BBQ Beef and Beans

I came up with this spur of the moment tonight, since I'm trying to use up things in my pantry and fridge before I buy more food. This tastes great by itself, or you could jazz it up with peppers, sour cream and shredded cheddar. I was going to serve it alone, with corn-cheddar muffins, but I'm going to fix some mashed potatoes to serve it over instead, since I have a bag of them in my pantry! Regardless of how you use it, this couldn't be much easier to make.

Ingredients

1 lb of extra-lean ground beef
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1/4 cup of BBQ sauce (your favorite kind)
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

In a large skillet or dutch oven, brown the beef with the onion powder and salt and pepper. Add the tomato sauce, beans and BBQ sauce and stir well, then bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. You can serve once heated through, or simmer for 15-30 minutes. You may need to add some water, if it gets too thick, but you can basically simmer this as long as you want. Just know that the flavors will deepen, the longer you cook it.)

Enjoy!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

We make this on St. Patrick's Day (when we can all be together for dinner). It is delicious, and the leftovers are great, too. Irish Soda bread is a wonderful accompaniment.

Ingredients

Corned Beef Brisket (whatever cut or size you prefer)
1 head of green cabbage
1 (or 2) large onion(s)
4 medium russet (Idaho) potatoes
Olive oil

Place brisket and its juices in a large Dutch oven, covering with water. Add seasoning packet that came with it, and cook for the recommended time according to its weight (there should be a chart on the package).

About 15 minutes before brisket is done, clean cabbage and onions and cut into wedges. Clean and peel potatoes and cut into large chunks.

After the brisket cooks, remove from the water to a baking dish, cover with foil, and place in your oven to keep warm.

Add the cabbage and onion wedges to the brisket water and cook until crisp-tender (check after 15 minutes). Add potato wedges and cook until potatoes are tender (a fork should go through a chunk easily). Drain (and reserve cooking water for a base for vegetable soup, if desired).

To serve, slice the brisket against the grain (the grain normally runs in the direction of the long side, so you would cut it along a short end). Place the slices on a serving dish and arrange the vegetables around them.

Serves 8-10, depending on size of brisket.

Enjoy!