An easy to prepare, and very flavorful dish. There are a variety of ways to prepare, I consolidated my favorite ideas from a bunch of different recipes. Note, timings are really approximate. You can start this dish in the morning, and cook it for 8 hours if you like, as long as you keep the temp low, and don’t let the sauce turn into paste. Changed a few things up in 2023 to make it easier and or better.

Original recipe by Katie Lee Biegel Ingredients: One 4- to 5-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup pitted dates, quartered 1/2 cup pitted Cerignola olives, halved 1/4 cup capers with brine 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley 1 tablespoon dried oregano 8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely pureed or grated 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 cup white wine Directions:

Since getting a pellet grill, I’ve been doing a lot more smoking than grilling. Here’s my favorite way to do wings on the smoker. I make the sauce optional, since after making these for years, about 10% of my guests prefer unsauced wings. I often make some unsauced, and 3 different sauce heat levels when cooking for a crowd. Ingredients: 2 pounds wings Dry rub (I use this one) Wing sauce (like this one, optional) Directions:

After years of making baby back ribs, this simple recipe has stood the test of time and methods, and it’s also the easiest. Now that I use a Treager for most of my smoking, it’s even easier keeping a constant temperature. I don’t do any wrapping or flipping or spritzing. I’ve tried, but I’m looking for simple and consistent, and this brings both. Active Prep time: 10 minutes Inactive Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 5-6 hours (approximately) Ingredients:

I make this at least twice a month. I’ve found no better version than this, and wanted to make sure I stashed a copy here… Original came from: https://thewoksoflife.com/beef-with-broccoli-all-purpose-stir-fry-sauce/#recipe I did some editing and minor changes to simplify measuring and cooking, and my flavor/cooking preferences… Ingredients For the beef and marinade: 1 pound flank steak (sliced 1/4-inch thick). Hint, take flank steak, cut 3 equal slices with the grain, then cut each slice against the grain at an angle.

These proportions make a very tart sauce, which I loved. Halve the lemon juice, or add more honey to taste. Ingredients: 2 boneless/skinless chicken thighs 4-6 cloves of garlic chopped finely (depending on size) 6 whole cloves of garlic Equal amounts of lemon & honey (about 1/4 cup). This made it tart, which I loved, but if you want it on the sweeter side, use more honey, or less lemon juice!

Came across a recipe for this (Steamed Tofu with Ground Pork - Delightful Plate), and loved it so much, we have it several times a month. As always, I changed the basics to suit my tastes. I highly recommend a bamboo steamer for this recipe, otherwise you have the problem of moisture condensing and dripping on the plate. This dish has the great advantage that you can prepare up to steaming, move on to preparing other dishes, and 15 minutes before they’re ready, put this in the steamer.

Servings: 4 Difficulty: Medium Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs 2 cups white rice 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 clove garlic, grated 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried 2 teaspoons parsley, or 1/4 cup chopped Jamaican jerk sauce (recipe follows, or 1-1/2 cups store bought) Jerk sauce: 1/2 cup Soy sauce 1/2 cup white or cider vinegar Juice from one lime 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 12 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 4 scallion stalks chopped 8 scotch bonnet peppers (or hot peppers to taste) 1 Tablespoon grated ginger 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 teaspoons allspice 2 teaspoons nutmeg 2 teaspoons of thyme (fresh if possible) 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 2 teaspoons black pepper (or to taste) Directions:

Servings: 4 A dish I’ve loved for years, now I can make it at home in an hour! Adjust the cayenne and peppers to taste, mild to face-melting. Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken thighs (or breasts, or a mix of both. Bone in or boneless) 1 Cup diced onion 5 cloves garlic, diced 3 slices ginger 2-4 dehydrated hot peppers (optional) 1 Tbsp oil 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 2 Tbsp Garam Masala 2 tsp salt 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp – 2 Tbsp Cayenne pepper 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 cup water Directions: Add peppers into a bowl of water, rehydrate for 10 minutes Put oil, onion, ginger and garlic in a small pot, and slightly brown veggies Add vinegar, veggies, peppers, all spices EXCEPT turmeric into a blender or food processor I don’t add turmeric yet, so I don’t stain the blender/food processor, if you have a glass blender, you can add the turmeric at this step.

Servings: 2-4 This is not shawarma. Shawarma is multiple meats, roasted on a spit. But the spice mix is reminiscent of meats cooked with the shawarma method. I’m only slightly familiar with Middle Eastern food (as an occasional consumer, seldom as a cook), but most of the “make shawarma at home” recipes used a nearly identical list of spices. In any case, it tasted great, so I’m keeping the recipe.

