Category: Game Day

Homemade Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

It seems as though I have always had a love for chili peppers. I assume that I got this love by watching, learning, and probably tasting hot sauces at an earlier age. It was probably hanging around our kitchen and my dad cracking open a bottle of hot sauce and asking me to try. Maybe not. Whatever the case, I love chili peppers and I probably eat at least 1/2 dozen (or more) each week. With that being said, it’s a bit sad that we had to harvest the rest of our vegetables from our garden last night. We still had a lot of tomatoes that have yet to ripen, plenty of chili peppers, and a broccoli plant that only wanted to yield it’s baby crown! I can’t say that it was anyone’s fault as to why we had so much left on the vines but in about two more weeks, those tomatoes would probably be perfect! Oh well.

Pickled Pepperoncini Recipe
Pickled Pepperoncini Recipe

That’s OK though. As much as I would like to harvest everything that we grow, I realize that we must sacrifice a few things to get what we needed from the garden. I often plant an array of chili peppers each year so I was excited to see what was flowering and low and behold it was the pepperoncini, and sure enough one of my favorite eating ‘snack’ chili peppers. There were so many peppers on the two bushes that I did not know what to do with all of them. The pickling was the first batch, and now I must figure out what to do with the rest of them. I have some ideas up my sleeve, but in the meantime, here is a quick recipe for pickling chili peppers.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large mason jar
  • ~25 whole pepperoncini peppers, washed, slit with a knife
  • 5 cloves of garlic, skins removed, lightly smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp sugar

Just to note, Spring may be one of my favorite time of year, only for the sure pleasure of knowing that we will be able to plant, and plant something new. This is the first year we planted this peppers, and as we planted two bushes this year, I will most likely decide to plant one next year. One plant/bush will yield a ton of peppers, and probably too many for the average person depending on how much you enjoy chili peppers.

Start by making sure your peppers are cleaned and cleared of any dirt. Once cleaned, take a sharp knife and make a small slit into each pepper. Why the small slit? My plan is to let those great pickling juices infiltrate the interior and make for great flavor.

Drop each pepper into the mason jar along with the bay leaf.

Pickled Pepperoncini Ingredients
Pickled Pepperoncini Ingredients

To a small sauce pan, add the vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar, then remove from the heat and let it cool.

Once cooled, pour in the pickling solution and once it is completely cool, seal and place in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days before digging in.

The beautiful thing about these pepperoncini peppers is that not only are they crunchy, slightly spicy, and are a perfect side dish (and snack (yes, I eat these for snacks sometimes)), but they are great in making them your own in terms of pickling variants, but geez are they ever easy to make. I know I was winning when we, yes I say ‘we’ because my wife participated in trying and eating more than one of them! That’s a huge deal!

To be honest, at first I had no clue as to what these peppers were when we planted. I knew what pepperoncini were, but the seeds did not state that. When trying a raw one, I fell in love, as did my wife. The pickled pepperoncini are awesome, but the raw (feel free to freeze them raw) are dynamite! I’m curious, what is your favorite quick pickle go to recipe? Enjoy!

You might enjoy:

 

3 Ingredient Everything Bagels

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I recently came across, what I thought was a posting from TastyKitchen.com, a resource I have been a contributor and friend of for many years. It was a post that intrigued me, so much that it had me interested in trying to make it. This takes a lot from me, if you will. Granted I read a ton of cook books, review recipes, but I rarely sit down with a recipe and create it. I know it sounds ironic that a dude that publishes recipes for everyone never really uses other peoples recipes. I know it’s weird, trust me. Granted when I am reading through recipes, I get ideas that may snowball into something similar down the road, or I may take an ingredient that sounded great and use that in another recipe, but I rarely sit down and go step by step. That was until I say a 2 ingredient bagel recipe.

For one, my whole family loves bagels. I’m an everything bagel dude and so is my kid, however if you pretty much put any bagel in front of us I bet it would be devoured. So this particular recipe, that I found out was from Kirbie’s Cravings was right up my alley to try, plus I have been in search of an Everything Bagel seasoning which I found at Trader Joes, that I have been dying to try.

3 Ingredient Everything Bagels Recipe
3 Ingredient Everything Bagels Recipe

This must be a win, win, right? Or did they turn out only using 2 ingredients (3rd being the seasoning)?

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup of Non-fat Greek plain Yogurt, strained
  • 1 1/4 cup Self-Rising flour, adjust accordingly
  • 1 whole egg, beaten
  • 1/2 tbsp water
  • Everything bagel seasoning, to your liking
  • parchment paper

You have two options for making the bagel dough. Hand knead, or KitchenAid mixer. God gave me some strength that morning so I decided hands (I probably did not want to have to deal with dishes).

