I’ve never done this before but I think I’m going to start this post straight from my Facebook status from earlier today. It really sums a few things up pretty quickly:
Husband. Husband, husband, husband, husband, husband... why for would these words ever come out of your mouth, "Oh yeah, you won something from some magazine while you were gone... there was some hand-written letter stuck inside it... something about 2nd place... would be getting a check in the mail... I dunno... some sort of hors d'oeuvre..."? and then NOT be able to produce the ferkin magazine or anything that came with it!!!
Well, don’t tell ME I won something and think I’m not going to sniff it out! I’m hoping I’m right about this being a 2nd place winner (I’m pretty sure even Husband couldn't make that up). I haven’t actually laid eyes on the magazine but I see that this recipe I submitted has been published online with a photograph and is now listed as a “contest winner” on the Healthy Cooking magazine website. I'll let you know if I'm wrong about the 2nd place thing but this is definitely my recipe.
I love, love, LOVE this appetizer. Mostly because I love horseradish and blue cheese but also because it’s one of the easiest hors d'oeuvres on the planet to assemble and you will look like a total rock star when you serve it.
Cut baguette into slices (about 1/3 inch thick) and lay out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until bread slices start to toast on the bottom.
While bread is toasting, mix sour cream, horseradish, chives and salt and set aside.
Remove bread slices from oven and arrange roast beef slices on top. Top with horseradish cream then sprinkle each crostini with blue cheese.
The Coney Island style recipe for fine, tender meaty chili sauce perfect for
Chili Dogs and Chili Cheese Fries – ‘The One’, the BEST recipe – that took me
almost a decade to perfect!
I’ve been on the hunt for THE BEST hot dog chili for years. Like, literal Y E
A R S, making one recipe after another that have just not hit the mark.
You’re going to think I’m nuts, but what I was after was something like the
chili they used to serve at school when I was growing up.
It might have even come from a can but I doubt it because I’m old enough and
country enough that our school lunches were actually cooked by actual
lunch ladies. Most of whom had big bosoms, cackling laughs, knowing smiles and
a genuine love for feeding us rascals.
Whoa… I’m kinda having an epiphany right now. I think… I think I’m like
the lunch ladies! As I was just summoning up memories of the many faces from
the lunchrooms of my youth – the way they made me feel seen and looked after –
I just realized I could have been describing who I try to
be for these kids.
Wow. Of all the influential women I’ve been lucky enough to know, I
ended up most like the lunch ladies of rural South Carolina circa 1986. Well,
if so, it is an honor.
Having teenaged kids for the past many years, I’ve gotten used to – and maybe
even look forward to – the revolving door of hungry kids in and out.
Like, for example, when I had EIGHT unexpected visitors Friday after school
before the football game. I had just finished photographing the
Chicken & Noodles
I’d made that day, so I offered it to them and that pot was scraped clean by
the time they all left in a whirlwind for the game.
There is nothing better for someone who loves to feed people than to see
hungry kids scarfing down something you cooked. Not chips and junk but a big
pot of stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. And I love that I can’t go to a school
function or local ball game without hearing, “Hey Ms. Mandy!” from a dozen teenagers
who don’t worry about looking cool when they see me.
OK, what were we talking about?? Oh, yeah. CHILI. This is a post about hot dog
chili, Mandy. Focus. FOCUS!
What I liked about the hot dog chili they made in school was that it was very
thin and had a fine texture. It tasted more like traditional chili (cumin,
chili powder, etc) and not like the ketchup-y, sloppy joe-ish chili I grew up
with at home.
The school chili might have been a little tooooooo thin (seriously, sometimes
you had to eat your chili dog with a fork) but I knew I liked it better than
the chunky, scrape-the-roof-of-your-mouth variety of chili.
It took some years, but I finally figured out how to get that finer texture.
And it ain’t pretty. When I first heard of this method I thought,
uhhmmm, no thanks! but I talked with enough people and read enough
recipes to finally understand it’s just how you do it.
You don’t brown the ground beef like you do for every other recipe on earth,
you mix the raw meat with water and cook it like that. The ground beef will
easily and quickly break down into a finely minced consistency that is soft
and tender. The first time I did it, my nostrils were jacked up to my
cheekbones in a suspicious scowl a la Madame Medusa from
The Rescuers (the original and best Rescuers from 1977, that is).
