Category: Home Cooking

By now you’ve likely picked up the new kitchen appliance that everyone can’t seem to get enough of these days. The Instant Pot seems to have been an instant success. We will occasionally visit recipes for the Instant Pot on Tuesday’s Home Cooked blog posts. We thought we’d start with one of the most basic and commonly made dishes, Chicken & Rice. We sourced this recipe from delish.com. It’s pretty spot on in our opinion though we did parenthetically note one adjustment that we found beneficial. Enjoy and bon appétit!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp.  olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 c. white rice
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth or water (we recommend 1 3/4 – 2 c.)
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chopped parsley, for garnish

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat Instant Pot by setting to “Sauté”. Add olive oil and cook onion until slightly softened for 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and paprika and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
2. Stir in rice and broth and season with salt and pepper. Add carrots, bell pepper, and chicken, and season generously again with salt and pepper.  
3. Close lid, change setting to manual or “Pressure Cook” and set for 8 minutes on high. When 8 minutes is up, let pot decompress naturally for 10 minutes, then release pressure, remove lid, and shred chicken. Top with parsley before serving.

Source: delish.com | LENA ABRAHAM

This was a staple in my household when I was growing up. The slow cooker (we called it the crock pot) made life easy and delicious with two working parents. One addition that was often included in our family’s Beef Burgundy was sour cream. While not included below, it’s a great touch to add a little more creaminess.

Ingredients

• 6 bacon strips, diced
• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 pounds), cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes
• 1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed beef broth, undiluted
• 1 small onion, halved and sliced
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup burgundy wine or beef broth
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cold water
• Hot cooked noodles, optional

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove to paper towels. In the drippings, brown the beef; drain.
• Place beef and bacon in a 5-qt. slow cooker, Add the broth, onion, carrot, butter, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender.
• Add mushrooms and wine. Combine flour and water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30-45 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Serve with noodles if desired.

Source: tasteofhome.com

Here’s a little background if you are not familiar with the BBQ Pit Boys. Currently the BBQ Pit Boys have 650+ recipe videos with over  220 million +   YouTube video views along with our dedicated subscriber base of 1.2 million + Subscribers. They are ranked in the top 5% of all YouTube Channels. In addition, their videos have been watched several million times worldwide from links posted on  external websites. They have a solid base of postings and fan re-posts on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.

Enough about their presence. Let’s get to some of our favorite sides.

Potato Bombs

Taters Gone Wild, these BBQ Pit Boys stuffed Baked Potato Bombs are kick-ass good eatin’ at any Pit, family picnic or tailgating party. So crank up the music, put your BBQ Shoes on, pop open a beer, and grab some spuds because Taters don’t get any better than this.

For this Potato Bombs recipe you’re going to need the following ingredients:

Russet potatoes
Sour Cream, use your favorite.

We used a combination the following cold cuts of meats:

Ham
Sliced Turkey
Bruscuto Corned Beef
Italian sausages,
Breakfast sausage
Smoked German sausage
Hot Dogs
Cooked Bacon

Butter
Habanero cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar Cheese

Garlic
Scallion

Method

Use an apple corer to take the centre out of the potato and keep the core . You’re going to use it to plug each end to hold in the stuffing.
3/4 fill the cavity with your selection of meats and cheeses and use the core to plug each end of the potato to seal it up.
Take a slice of uncooked bacon and wrap the potato around the outside, the bacon will tighten up as it cooks
wrap the stuffed Potato with aluminum foil.
Note, many people ask about which side of the aluminum foil is the right side to use,, use any side you like, it’s an urban myth that there is a right or wrong side

Cook on a preheated gill at 375 -400 f ( 190-200 C), for about 1 hour, maybe 1 hour 15 min until they are done
At about halfway through the cook, flip and rotate the potatoes to ensure even cooking.

Serving

Finley chop up some scallion (spring onion) and mix with the sour cream and add to the cooked potato bomb.

