These French dip burgers make a delicious dinner or they can also be made into sliders and served as an appetizer. These burgers are topped with Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms. The mushrooms are sautéed in garlic and butter. There is no need for a slow cooker in this recipe. The Au Jus is made in the pan using water, vegetables, and better than beef bouillon. You can either cook the burgers on the stove top or you can grill them, it’s your choice. Serve with French fries. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef
salt and pepper (to taste)
4 slices Swiss cheese (each slice cut into 4 squares)
1 package fresh sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons butter
12 slider buns
butter (for spreading)
Au Jus-
2 cups water
1 tablespoon better than bouillon beef base
2 teaspoons better than bouillon beef base
1/2 stalk celery
1/2 small onion
1 pinch thyme
salt and pepper (to taste)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make the Au Jus- in a saucepan combine water, beef base, celery, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Strain and place into small bowls for serving.
Step 2: Shape ground beef into 12 patties and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add the burger patties and cook, turning once, until fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees). During the last few minutes of cooking top each patty with 2 of the sliced Swiss cheese squares.
Step 3: While burgers are cooking melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 15-20 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender.
Step 4: Split the slider buns in half and butter the cut side of each half. Place face down in a fry pan over medium heat and cook until browned on the bottom. Place each hamburger patty onto a slider bun, top with sautéed mushrooms, and place on the top half of the bun. Serve with Au Jus.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Shells and cheese make a great dinner or side dish. This recipe is perfect if you have little time and are looking for an easy meal. These shells and cheese can be prepared in about 30 minutes. No baking is required because everything is done on the stove top. This recipe does not use expensive cheeses, only shredded cheddar. In my opinion cheddar cheese adds the perfect flavor and no additional cheeses are needed. There is a good chance a lot of these ingredients you already have on hand so you will not have to do much shopping. You can pretty much use whatever type of pasta you like; shells, macaroni, rontini, ect. This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to make more. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 ounces shells  medium shells
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
sliced green onions (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cook shells according to package directions.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly add the milk and cook while stirring until the mixture becomes somewhat thick. Stir in the cheese until melted. Remove from heat.

Step 3: Drain shells and add them to the cheese sauce. Stir to coat. Top with green onions for serving if desired.
(Makes 4 Servings)

French fries always make a great appetizer and they are even more delicious loaded with bacon and cheese. These bacon and cheese fries are French fries topped with bacon, nacho cheese sauce, creamy ranch dressing, and green onions. This is not much of a recipe but more of an idea on how to make some delicious fries. You can either cook the French fries in the deep fryer or bake them in the oven. For the bacon, there are a few methods you can use to cook it; on the stove top, in the oven, or in the microwave. For a detailed explanation on how to do each, see my article on How to Cook Crispy Bacon. This recipe makes a great appetizer for the Super Bowl. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (32 ounce) package French fries
1 (15 ounce) can nacho cheese sauce
6 slices bacon
½ cup green onions (sliced)
creamy ranch dressing

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Heat a large fry pan to medium low heat. Add bacon strips and cook turning once until crispy (about 10-15 minutes). The bacon is done when it has reached a deep brown color. Drain on paper towels. Once bacon has cooled crumble it into bits.
Step 2: Cook the French fries in the deep fryer or bake in the oven according to package directions. Drain on paper towels.

Step 3: In a small sauce pan heat nacho cheese sauce until heated through. Divide fries evenly and place onto individual plates for serving. Top with creamy ranch dressing, nacho cheese sauce, crumbled bacon, and green onions.
(Makes 6 Servings)

You pretty much cannot have a game day party without hot wings. These hot chicken wings are both sweet and spicy. The sauce is basically a sweet buffalo sauce. It combines hot sauce, butter, and honey. The wings are first seasoned with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. The wings are then brushed with honey while grilling, tossed with the sauce mixture, and then placed back onto the grill for a couple minutes. You can adjust the amount of heat by the type of hot sauce you use and the amount of cayenne pepper you season the wings with. These honey hot wings go great served with blue cheese dressing. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2lbs chicken wings (tips discarded)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
1 cup honey
½ cup butter (melted)
½ cup hot sauce

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat an outdoor grill to medium heat and lightly grease grill grate. Wash wings and pat dry with paper towel. Season the wings with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
Step 2: Place chicken wings onto the grill and cook the wings until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees (about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the wings). Brush the wings with ½ cup of the honey while they are cooking.

Step 3: In a small sauce pan melt the butter over low heat (you can also melt it in the microwave). Pour the butter into a large bowl and mix in the remaining ½ cup of honey and the hot sauce. Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss them in the hot honey butter sauce to coat. You can serve them like this or return them to the grill and cook 1 minute per side to set the sauce.
(Makes 6 Servings)

This pizza dip makes a great appetizer for parties. It takes all of your favorite pizza ingredients and puts them into a hot dip.  Anyone who enjoys pizza is sure to love this recipe. Best of all, It is not very hard to make; a cream cheese mixture is spread onto the bottom of a glass dish, topped with mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and pizza sauce. The dip is then topped off with more cheese, pepperoni, green pepper, and black olives. You can add additional toppings as well such as chopped onion and mushrooms. The dip can then either be baked in the oven or it can be cooked in the microwave. This goes great with sliced French baguette bread or tortilla chips. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons green bell pepper (chopped)
2 ounces pepperoni sausage (chopped or sliced)
2 tablespoons black olives (sliced)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese with oregano, parsley, and basil.
Step 2: Spread the mixture onto the bottom of a 9 inch glass pie plate (or shallow oven-safe/microwave-safe dish). Sprinkle ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup of the parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over the top of the cheeses. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of parmesan and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce.  Top with pepperoni, green pepper, and black olives.

Step 3: Cover and microwave for 5 minutes. You can also place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
(Makes 16 Servings)

One of the best grilled appetizers is bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers. This recipe is so easy to make and it only consist of 3 ingredients; fresh jalapenos peppers, cream cheese, and bacon.  The jalapeno peppers are first sliced in half then seeded, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped with bacon and grilled. You should consider wearing gloves when slicing and seeding the jalapenos because they can burn your hands. With the play offs coming up and the super bowl near this is a perfect recipe for game day. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 fresh jalapeno peppers (halved lengthwise and seeded)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
12 slices bacon

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat an outdoor grill to high heat. Spread the cream cheese into the jalapeno halves. Wrap bacon around the stuffed jalapenos and secure with a toothpick.

Step 2: Place onto the grill and cook until the bacon is crispy.
(Makes 6 Servings)

The combination of a sloppy joe and a grilled cheese is perfect. It makes for a delicious and easy dinner for the entire family and these would also go great for any lunch. What I find interesting about this recipe is dill pickle chips are piled onto the grilled cheese before it is fried in the pan. I prefer shredded cheddar cheese but you can use any type of cheese you like. In this recipe we are making our own sloppy joe sauce but I suppose if you want to save time you can buy a can of it from the store.  Enjoy. Adapted from Grilled Cheese Social.

Ingredients:
8 slices white bread
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
dill pickle chips
butter
1lb ground beef
¼ cup onion (chopped)
¼ cup green bell pepper (chopped)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
¾ cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt (to taste)
ground black pepper (to taste)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef, onion, and green pepper. Drain off any excess liquid. Stir in garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar. Mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Pre-heat a skillet to medium heat. Spread butter over one side of a slice of bread. Place butter side down into the skillet. Top with a little cheddar cheese, sloppy joe mix, dill pickle chips and additional cheddar cheese. Butter an additional slice of bread on one side and place butter side up on top the sandwich.
Step 3: Cook in the skillet until lightly browned on the bottom and flip over. Continue cooking until the other side has browned and the cheese has melted. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Twice baked potatoes make a perfect side dish to go with just about any meal or they can be served as an appetizer for parties. Just like the name says, these potatoes are baked twice. The potatoes are first baked in the oven, then sliced in half and scooped out. The scooped out potato is then mixed with a milk, sour cream and cheese mixture, and spooned back into the potato and then baked again. These go great topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onion. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
8 green onions (divided)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes onto a baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake for 1 hour. While potatoes are baking, place bacon slices into a large deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat (turning once) until the bacon is crispy. Drain on paper towels. When the bacon has cooled crumble it into small pieces. Set aside.
Step 2: When potatoes are done remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh (leaving about ¼” of the flesh still inside) into a large bowl. Save the skins. Add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, ½ cup of cheese, ½ of the green onions to the scooped out potato. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy.  Spoon the mixture into the potatoes skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions, and bacon.
Step 3: Place back into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
(Makes 8 Servings)

I find it interesting to pile all kinds of different ingredients onto hot dogs. Tacos are one of my favorite things to eat so I decided to try putting taco meat on top of all beef hot dogs. The end result was amazing. Once again, I highly recommend using all beef hot dogs because I feel they have better flavor. These hot dogs are topped with taco meat, cheese, salsa, lettuce, and tomato. You can add additional ingredients as well such a guacamole and sour cream. You can cook the hot dogs however you prefer; grilling, boiling, steaming, ect. I cooked them using an indoor grill pan. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 all beef hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
1lb ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
Condiments-
shredded Monterey jack cheese
salsa
lettuce (shredded)
tomato (chopped)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef. Drain any excess fat. Add ¾ cup of water and taco seasoning mix. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Stir often.
Step 2: Heat an indoor grill pan to medium high heat. Place hot dogs into the pan and cook until slightly charred on the outside. Remove from the pan. Place hot dog buns into the grill pan and cook until lightly browned.
Step 3: Place hot dogs into the buns. Top each with taco meat, Monterey jack cheese, salsa, lettuce and tomato.
(Makes 8 Servings)

This chicken noodle casserole is yet another delicious casserole that I made recently. I never seem to get tired of casserole recipes. They are so easy to prepare and the variety of things you can turn into a casserole is nearly endless. This casserole combines cooked chicken, with egg noodles and a creamy sauce mixture. The sauce combines two different types of condensed soups; cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. Sour cream is also added into the mix. The casserole is then topped with shredded cheese and crushed buttery crackers. This is also a great way to use up left over chicken. This can be prepared for the Holidays or any night of the year. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons oil (for frying)
6 ounces egg noodles
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
salt and black pepper (to taste)
1-2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
1 cup crumbled buttery round crackers
½ cup butter

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook, turning once until fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees) and golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Cut chicken into small pieces. Set aside.
Step 2: Cook egg noodles according to package directions and drain. Set aside. In a large bowl mix together cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Add egg noodles and chicken to the sauce mixture. Gently stir together. Place into a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish.
Step 3: Melt butter in a small sauce pan and remove from heat. Stir in crumbled crackers. Top the casserole with shredded Colby jack cheese and buttery crackers. Place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and browned on top.
(Makes 4 Servings)