But it works! It’s brilliant! Cooking the ground beef in water turns it into
EXACTLY the consistency I wanted!! Many of you already know this. I didn’t
know. I did not know!
You have to use verrrrry lean ground beef because there’s no way of draining
the excess oil. You could wait until grease starts to pool in the top of the
chili then ladle it off but it’s just easier to start with lean meat (at least
90%).
The next step was figuring out the flavor. A lot of the recipes I found had
condiments in them (ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, barbeque sauce, etc). I
tried many of them because it seemed like a good way to create a sauce but
found that I kept ending up in Sloppy Joe territory.
Then I approached it the way I make traditional chili, using tomato sauce and
a lot of cumin but I couldn’t get the sauce right and it always just tasted
like taco meat.
After many, many so-so attempts over almost a decade, we sat down to this
recipe and I waited to see everyone’s reaction. The reactions were
outstanding! The best coming from Mama who said she was surprised how much she
liked it! That might not sound like High Praise but Mama doesn’t mince words
and isn’t a gushy person. She doesn’t say she likes something unless she truly
does (especially not to me). Husband and the kids all agreed. This was The
One.
I don’t use as much water as most other recipes call for because I don’t
really see the point. You have to cook it until it evaporates out soooo… why
make a 1-hour recipe into a 4-hour recipe? One hour is PLENTY of time for the
flavors to meld and the texture to be tender and saucy.
Use this recipe to make Chili Dogs (obviously), Chili Cheese Dogs, Chili
Cheese Fritos (or tater tots!), Slaw Dogs or Chili Cheese Fries. I usually pop
the leftovers in the freezer then reheat it the next time we're having hot
dogs OR I cut the leftover wieners into bite-sized pieces then stir them into
the chili for a quick lunch later in the week.
SIDE DISHES THAT GO GREAT WITH CHILI DOGS!
FRITO CORN SALAD - A delicious, festive side dish recipe with a creamy, cheesy corn base and Chili Cheese Fritos for a fantastic crunch and tons of flavor!
SOUTHERN-STYLE COLESLAW - A tried-and-true family coleslaw recipe that’s slightly sweet with just the right amount of twang. It’s very similar to KFC's and comes out perfect every time!
COWBOY BEANS - A hearty recipe made with pork n' beans, ground beef, sausage, brown sugar and a simple sauce (finish in crock pot or on the stove).
THE BEST CREAMY MACARONI SALAD - A surprisingly flavorful recipe for creamy macaroni salad with a ton of flavor and one step that makes all the difference!
CREAMY PRIMAVERA PASTA SALAD - Crisp vegetables, seasoned pasta and a creamy dressing come together in a flavor-packed salad made easy with ranch and Italian dressing mixes.
OVERNIGHT PASTA SALAD - Absolutely THE BEST pasta salad recipe made by mixing hot, cooked pasta with prepared Italian dressing AND dry Italian dressing seasoning mix to marinate overnight.
NO-PEEL BUTTERMILK POTATO SALAD - A recipe for potato salad with cool and creamy buttermilk and fresh herbs with pops of flavor and texture from stone-ground mustard and finely diced red onion.
Recipe for The BEST Hot Dog Chili
The BEST Hot Dog Chili (SERIOUSLY!)
Yield: 10 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
The Coney Island style recipe for fine, tender meaty chili sauce perfect for Chili Dogs and Chili Cheese Fries – ‘The One’, the BEST recipe – that took me almost a decade to perfect!
Add garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. 2 cloves garlic, minced
Add tomato paste then stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the paste just starts to brown on the bottom of the pan. 1 can tomato paste
Add water then stir well to deglaze the pan. Add chili powder and remaining spices then whisk until smooth. 2 c water, 1 Tbsp each chili powder and cumin, 2 tsp each salt and pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Add ground beef then stir the meat into the liquid with a whisk or fork. Once the meat and sauce are uniformly combined, bring to a low boil. 1 lb ground beef
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Remove lid then continue simmering, uncovered, for 30 additional minutes or until chili has reached desired thickness.
Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
Notes
You can freeze this in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
You can double or triple the recipe just use a wider pot accordingly so the liquid evaporates like it needs to.