STUFFED CLAMS

Seafood Stuffed Clams recipe by the BBQ Pit Boys that combines Rhode Island Littleneck Clams, Maine Lobster, Louisiana Shrimp, and Alaskan King Crab for a crowd pleasing barbecue side dish.

THE INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:

• Clam shells – 12 cleaned
• Shrimp – 4 Louisiana style
• Maine lobster claws – 2
• King crab legs – 2
• Rhode Island clams – 1- 2 lbs. (wash in water to remove sand)
• Onion – 1
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Salt – to taste
• Chicken broth – 2, 14 oz. cans
• Baby clams – 1, 12 oz. can, whole clam meat
• Butter – 1 stick
• Seasoned stuffing mix – 8 cups or 1 lb.
• Extra virgin olive oil – 4 Tablespoons

DIRECTIONS:
GETTING READY

1. Bring grill temperature up to 350 – 400 degrees Fahrenheit, with coals offset for indirect cooking.
For Steamed Crab, Clams, Lobster, Shrimp:
2. Wash clams to remove sand.
3. Place a cast iron skillet directly over the coals to heat.
4. Add ½ -1 cup of water to skillet. (You can use white wine or broth for steaming)
5. Place clams, king crab, lobster claws, and shrimp in pan. (Use your favorite or what’s available in your area)
6. Cover with foil and steam for 8-10 minutes or until clams open.
7. When done steaming, remove pan from direct heat and place opposite coals.
8. Reserve broth from skillet.
Prepare Stuffing Mix:
9. Place another cast iron skillet over hot coals.
10. Heat 2-3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
11. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and dice ¼ cup of onion. Add to skillet to lightly brown. Leave grill uncovered.
12. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter to pan, stir.
13. While garlic and onions are cooking, remove clam, crab, and lobster meat from shells. Be sure there aren’t any shells mixed in with the meat.
14. Cut up shrimp and combine all meat together. Chop and set aside.
15. Take seasoned bread crumbs and place in a large bowl.
16. Mix in; 2 cans of chicken broth, broth used for steaming, 1 can of baby clams, steamed clam, crab, shrimp, and lobster meat.
17. Add in garlic and onions from skillet.
18. Combine thoroughly. Stuffing should be moist.

MAKING

19. Maintain grill temperature of 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
20. Roll stuffing mixture into a ball.
21. Stuff mixture into clean clam shells.
22. Place stuffed clam shells opposite hot coals for indirect cooking.
23. Cover grill and cook 15-20 minutes. Cooking times may vary depending on grill temperature.

FINALIZING

24. Transfer stuffed clams to a serving platter.
25. Place a ‘pat’ of butter on top of each stuffed clam.

SERVING

26. Serve as a side dish or appetizer.
27. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!!

SMOKE GRILLED ONION SOUP

SMOKE GRILLED ONION SOUP

This grilled onion soup recipe by the BBQ Pit Boys is an onion lovers classic. Large smoked sweet onions gently simmered for a couple of hours in beef stock makes it a barbecuing favorite side or main dish.

THE INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:

• 4-5lbs large Onions
• 31/2-4 Quarts Beef Stock
• 4 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
• Olive Oil/Butter
• Grated Cheese
• 12oz. Beer
• Brandy or Whiskey
• Bread or Croutons

Slice onions at least 1/4 inches thick as shown. Coat with butter and/or oil. Place in grill opposite the coals for about 10-15 minutes to brown slightly but remain firm. Add some wood chunks or chips to the fire for a slight smoke. Remove from grill and chop onions to desired size, large chunks or diced. Add 3.5 to 4 quarts Beef Stock to pan. Add 12oz. of beer and a few oz. of your favorite Brandy or Whiskey (optional), 4tbs Worcestershire sauce, and 2tbs. mustard. Close grill cover and then slow simmer for about an hour or more. Serve with shredded cheese on top and some fresh toasted bread or croutons.

Source: BBQPitBoys.com