This is a copycat recipe for the Prairie Dust spice mix the Longhorn Steakhouse uses in many of its dishes. It has a nice complex flavor with a little heat, and is perfect on steak, chicken, eggs, seafood, veggies, and baked potatoes. It’s a great seasoning to keep on hand. Just make a good-sized batch and keep it in an air-tight container. Oh, and don’t hesitate to sprinkle it on burgers just before you grill them! Like I said, it’s great on everything!
The recipe for copycat Longhorn Steakhouse Prairie Dust mix makes just a few tablespoons of mix. I usually make a much bigger batch and keep it in the pantry in an air-tight container. I write the date on the container (using a marker and blue painter’s tape) so I know when I made it. Spice mixes can usually last at least 6 months. Not that it’ll actually last that long…
Sometimes I get home from work and just want to make a quick pizza. No handmade dough. No unusual toppings. Just a heat-and-eat store-bought crust, topped with a fantastic homemade sauce and a few easy ingredients. Such as Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, and cheese. And it comes out great, thanks mostly to the sauce. If you don’t have a great sauce, the rest of the pizza won’t be any good. No matter how great the toppings are.
The Perfect Sauce To Keep On Hand
I double this pizza sauce recipe and freeze it. I separate it into batches. That makes it easy to defrost in the fridge in time to make a 15 minute dinner.
I always make too much turkey at Thanksgiving. I’m not complaining, not at all. It means I get to find new and great ways to use leftover turkey. Like this southwestern turkey soup. It’s easy, it’s fast, and it is absolutely packed with great flavors. And it doesn’t matter how you cooked your turkey, whether it be smoked, fried, baked or roasted.
Spice It Up A Bit
For a little extra zing in your southwestern turkey soup, skip the Rotel and add a small can of diced tomatoes along with a small can of Fire-Roasted Diced Green Chiles.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make this soup and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
It’s easy, it’s fast, and it is absolutely packed with great flavors. And it doesn’t matter how you cooked your turkey, whether it be smoked, fried, baked or roasted.
Wow. I cannot stop talking about this Buffalo chicken soup. It is my favorite soup. Perfect for the cool weather. It’s like eating (my favorite) Buffalo chicken wings, with celery and onion, and cheesy. Good, gooey, melted cheese.
It’ll Warm You To The Bone
I used some leftover fire-eater roasted chicken breast in this soup. The chicken has a nice kick to it, so the soup had a nice little kick to it too. If you use a pre-cooked chicken without any spice to it, you might want to add a bit of cayenne or hot sauce to the soup.
Wow. I cannot not stop talking about this Buffalo chicken soup. Perfect for the cool weather. It’s like eating Buffalo chicken wings, with celery and onion, and cheesy.
Note: I used leftover fire-eater chicken that has a nice kick to it. If you are using rotisserie or other ‘tame’ chicken you might want to add some hot sauce or cayenne to the soup for a little kick.
Place butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Once melted, add the celery and onion and cook until both are tender.
Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the half-and-half and water.
Add the bouillon and stir to dissolve.
Add the chicken and wing sauce.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
I love olive salad. I could probably eat muffuletta sandwiches any day, every day. It takes a bit of work, but I prefer my homemade olive salad. But, if time is of the essence, I take no shame in using a great, quality store-bought olive salad like the one from Boscoli. Putting olive salad on a grilled cheese sandwich seemed like not only a good idea, but a great idea. Muffuletta grilled cheese sandwich? Yes!
Get That Runny Cheese Action
You can use sliced provolone, but for really big extra flavor, use our smoked provolone cheese sauce instead. It makes for an amazing, oeey-gooey muffuletta grilled cheese sandwich.
So, the question is… do you flatten your grilled cheese? Many say it’s not a grilled cheese unless you press down on it and make it super thin. I like mine thick. Sorry 🙂
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
You know I love chicken wings. Any time, any way. So I was really looking forward to these wings. I made chipotle blackberry wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy with the Wingin’ator 3000, but you can make them in the oven, on a grill, or just deep fry them. The sauce is what makes these wings fantastic. A nice sweetness and a nice smoky heat. Perfect.
I store my homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out thirty minutes to an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot food!
This grilled new potato packet is the perfect side to make on the grill. Like any packet dish, you just toss a few ingredients onto a piece of thick foil, seal it, and put it onto the grill (I used my Weber) until done. The potatoes in this packet come out very tasty thanks to sun-dried tomato dressing. Being sealed inside the packet keeps all the flavors inside, where they can soak deep into the potatoes. Each and every bite is packed with flavor. And bonus, the potatoes all come out perfectly cooked. Nice and tender. And yummy.