To a mixing bowl, add the self-rising flour. This already includes all of the wonderful baking ingredients so you don’t have to worry about things like baking powder, or salt. Next add in the strained yogurt. I strain the yogurt in a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, and let it sit over the bowl for about 30 minutes. You will see about a 1/4 cup of water strained from the yogurt. Crazy.

Start mixing the yogurt and flour with a wooden spoon (or KitchenAid) until it begins to form, then start working with your hands to knead the dough. Be gentle as you only want the dough to come fully together. Try not to overwork the dough.

Let this rest for a minute or two as you get a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and your oven preheated to 350 degrees.

3 Ingredient Everything Bagels
3 Ingredient Everything Bagels

Divide the dough into about 4-6 pieces. Take each ball and form into a rope, making the rope long enough and wide enough for a bagel shape. Take each end of the rope and pinch together, flipping over the rope and keeping the seam side down. Repeat.

Take your beaten egg and add the water. Mix. Using a brush, take the egg wash and brush each bagel on the top and sides.

Generously sprinkle the everything seasoning over the top. Heck if you just want another seasoning, go for it. Now is the time!

Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. You can crank up the heat to 450 towards the end if you want additional color but only cook for a couple of minutes.

Remove, and get your cream cheese ready.

Again, I was a bit skeptical of these, but they only took a few minutes to whip up, were only a few dollars to make (and now I can make a ton with all of the self-rising flour I have), and was ready to dig in.

3 Ingredient Everything Bagels Recipe
3 Ingredient Everything Bagels Recipe

My first bite. Delicious. My second bite. Delicious. This is when I told my wife and kids to get over here and try them. We huddled around the table and were all surprised out how good they were.

Yogurt, flour, everything seasoning. Who knew. So thanks to Kirbie’s Cravings for drawing me in enough to buy the ingredients and give these a shot. I suspect these will be made every weekend in the near future. If you like bagels, give these a shot.

Chorizo and Potato Tacos

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I told you that I am a sucker for tacos. It’s no joke, and I often reiterate to my wife that if I could eat anything any day of the week it would probably be tacos (or pizza).  Once of my most recent taco findings was the Mexican Potato Taco. You would never think that something so simple could be so flipping delicious. As I was thinking about making another batch of tacos de papas (potato tacos), I decided to go another route and marry two ingredients that I knew would really work well together for my taco Monday. Kidding, I am not sure what day I made these but I can probably say it was not on a Tuesday. Not that there is anything wrong with eating tacos on a Tuesday!

Chorizo and Potato Tacos Recipe
Chorizo and Potato Tacos Recipe

These are not the prettiest of tacos, but having been around chorizo for many years I can guarantee there really is no great picture of cooked Mexican chorizo. Taste, however, well that is on a whole other level!

Let’s get started.

  • 2 whole russet potatoes, skin removed, potatoes cubed
  • 1 link of Mexican chorizo, about 2-3 cups
  • 1/2 cup white onion, diced
  • corn tortillas, warmed
  • lime wedges, optional
  • 1 whole avocado, sliced
  • Salsa verde, optional

Start by adding water to a pot. Add in your diced potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Once tender, strain and set the potatoes to the side.

While the potatoes cook, add the chorizo to a large skillet on medium-high heat.

Remove the chorizo from the casing and squeeze it into the skillet. Start breaking up the chorizo with a wooden spoon. Add in the diced onions and cook, continuing to break the chorizo along the way.

It will look a bit oily. Don’t worry as the cooked potatoes will soak up all of that spiced goodness.

Add the drained potatoes to the skillet, and give this a good stir. Reduce the heat to low, cook for about 5 minutes, then load your taco.

Take a couple of warmed corn tortillas, spoon in some of the chorizo and potato mixture, and top with avocado, as squeeze of lime, and a wedge of avocado and you have yourself one heck of a great taco. Not only is this super affordable, but it is a nice twist on a standard taco night. Hope you enjoy!

Related Chorizo Links:

Pulled Beef Tacos

Dax Phillips 2 Comments

I often find it funny on all of the posts for ‘Taco Tuesday’. Granted I love the name and the idea of it all, especially if you are planning out the weekly meals, but I feel that Monday (Meatless), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (Fish Fry in Wisconsin), Saturday, and Sunday get left behind.  I’m sure those days are out there in terms of identifying food to a day but that is not how it goes down in our house. Sure, we try to get a meatless Monday in (and any day of the week for that matter), and hump day or Thursday results in (at least for me, ‘I’m tired of cooking) a let’s order something kind of night, but for tacos, heck, I could eat those every day of the week. So upon my wandering around the house looking for something to do or cook as I was bored, I came across a lonely poblano pepper.

Yep, one poblano pepper resulted in this Taco Thursday. The idea of the poblano made me think of the chicken poblano recipe that my wife loves, but I had just recently made that for her, hence the lonely poblano. So I came across a nice looking chuck roast that was calling my name, as was the pressure cooker for that matter.

These pulled beef tacos were super simple to make, and quick (due to the pressure cooker), and made everyone’s Thursday a very happy one.

Pulled Beef Tacos Recipe
Pulled Beef Tacos Recipe

Let’s get started.

  • 4 lb beef chuck roast
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • water (or beef stock) to cover beef
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
  • 1 poblano chile, halved, seeds and stem removed
  • 4 tbsp canola oil, divided
  • 1 tbsp Berbere spice blend (or taco)
  • additional salt, to taste
  • Shredded cheese, to your liking
  • hard shell tacos
  • Taco fixings (chopped onion, avocado, cilantro, tomato, beans, etc)

I left this one pretty generic as the taco game is pretty diverse. The idea here is to get your shredded beef ready and you load however you want. This particular evening I went with hard shelled tacos with cheese, onion, and garden tomatoes, along with some hot sauce.

If you do not have a pressure cooker (I highly recommend that purchase) then feel free to use a slow cooker with less water, and cooking that on low for 6-8 hours. The pressure cooker however will get you done and ready within 45 minutes if that.

To the pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil on medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the chuck roast and sear it on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. You want some good browning so let it sit there, do not disturb it, then flip until both sides are seared.

Once seared, add in the garlic, onion, and poblano pepper. Cover the roast with water or beef stock, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes. Let your pressure come down before taking off the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions). The roast should be fork tender and should easily shred with a couple of forks.

Pulled Beef Tacos Recipe
Pulled Beef Tacos Recipe

Discard the onion, garlic, and pepper.

Remove the roast onto a cutting board, and reserve a couple of cups of the liquid.

Using two forks, shred the beef and discard any of the weird fat that may still be intact. No one likes that stuff, trust me.

Next, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add in the oil, and once shimmers, add in the beef. Season with a pinch of salt, then the berbere spice. Give that a good toss, and sear the shredded beef. Something about those slightly crispy strands of beef get me every time.

Once the beef is slightly seared to your liking, add in just a bit of remaining liquid, to your liking, to moisten the beef.

Once your remaining taco ingredients are ready, it’s taco time!

Load in the beef into your desired shell whether that be hard, or soft, and load in your fillings.

The result is super tender shredded beef with awesome flavors from that berbere spice, and just all of those goodies from your taco fillings. This shredded beef taco is not only easy to make, loaded with flavor, and perfect for any day of the week, but it also is a nice change to that classic American ground beef mixture that we grew up to love. Hope you enjoy!

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Pulled Beef Tacos
Author: 
Recipe type: Tacos
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 4 lb beef chuck roast
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • water (or beef stock) to cover beef
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
  • 1 poblano chile, halved, seeds and stem removed
  • 4 tbsp canola oil, divided
  • 1 tbsp Berbere spice blend (or taco)
  • additional salt, to taste
  • Shredded cheese, to your liking
  • hard shell tacos
  • Taco fixings (chopped onion, avocado, cilantro, tomato, beans, etc)
Instructions
  1. I left this one pretty generic as the taco game is pretty diverse. The idea here is to get your shredded beef ready and you load however you want. This particular evening I went with hard shelled tacos with cheese, onion, and garden tomatoes, along with some hot sauce.
  2. If you do not have a pressure cooker (I highly recommend that purchase) then feel free to use a slow cooker with less water, and cooking that on low for 6-8 hours. The pressure cooker however will get you done and ready within 45 minutes if that.
  3. To the pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil on medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the chuck roast and sear it on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. You want some good browning so let it sit there, do not disturb it, then flip until both sides are seared.
  4. Once seared, add in the garlic, onion, and poblano pepper. Cover the roast with water or beef stock, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes. Let your pressure come down before taking off the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions). The roast should be fork tender and should easily shred with a couple of forks.
  5. Discard the onion, garlic, and pepper.
  6. Remove the roast onto a cutting board, and reserve a couple of cups of the liquid.
  7. Using two forks, shred the beef and discard any of the weird fat that may still be intact. No one likes that stuff, trust me.
  8. Next, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add in the oil, and once shimmers, add in the beef. Season with a pinch of salt, then the berbere spice. Give that a good toss, and sear the shredded beef. Something about those slightly crispy strands of beef get me every time.
  9. Once the beef is slightly seared to your liking, add in just a bit of remaining liquid, to your liking, to moisten the beef.
  10. Once your remaining taco ingredients are ready, it’s taco time!
  11. Load in the beef into your desired shell whether that be hard, or soft, and load in your fillings.