Servings: 4-6 I keep trying different methods and improving my sloppy joe game. Here’s a really good version, a bit more work than some of the others, but worth it. Ingredients Olive oil (3 turns on the skillet) 1 yellow onion, finely diced (1/4″ cubes) 1 large, or two smaller carrots, finely diced 2 celery stalks, finely diced Feel free to add other firm saute veggies to the mix: bell peppers, beans and the like

Ingredients: 2 pounds pork butt (shoulder) (2-1/2 pounds if bone in) 2 Tablespoons bacon fat (optional) 1 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons oregano 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 2 oranges 1 lime 1 large onion 4 cloves of garlic (or more!) Directions: Coat bottom of slow cooker with bacon fat (optional) Trim fat, and cut pork into 2" cubes Cut onion into 8 slices Cut 1 orange into 4 slices Cut lime into 4 slices Peel and crush garlic cloves Mix dry ingredients Fill bottom of slow cooker with meat Sprinkle half the dry spices on the meat If necessary add remaining meat, sprnkle with spices Put onion, garlic, orange and lime slices on the meat Sprinkle remaining dry ingredients on top Squeeze the juice from the 2nd orange over the food Cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4- -6 hours on high Remove meat to a cutting board, shred with two forks Strain liquid into a saucepan, reduce liquid by half Place shredded pork on a cookie sheet Drizzle reduced sauce over shredded meat Brown under broiler for about 4 minutes, flip meat, broil for about 4 more minutes until brown Serve up on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, on a plate with your favorite side dishes

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 4 hours Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1 pound flank steak or tri-tip, cut in thin strips on the bias 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons olive oil 3/4 cup soy sauce 3/4 cup water 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1″ thin sliced or minced fresh ginger 1 cup grated carrot 3 scallions, chopped (for garnish) Orange zest (optional) Sesame seeds Directions Take thin cut steak, coat with cornstarch in a bowl or ziplock bag Put all ingredients, except meat, in slow cooker.

Way easier than I’d thought, and if you make it in a cast iron pot, even easier! Well, this is a quick-and-easy version. I use some shortcuts, you can use fresh veggies, and tomato paste and spices, and I’m sure it’ll be even better. And yes, the picture is terrible. I'll update next time I make this Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour Ingredients: 1-2 lbs ground lamb (or ground beef for cottage pie) 1 medium yellow onion, diced 4 cloves of garlic, diced 2 Tbsp flour 4 Tbsp Tomato Catsup 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup of beef (or chicken) broth (or more, if you like the results more liquid) 1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) peas.

Recipe by Ken Wallich Not quite instant, but made from leftovers, and frozen or canned items, and still tastes great! Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients 1/2 pound chicken (anything you’ve got in the freezer will work) cut into bite-sized chunks 1/4 onion, chopped (if you have it) 2 cloves garlic, chopped (if you have it) 1 small can chopped chilies (any kind) Additional ingredients if desired/available (chopped olives, jalapenos, beans) 1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, use what you’ve got) 5-6 Tortillas (depends on the size of your baking dish) Sauce: 16 Ounces (or one can) chicken broth 2 Tablespoons oil 3 Tablespoons flour 3 Tablespoons warm water 4 Tablespoons red pepper (not hot) 1 Tablespoon hot pepper (if desired) 1 Tablespoon garlic powder 1 Teaspoon salt 1/2 Teaspoon cumin 1/2 Teaspoon oregano OR a jar/can of store bought enchilada sauce Instructions:

Sous Vide and Short Ribs go together like, well, good things that go together. I’ve prepped this a lot of different ways, using many of the different time/temp calculations found on the web. You probably should too. This recipe is my favorite version for time/temp. I’m not going to go crazy with directions on this one, since I’m really just posting it to remember my favorite time/temp. For sous vide it’s pretty much the same, put in a bag, cook for a while, take out, lightly season, sear.

Recipe by Ken Wallich Had some left over Chile Verde I made with some left over Pulled Pork. It was breakfast time, was craving some eggs, so thought I’d whip this up! Great leftover recipe, and a great way to use whatever you have available as toppings, since you really can’t go wrong here. Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Ingredients 4 eggs 1 cup Chile Verde Optional toppings 1/4 cup queso fresco or monterey jack (or any other medium-soft cheese you like) shredded 4 Tbsp salsa 2 Tbsp sour cream 2 green onions, chopped 1 Tomato, chopped 1 Avocado, sliced 1 Large tortilla and/or 1/4 cup rice Directions:

An easy to make noodle dish, reminiscent of asian garlic noodle dishes I’ve loved in resturants. You can make it spicy, add ingredients like crab, pork, sausage, or leave as a simple noodle dish. Ingredients: 1 package udon or thick egg noodles 3 Tbsp butter 2-4oz pork belly (or bacon) 4-6 garlic cloves 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp brown sugar 1 Tbsp oyster sauce (if you can find it) 1 Tbsp Sriracha (optional) Directions:

A light, tasty summer treatment. And, if you want, you can make this whole thing sans oil, for those of you (oh, come on, no one reads this site except me) who don’t like to marinade things in oil. Once or twice a year I do a short sort-of cleanse. Low-fat, low-carb, low-everything, lots of water, no alcohol. A few challenges I toss in, little to no use of oils or fats, very lean meat, which increases the difficulty of getting moist and flavorful results.

