Manedict

Serves 1

I love traditional the traditional eggs benedict, but sometimes you just want more. And this...is more. But just because it's called a MANedict, doesn't mean women can't have it - they can, and should.

Btw, if you don't want to deal with poaching eggs, it works great with simple fried eggs too.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 bagel, toasted or grilled
• about 4 ounces leftover steak - thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup beef gravy
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 small handfuls French fries, cooked and crispy

Directions

1. Poach eggs
2. While they cook, heat steak in a small non-stick pan
3. Build from the bottom up like this: bagel, steak, egg, fries, gravy
4. Who's the man...or woMAN now?

Smokey Bacon Guacamole

Makes about 2 cups

Really - you're not doubting this are you?

Ingredients

• 3 avocados - make them ripe please
• 1/2 cup chunky red salsa
• 1/3 - 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1/2 - 1 chipotle pepper, minced fine
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Directions

1. Spoon out avocado flesh and put in a bowl
2. Mash a bit with the back of a fork - but not too much
3. Add salsa, bacon, chipotle pepper and lime juice
4. Mix well and serve

Mashed Potato & Stuffing Tacos

Makes 4

The only word for what started out as a simple Mashed Potato Taco is legendary...

And if it's not Thanksgiving, a box of Stove Top works beautifully...no really.

Ingredients

• 4 corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 cup leftover mashed potatoes
• 1/3 cup leftover stuffing
• Hot sauce, about 4 teaspoons
• 6 pieces of bacon, cooked until crispy and then crumbled
• 4 handfuls of potato chips - preferably the extra crispy kettle kind

Directions

1. Heat the tortillas in a non-stick skillet on both sides until just beginning to get a little color in spots
2. Warm up potatoes & stuffing - small pot on the stove...microwave...in your pocket - it's up to you
3. Spread some sour cream onto each tortilla
4. Add some of the mashed potato then stuffing
5. Drizzle with the hot sauce, add crumbled bacon and then take a handful of the potato chips and crunch them over the top of each taco
6. Fold in half and eat...you can thank me later

Raspberry & Cream Cheese Won Tons

Makes 24

Amazingly good and easy - but also amazingly hot. Let them cool down.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons raspberry jam
• 24 round won ton wrappers
• powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix cream cheese & jam in bowl well, then put in fridge for about 20 minutes
2. Preheat oven to 400
3. Put about 2 teaspoons of the mix in the center of each wrapper
4. Dip your finger into a little water, then lightly moisten the edges of each wrapper, fold in half - try to remove as much air as possibleSeal tightly and place won tons on baking sheet
5. Bake until they start to brown - about 15 to 20 minutes and remove from oven
6. Let cool a bit, then dust lightly with powdered sugar, and serve alone or with ice cream

Chicken Noodle Soup

Makes about 12 servings

Chicken soup - the healer of all things bad. And if it isn't - is sure is still damn good...

Ingredients

• 1 whole raw chicken (with bones & skin for flavor) cut into it's parts

• 3 celery stalks, cut into 2 inch pieces

• 1 large onion, cut into big pieces

• 2 carrots, cut into big pieces

• 3-4 stems of thyme (or about 1 teaspoon dried)

• 3 ounces 'fine' egg noodles

• Chicken broth/stock, optional

Directions

1. Put chicken in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil

2. After about 20 minutes, skim off the icky foam that floats to the top

3. Turn down to a simmer and cover

4. After 60 minutes, add the veggies and the thyme - put the lid on and simmer for another 30 minutes

5. Remove from heat and strain - putting the liquid and the vegetables back into the pot

6. Separate the chicken from the bones & skin, cut or shred into bite sized pieces and put in with the broth

7. Bring the broth back to a simmer, add in the egg noodles then cover and cook until noodles are done - about 15 minutes

8. And because I always seem to run out of broth before the 'stuff', I add another 2 to 4 cups chicken broth to bulk it up a bit

Glazed Corned Beef

Serves 6 to 8

I love a corned beef and this one is simple & delicious. But make sure to save some for sandwiches the next day...