This recipe can’t be made as-is in a crock pot since the water has to evaporate out for the chili to thicken. If you want to try it, MY BEST GUESS would be to add about 1 1/4 cups water with the ground beef after step 4 (add just enough water so that the meat breaks down when stirred) then transfer everything to a slow cooker then cook on Low for 4-6 hours or High for 2-3.
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A quick and easy recipe for Swedish Meatballs using homemade meatballs, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and brown gravy mix (can also be made into Hamburger Stroganoff!)
I used to hate Cream of Whatever soup and would almost never use it. But y'all. Y'all! They have come a LONG way with them in the last few years.
One night I was staring at the pantry trying to figure out something quick and easy to throw together for supper when I spied a can of Cream of Mushroom and a bag of egg noodles and thought... meh, why not?
I won’t say this recipe is an authentic, made from scratch, Swedish Meatball recipe (like you would get IN Sweden) but you know what? Dadgoneit if it's not delicious!
Sometimes I skip shaping the meatballs and just make this with seasoned, browned ground beef so it's like a Hamburger Stroganoff (I can't lie, my peoples love the stroganoff Hamburger Helper and this tastes exactly like it!)
You can save yourself some time and either buy prepared frozen meatballs or do what I do and make/freeze your own. Whenever I make meatballs, I always make extra to pop in the freezer for meals like this (or spaghetti, meatball subs, etc.)
Oh, and if your crew doesn't like mushrooms, I PROMISE they will not be put off by the soup. If Husband or Brutus knew there were mushroom bits in there they'd boycott supper but neither of them has ever had a clue when I make this!
Put this in your weeknight supper rotation. You'll be glad you did!
Shortcut Swedish Meatballs
Yield: 4-6 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
prep time: 5 Mcook time: 15 Mtotal time: 20 M
A quick and easy recipe for Swedish Meatballs using homemade meatballs, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and brown gravy mix (can also be made into Hamburger Stroganoff!)
ingredients:
1 12-oz. pkg. egg noodles
1 batch Basic Meatballs
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sour cream
instructions:
How to cook Shortcut Swedish Meatballs
Cook noodles in salted water per manufacturer's instructions. Drain noodles then set aside.
Meanwhile, add one envelope brown gravy mix to a medium saucepan. Whisk in water then heat pan over medium-high heat. Heat and whisk until gravy starts to boil.
Add mushroom soup, salt and pepper; stir until completely incorporated. Add sour cream, stir well, reduce heat to low then cover until ready to use.
In a large bowl, combine meatballs, sauce mixture and 3/4 cooked noodles. Gently stir until all ingredients are combined. Add more noddles per preference (some folks like it very saucy, some don't).
NOTES:
If using frozen meatballs, defrost meatballs then heat them in the sauce before mixing with the noodles.
Easy recipes for basic and Italian meatballs baked in the oven. Plus an awesome tip for portioning them out to be the same size.
We eat meatballs all the time! Like, ALL. THE. TIME. I add them to spaghetti sauce, make meatball subs, bake them with sauce and mozzarella, make Swedish meatballs, slice them then layer in lasagna, heat them with marinara in a crock pot to serve as an appetizer or just serve them as-is!
Here are a few of the recipes I make with these homemade meatballs:
But I really don’t like those prepared frozen meatballs. They have the consistency and texture of cork and a dreadful artificial flavor. That being said, they are awfully convenient and inexpensive so they’re tempting to use!
Instead of buying the frozen ones, I make huge batches of homemade meatballs then freeze them in gallon-sized zip-top bags for easy use.
It’s not expensive to make meatballs but it can be time consuming. And that’s why I figured out a super easy way to make them. Holla!
I mix up the ingredients then turn the mixture out onto a cutting board then shape into a rectangle. Once I have a perfectly shaped slab of meatball mixture, I then cut the slab into cubes then roll each cube into perfectly portioned, same-size meatballs.
Like this... errr.... sorry this picture is so bad...
I like to make both basic and Italian meatballs (depending on what I'm using them in) and have both recipes listed below (just a few minor tweaks between the two).
I know the traditional way to cook meatballs is to pan-fry them in a little oil but I like to bake mine! For one thing, I don't have to stand over the stove and get covered in grease while I cook them but also because baking them is so quick and easy!
I have a huge sheet pan that I can fit a triple batch on and that's usually how many I cook at a time. Like I said above, I throw them in a freezer bag then pull them out as needed for quick suppers or appetizers.