Moist chicken, every time. For some reason, I’d never tried this. Perhaps because I generally drink bottled beer? Finally gave it a shot, and it’s now my favorite way to cook chicken! The beer can really just provides fluid to make sure the chicken doesn’t dry out, and it results in a super-moist bird in about 90 minutes on the grill. In fact, you can buy sturdier cylinders that provide better stability, which is the way to go if you also fall in love with this method of cooking.

There’s nothing quite like slow cooked meat. Similar to Boeuf Bourguignon, veggies, meat, wine, broth, time. Prep time: 10-20 minutes Cooking time: 3 hours Ingredients: 2 lbs Beef shortribs (preferably bone-in) 1/2 cup of flour 2 cups red wine 2 cups beef, chicken, or veggie stock 2 slices of bacon 4 cloves of garlic, diced 1 medium onion, diced 2 medium carrots, rough cut 1 stalk celery, rough cut 1 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1 tsp thyme (or 1 sprig fresh) 1 tsp rosemary (or 1 sprig fresh) I’ve found shortribs at the store available a couple ways, one is bone in about 2″ long (my favorite cut), one is bone-in about 4″ long, and boneless strips, which you can just cut into 2″ sections.

5 meats, 5 chilis, all delicious. Add, remove, or substitute your favorite meats and chilis… Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 3-8 hours (this is an ideal slow-cooker dish) Resting time: 24 hours Ingredients: 1 lb chuck roast, cut into 1/2″ cubes 2 Lousiana hot links 2 spicy italian sausages 1/2 pound ground beef 3 strips of bacon 4 jalapeno peppers, roasted, (optionally deseeded) and roughly diced 4 serrano peppers, roasted, (optionally deseeded) and roughly diced 3 tomatillos, roasted 2 anaheim peppers, roasted, de-skinned and roughly diced 2 pasilla peppers, roasted, de-skinned and roughly diced 5 garlic cloves (or more if you want!

My first home dry aged roast. The sample I cooked up was spectacular. Fork tender, complex, intense flavor. Here’s what I did… Bought a whole USDA Prime Ribeye. You need a large piece of meat, I tried dry aging individual steaks, but you can’t leave them in for 2 weeks, you’ll loose too much material, and end up with an amuse-bouche. Ribeye is my favorite steak, there’s enough fat to keep the steak tender when searing, and for my palette it just has the richest flavor.

Chicken, lemon, butter and olive oil. Come on, you know you want it. Who knew it was so easy? Well, I guess a lot of people, but I just figured it out.

Inspired by the Joe’s Special from all of the local Original Joe’s resturants, this is a simple combination of veggies and ground meat. The fixtures are onions, spinach, and meat, and then, mix up the rest to your own tastes! Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Yield: 6-8 servings Ingredients: 2 pounds ground meat (I used ground beef, but feel free to mix it up) 1 large bunch of spinach 2 red onions 2 jalapenos 2 serranos 1 habanero (optional) 2-4 cloves of garlic 1 tsp salt 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp spicy paprika 1 tsp cayanne pepper or hot pepper flakes 2 tsp Olive Oil 1 Tbsp Parmasean Directions:

There are tons of recipes for great brisket, so I grabbed a few of the ones I liked best, and tweaked them to suit the brisket, equipment, and time I had to make it. It turned out really well, worth sharing… Ingredients: Beef Brisket (I used a very small 1.5 lb brisket) Olive oil (enough to cover the brisket) Rub (adjust amount based on size of brisket): 2 Tablespoons Paprika 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar 1 Tablespoon Garlic powder 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper 1 Teaspoon Mustard powder Mop (again, adjust amount to the size of your brisket): 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 Tablespoon soy sauce 2 Teaspoons brown sugar Directions:

mapo tofu

A creamy, spicy chipotle in adobo sauce accompanies pasta, chicken and hot sausage for delicious meal. Paired with a crisp cool salad, it makes a wonderfully simple meal. Note that using buttermilk makes for a very creamy and rich pasta sauce, but adds very little fat or calories. It’s an exceptionally good cream/milk/half-and-half substitute. Sour cream is also a good substitute. Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes