

Slice potatoes into thin strips using mandoline.

In a bowl, mix together the cheese, garlic powder, parsley, and black pepper.

To oil, add a small amount of sliced potatoes at a time.  Fry until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Drain chips on paper towel lined plate.  Once drained, immediately add Parmesan mixture.

From the kitchen of Paula Deen.

Aussie Sausage Rolls

1 tsp. oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 lb. ground sausage
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 Tblsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 sheets frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed
egg or milk to glaze

Preheat oven to 400F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Heat oil in skillet.  Saute' onion in oil over low heat until soft and translucent.  Mix onion with sausage, breadcrumbs, sauce, salt, pepper, and beaten egg.

Lay pastry sheets on a lightly floured board and cut each strip into two strips.

Divide the filling into 6 equal portions and spoon across the long edge of each pastry strip.  Roll up to make long sausage shape.  Brush lightly with a little milk or beaten egg.  Cut rolls into 1 1/2" pieces and place on baking tray seam side down.  Bake for 20 minutes or until rolls are crisp and golden brown.

Serve with tomato (ta-mah-to) sauce (that's ketchup for you Yanks!).

Note:  Sausage rolls can be frozen for up to 2 weeks after baking.  Thaw and reheat in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes.

Variation:  This recipe can also be made with any type of ground meat.

This was one of my favorite lunches when I was a teenager at St. Ives High School near Sydney, Australia.

Cocktail Meatballs

1 large bag frozen prepared meatballs
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 jar grape jelly
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until completely heated through and bubbly.

Ranch Dip

1 cup lowfat sour cream
1 cup nonfat yogurt
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

Mix and chill.

From the kitchen of Mary Munoa Pinson.