Homemade Baked Meatballs
Yield: 24 Meatballs
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 30 M
Easy recipes for basic and Italian meatballs baked in the oven. Plus an awesome tip for portioning them out to be the same size.
ingredients:
Basic Meatballs
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/3 pounds ground beef
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
Italian Meatballs
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/3 pounds ground beef
1/3 cup Italian dried bread crumbs
instructions:
How to cook Homemade Baked Meatballs
In a medium bowl combine onion, egg, worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese, dried parsley or Italian Seasoning (depending on which recipe you're using), salt, pepper and garlic powder; mix well.
Crumble ground beef into mixture then mix with your hands until just combined. Don’t “squeeze” the mixture with your hands – overworking the meat is what yields that “corky” texture.
Add bread crumbs then continue to mix the ingredients until everything is just combined.
Turn mixture out onto a cutting board or clean counter and shape into a rectangle. Pat her down good and keep working on it until it’s perfectly shaped.
Using a sharp knife, cut the mixture into 24 squares (or less if you like bigger meatballs). Roll each square into a ball. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and spray with cooking spray. Place meatballs onto baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
Taking questions in a recent interview for a local paper, I was asked what the most stressful experience I’d ever had cooking. A colorful memory sprang to mind and I quickly forced it back and thought of a rosier story to tell. But I do believe y’all might know me a little by now and will be ready for this.
My mom’s probably going to get a case of the vapors when she reads this, but it really wasn’t as bad as it will read.
This was back when I was in college working in my beloved little juke joint (I’ll have to add an ‘About Me’ section one of these days and give you a little of my background but until then just know that I spent about four years working in a bona fide honky tonk in the Deep South where I did everything from tend bar, run the short-order kitchen, waitress and, when necessary, bounce). It was a Wednesday which meant I was there early in the afternoon to start cooking the free meal that was served every week on that day. It must have been winter because I was cooking chili. Anywho, I was in the bar alone assembling the chili in a fourth generation season-encrusted stainless steel five-gallon pot when I felt something cool and hard shoved into the back of my neck. Then I heard a man’s voice tell me to open the register.
After my heart dropped into my lower intestines, I slowly swiveled around with my hands up to head toward the register. It took all of three seconds to realize that the terrifying perpetrator was the town drunk, Pee-Toe. For one thing, he had on the exact same clothes as the night before plus a neon orange knit hunting mask. For another thing, he was built a bit like Shrek and for some reason always smelled like car exhaust. There was no mistaking who I was dealing with here.
After I’d opened the register he made me sit on a stool behind the bar and proceeded to tie me up with a phone cord that could stretch from there to the high school and back. Around and around he wrapped the super flexible cord to bind me and then knotted it (in my lap?).
As he was taking his sweet time loading liquor boxes with mini bottles and cigarette cartons, running through my mind were things like: Will he kill me if he knows I know who he is? What time does the Budweiser truck get here? I can’t let this idiot out of here loaded down like a pack mule. I’m going to be pissed if that chili pot burns. After running through all the scenarios, options and possible endings to this fiasco I had a plan.
I hopped off the stool, poked my arms through the farce of a binding and headed to the kitchen to stir my chili. When Pee-Toe yelled to ask what I thought I was doing I replied something along the lines of this, “First of all, Pee-Toe, that’s the same .380 you were trying to sell in here last night with a missing clip and I can SEE that there still isn’t one in there now. Secondly, if you make me burn up this chili, no one is going to have anything to eat tonight. And thirdly, you’re so stinking drunk right now that I could take that pistol from you and beat you with it.”
For the record, I’m not really THAT cool, but I did have a shotgun within arm’s reach and knew I could have it trained on him before he got to me if he decided to come after me. And I knew he wouldn’t.
He just stood there managing to look dumber than usual and asked me what I was going to do. I called the owner, who would have to make that call. By nature, honky tonk owners don’t usually want the po-po hanging out at their establishment when it’s approaching happy hour.
I think when it was all over and done with, Pee-Toe had to paint the building, empty the grease trap once a month for the rest of his life, not come in unless the owner’s truck was out front and pay me $200 cash. I should have asked for that chili pot too.
And no, I have no idea why they called him Pee-Toe.
