Chipotle Maple Marinade

This is a quick and easy marinade for chicken, pork, or whatever else you'd like to try it on. It's sweet and a little bit spicy.


Ingredients

• 2-3 chipotles chiles in adobo
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tbls minced garlic
• 1 Tbls soy sauce

Directions
Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. Pour over your choice of meat and marinate as long as desired. I like to do at least 30 minutes.


I used this to marinate pork chops, which I then grilled. They were delicious.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Fudge Brownies

The best word to describe these brownies is decadent. They're rich and delicious and relatively easy to make. This is a slightly modified version of these brownies.


Ingredients

• 1 box fudge brownie mix (and whatever it requires)
• 2 eggs (called for by the fudge brownie mix)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (called for by the fudge brownie mix)
• 8oz cream cheese
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 12oz package milk chocolate chips
• 3 Tbls milk
• 20 mini peanut butter cups

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


Mix the fudge brownie batter according to the directions on the box. The mix I used called for combining the mix with two eggs and a half cup of vegetable oil. Your mix may be different. Pour the batter into the a greased 9x13 baking pan.


Soften the cream cheese in a bowl in the microwave, 30 seconds to a minute should do. Mix the condensed milk and peanut butter with the softened cream cheese. The mixture will be thick. Spoon evenly over the fudge brownie batter in the baking pan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the brownie is firm and starts to brown.

Let the brownie cool for 30 minutes and then put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.


Add the milk and milk chocolate chips to a bowl. Using the microwave, slowly heat the chocolate until it melts and you are able to mix it with the milk to form a smooth mixture. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Heat the chocolate for only a few seconds at a time before stirring and heating again. Once the milk and milk chocolate chips are mixed evenly, spread it evenly over the brownie.


Carefully cut the peanut butter cups in half and place evenly on the top of the brownie.

Cut the brownies into your desired portion size and enjoy.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Baked Pasta

I've made a bunch of different kinds of baked pasta and this is one of my favorites. The sausage really adds a nice flavor to the dish. You could, of course, use beef instead, but I like the sausage.


Ingredients

• 1 pound of pasta (I like rotini for this, but elbows or penne will work too)
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced (or a different color if you prefer)
• 1 14.5oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 16oz marinara sauce
• 1 4oz can of diced mushrooms (fresh mushrooms are ok too)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 Tbls minced garlic
• 1 Tbls vegetable oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


Cook the pasta to al dente according to the directions. The pasta will cook more in the oven so it's ok to make the pasta a little bit under done.


Using a large skillet, saute the onion and red bell pepper with the vegetable oil. When the onions turn translucent, add the ground sausage. Brown the sausage while breaking up the pieces as much as possible. Once the sausage is fully cooked, add the minced garlic and diced mushrooms. Mix in the cream of mushroom soup and marinara sauce. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble.


Combine the sauce with the pasta and pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan or casserole dish. Cover the pasta evenly with the shredded cheddar cheese. Bake 30 minutes.

Leftovers heat up really nicely and make great lunches.

Steak Seasoning

Sure, you can go to your local grocery store and buy a shaker of steak seasoning, but by making your own you adjust the seasoning mix and get a really customized flavor. Use this recipe as a starting point and then you can adjust from here.


Ingredients

• 2 Tbls paprika
• 2 Tbls ground black pepper
• 2 Tbls kosher salt
• 1 Tbls garlic powder
• 1 Tbls onion powder
• 1 Tbls cumin
• 1 Tbls cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. If you don't like spicy foods then you should skip the cayenne pepper. Pretty easy, right?

This seasoning goes great on steaks and burgers, but you can try it on whatever foods you would like.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Beef stew is easy and delicious. There a plenty of ways to make it, so this is how I did it:


Ingredients

• 3 lbs beef roast, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 medium potato, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup beef stock (or beef broth)
• 1 4 oz can diced mushrooms (fresh mushrooms are good too)
• 1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Cut the beef roast into 1 inch chunks and toss it in the crock pot. Dice the potato and onion and add them to the crock pot too. Now add everything else. I found it helpful to mix the cream of mushroom soup and beef stock into a separate bowl before adding to the crock pot. Mix well.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Stir and serve.

This has a nice beef flavor to it and everything was tender and delicious.