• 1 corned beef - about 4 pounds, the kind from the supermarket with the little packet of spices included

• 1/2 cup apricot jam

• 1/4 cup grainy mustard

• 2 tablespoons soy

Directions

1. Put corned beef in a large pot and cover with water - hang on to the spice pack

2. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam that floats to the top, add the spices from the packet, then turn down to a simmer and cover - cook for approx 2.5 hours or until tender

3. Mix jam, mustard, soy - set aside

4. Heat over to 400

5. Remove corned beef from pot, drain and place on a baking sheet lined with foil

6. Baste with the mustard glaze and cook another 30 minutes (adding more glaze occasionally) until you can push a fork into it really easily

7. Slice and enjoy

Corned Beef Balls

Makes about 16

I didn't even know corned beef had...oh never mind. These little one biters are perfect for an appetizer, after school or late night corned beef snack.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup corned beef, cooked and chopped fine
• 1/4 cup mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup honey mustard
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs, Panko if you have them (crispier Japanese style bread crumbs) or regular
• Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Mix corned beef with mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the mustard and season with salt & pepper - mix well
3. Shape into one inch balls
4. Dip into beaten egg, then roll in bread crumbs to cover well
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake about 35 minutes or until golden and crispy
6. Serve with extra mustard for dipping

Corned Beef Pockets

Makes 8

Simple little cheesy, corned-beefy pockets of fun. And who doesn't like a pocket of fun?

Ingredients

• One 16-ounce tube large-sized refrigerator biscuits
• 1/4 grainy mustard
• 2/3 to 1 cup corned beef, chopped or shredded
• 1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet, remove biscuits from the package and flatten each into a 4-inch circle
3. Spread about a teaspoon of the mustard in the center of each biscuit
4. Top with some of the corned beef, then cheese and fold the biscuit over into a half moon - pinch the edges tight to seal
5. Pierce each biscuit top 2 or 3 times with the point of a small knife and place on the baking sheet - bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown

Shamrock Shake (for Adults)

Makes one

Could this possibly require a description? It's green, minty, a little chocolaty and delicious. To make a kid version, just leave out the last ingredient.

Ingredients

• Mint chocolate chip ice cream
• Milk
• Irish whiskey, to taste

Directions

1. Take ice cream out of the fridge to soften slightly about 10 minutes before you make this
2. Put 3 big scoops of the ice cream in a blender, and add 1/3 cup milk
3. Start to blend, and add milk as necessary until it's blending nicely, but still very thick - in fact way too thick to pour
4. Then add about a 1/4 cup of the whiskey - blend some more
5. Get it to the perfect thick/pouring point and put in a glass
6. Enjoy

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Makes one 12 inch pizza

One of the best reasons to buy a deli-roasted chicken.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken, about 8 ounces
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce, approximately
• 1 pre-baked pizza crust, like a Boboli
• 10 - 12 pieces Ready Bacon, cooked and crispy (can there be too much bacon?)
• 1 cup - shredded mozzarella
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Mix cooked chicken with BBQ sauce and spread over crust
3. Crumble bacon evenly over the chicken and top with the mozzarella
4. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the top starts to get brown & bubbly and it looks like a beautiful, cooked pizza
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro

Steak & Mashed Potato Quesadillas

Makes 2 quesadillas

I love steak and mashed potatoes...so why not throw them together in a quesadilla?

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch circles
• Olive oil
• Four 8-inch flour tortillas
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• 2 cups (about 10 ounces)
• leftover cooked steak, very thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium
2. Lightly oil onion slices, season with salt & pepper and put on grill
3. Cook until they soften, turning once and have good grill marks, remove and chop roughly - then turn grill down to low
4. On top of 2 of the tortillas put the following - 1/4 of the cheese, 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the steak, 1/2 the onions, the rest of the cheese and the remaining tortilla
5. Carefully put quesadillas on the grill and cook until cheese begins to melt and grill marks develop - flip over
6. Grill second side until the insides are warm and the tortillas are crispy
7. Remove, cut into wedges and serve

Pastrami Reuben Dog

Makes 6 dogs

I love a Reuben, but always make it with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. So it just makes sense that if I was going to turn it into a dog I would do the same.

Ingredients

• 6 Kosher dogs

• 6 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

• 12 slices deli pastrami

• 6 good hot dog buns

• 6 slices Swiss cheese

• 1 ½ cups coleslaw, and just the ready deli kind is perfect

• Thousand Island dressing

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium high

2. Cook dogs until beginning to blister and looking great and remove from grill

3. Put pastrami and buns on grill and cook about a minute each side until beginning to brown

4. Put some dressing on each toasted bun, adding the pastrami, drizzle mustard, the coleslaw and finally the cheese

5. Put under the broiler for a final melt of the cheese - then eat

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Chili Pork Pot Pie

Serves 8

Hearty and delicious – and it works just as well with ground beef or turkey – a great affordable family dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lb ground pork
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• Kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 - 16-ounce jars black bean salsa
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup Bisquick
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a large pot over medium heat, put in oil and pork - cook until no longer pink
3. Add green pepper, chili powder, salt and garlic - stir well and cook a couple minutes more
4. Mix in salsa well and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish and top with cheese
5. Beat egg and mix with Bisquick, milk and chili powder - pour over chili and bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown

Grilled Chipotle Flat Iron Steaks

Serves 4-6

A great rub that gives a ton of smokey flavor - we love this.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 pounds skirt steak

Directions

1. Combine chili powder, cumin, salt, sugar, pepper and enough olive oil to make a thick paste
2. Spread on both sides of steak and let sit about 30 minutes
3. Heat grill on high and cook steaks about 5 minutes on each side
4. Remove, cover with foil and let rest about 10 minutes before eating

Chipotle Shrimp & Cheesey Grits

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup grits or cornmeal
• 36 large shrimp (21/25's would be great) shell off & deveined
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• Olive oil - about 2 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Combine milk, water & cornmeal - bring to a boil then lower heat and cook slowly, stirring often until thick - 15 to 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, toss the shrimp with the chili powder, salt and olive oil - set aside
3. To the grits, add butter, salt, pepper and cheese - stir well and keep warm
4. Heat a non-stick pan on high and cook shrimp until they are browned in spots and cooked through, 3-4 minutes
5. Serve shrimp on top of grits with a little chopped cilantro

Carne Asada

Serves 6ish

One of our favorites, and if you make extra you'll have enough for Carne Asada Fries. And if ur making tacos, we suggest this most delicious Avocado Cream

Ingredients

• 1 bunch cilantro (no stems) finely chopped

• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 2 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon each Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• Zest & juice of one lime

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 pounds skirt, flap or flank steak (I like skirt and flap)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except the steak- mix well

2. Put steak and marinade into a large zippered bag, zip shut and squish around to make sure steak is well covered

3. Refrigerate 1-4 hours

4. Heat grill to high and grill steak approximately 5 minutes a side or as necessary until approx 130 degrees

5. Remove from grill, cover with foil and let rest about 10 minutes before cutting across the grain (very important btw) and serving

Amazing Steak Sauce Salmon

Serve 4-6

This salmon is stupid good - there's just no other way to put it. If you can find the Japanese mayo called Kewpie - use it. If you can't, just use regular mayo (but try to find the Kewpie for next time).

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup steak sauce
• 1.5 to 2 pound salmon fillet
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat broiler on high
2. Combine mayo & steak sauce well
3. Place salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet, and cover top of salmon with the mayo mix - covering completely
4. Grind pepper well over the top of the salmon, and place in the oven - about 3 inches from the broiler heat coils
5. Cook approximately 7 minutes for every inch of salmon thickness - no need to flip it over

Asian Rib Eye

Makes 4 steaks

These simple ingredients make for a classic Asian flavor that's good on a ton of things.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless rib eye steaks
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons dry mustard
• 3 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 3 tablespoons five-spice powder

Directions

1. Remove steaks from fridge and put in a casserole dish
2. Mix remaining ingredients well
3. Spread on steaks to coat well and let sit about 30 minutes
4. Heat grill to high
5. Remove from marinade and grill until done to your liking

Grilled Clams & Mussels

Serves 4

This is some of the easiest and cheapest fun you can have cooking with a grill.

Ingredients

• Large foil roasting pan

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

• 3 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1 cup dry white wine, or dry vermouth

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 2 ounces 'ready bacon', diced small

• 2 pounds each mussels and clams, cleaned

• 1/3 cup parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium/high

2. Put the foil roasting pan on the grill and add bacon - let cook about 5 minutes

3. Add the butter, garlic, wine (or vermouth) and pepper flakes

4. When the butter has melted, stir well then add the clams and mussels and let the sauce come to a simmer

5. Cover the top with foil and close the grill lid

6. Once the shells have all opened, about 8-10 minutes and stir everything well to coat with sauce, add the parsley and serve

Grilled Hoisin Meatballs

Makes about 32 small meatballs

Start with frozen, fully cooked little meatballs and in about 15 minutes you have a genius little grilled appetizer. They’re great on the grill or in the oven - you pick.

Ingredients

• 32 small meatballs, about a pound (the fully cooked kind) defrosted

• 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce

• 2 tablespoons chili sauce (Sambal)

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• Green onions and toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Directions

1. Combine hoisin, chili sauce, sesame oil and soy in a small bowl and mix well to combine - set aside

2. Heat grill to medium/high (or oven to 400)

3. Grill meatballs until fully warmed through and just starting to brown with grill markings (or bake in oven until heated thru and beginning to sizzle, about 15 minutes)

4. Put meatballs in a large bowl and toss with some of the sauce, plate and sprinkle with green onion & sesame seeds