Simple And Delicious
I think any vinaigrette-like dressing would be just fine for a grilled new potato packet. I wouldn’t use a creamy dressing, though. The packets get mighty hot as the potatoes cook. You want something that’ll hold up to that heat, flavoring the potatoes as they go. You definitely wouldn’t want to use something that would separate or burn.
This grilled new potato packet is the perfect side to make on the grill. Like any packet dish, you just toss a few ingredients onto a piece of thick foil, seal it, and toss it on the grill until done.
Nothing is easier than smoking nuts. I use my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. You can also smoke them on your gas or charcoal grill using a couple of added wood chunks. Smoking nuts only takes 20-25 minutes. The smoke adds such a wonderful flavor to the nuts that you’ll want to make a big batch. For a bit more smokiness I add chipotle powder to these smoked southwestern nuts. It also adds a little bit of heat. You don’t want to add a lot of smoke from the smoker. It can overpower the nuts. You can always add more with more chipotle powder.
Not Too Spicy
These smoked southwestern nuts have a fantastic light southwestern flavor with just a little kick. That all comes from the chipotle powder. If you want more heat, add a few decent pinches of cayenne pepper. That’ll heat things up a bit!
Nothing is easier than smoking nuts. Smoking nuts only takes 20-25 minutes. The smoke adds such a wonderful flavor to the nuts that you’ll want to make a big batch
Fire up your smoker for 325 F cooking over a mild wood (I used cherry). (If you are using a Weber Smoky Mountain smoker, do not add water to the water pan).
Pour nuts into a disposable aluminum foil half sheet pan or pie pan.
Place onto smoker (top rack if using a Weber Smoky Mountain) and smoke for 20-25 minutes, stirring once.
Place the nuts in a medium bowl.
Combine the remaining ingredients in another bowl and pour over the nuts. Toss to coat completely.
Spread nuts out on a foil-lined baking sheet to cool and dry completely.
If you follow this blog, you know I love Buffalo chicken wings. And anything that reminds me of Buffalo chicken wings. Such as these Buffalo potato wedges. You can’t possibly find anything easier to make, and they taste just like Buffalo chicken wings.
Buffalo Flavor In Every Bite
I baked the potato wedges, but you could deep fry them also. You could probably also get away with using pre-cooked baked fries. Just toss them in some sauce before serving. Instead of ketchup, serve your Buffalo potato wedges with Ranch for dipping. Or even blue cheese dressing. I don’t think I’d go so far as to add celery and carrot sticks, though.
If you follow this blog, you know I love Buffalo chicken wings. And anything that reminds me of Buffalo chicken wings. Such as these Buffalo potato wedges.
This spiral ham on the Char-Broil Big Easy turned out to be one of the easiest heat-and-eat dishes I’ve ever made. I grabbed a pre-cooked ham on sale at the market, removed it from the bag and put it into the lit cooker. That’s it. I didn’t marinate it, glaze it, talk to it, rub it… nothing. The end result was unbelievably tasty. Still moist and tender, with just a bit of (really yummy) char on the edges. I would (and will) make this again and again. It’s perfect for a crowd and of course, doesn’t take up any room in the oven, making it perfect for a family get-together.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
You Couldn’t Get Any Easier
Since this was my first time ‘cooking’ a spiral ham on my Char-Broil Big Easy, I did stick my Maverick thermometer into the end (not touching the bone) to make sure the ham got to 145 F. The ham rose another 10 degrees after removing it from the fryer and resting. The ham needed 10 minutes per pound to reach the proper temperature in the cooker. Told you it was easy!
No Glaze Required
I did contemplate glazing the ham the last 10 minutes, but I decided against it. My Big Easy was running around 385-390 F, and the ham was already getting a nice char on it. A glaze (particularly one with brown sugar in it) would definitely turn the ham even blacker, so I skipped it. Turns out I didn’t need it at all. From sandwiches, to omlettes, to quesadillas, this ham was great! You can also cook pressed hams just as easily on the Big Easy.
This spiral ham on the Char-Broil Big Easy turned out to be one of the easiest heat-and-eat dishes I’ve ever made. I grabbed a pre-cooked ham on sale at the market, removed it from the bag and put it into the lit cooker. That’s it.
