Pellet Smoked Cheesy Broccoli Rice
Sometimes a good meal needs a killer side dish. This is one of those crowd feeding side dishes that has your back on the holidays or for any get together cookout. Even if you have a small eating crew, the leftovers will freeze well for another day. Smoked cheesy broccoli rice pairs so well with many other foods that it might become your go to side dish. Kids love the cheese flavor, grandparents missing teeth love it, you just can’t go wrong.
Man That’s Cooking
Ingredients
- 2 heads of whole broccoli
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cups white rice
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 16 oz cheddar cheese
- 8 oz swiss cheese
- 8 oz mozzarella
- 1 quart milk
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
Directions
First, hand shred the cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella cheeses and set this aside in a large bowl. Keep about 1 cup (8oz) of cheddar cheese off to the side for later topping.
Next, remove the large stems from the broccoli florets. Cut the florets into small sizes. Chop parts of the stems into small bits. Par boil the broccoli for no more than 5 minutes then drain in a colander. Run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking process.
Finely dice the onion and fry for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent.
Bring the 32 oz of chicken broth to a boil, then add the 2 cups of white rice. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 – 25 minutes until rice is cooked and tender.
Next prepare the bechamel starting by melting the butter in an 8 qt pot on medium heat and stirring in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook until it turns light brown, then slowly incorporate the room temperature milk. Next slowly incorporate the cheese and stir with a whisk when the mixture becomes thick.
Finally add the broccoli, onion and rice into the cheese sauce and mix together. Pour the final mixture into a 9×13 foil pan. Top with the shredded cheese that was set aside.
Smoke with pecan or apple pellets at 250F for 3.5 hours.
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Hearty Minestrone Soup
Hearty Minestrone Soup
Nothing warms you up on a cold winter day better than a delicious hearty soup. This hearty minestrone soup recipe is loaded with tasty ingredients that take very little effort to put together. All you need to do is chop an onion, some celery, carrots and garlic and the rest just gets dumped into the pot. The soup is made hearty by cooking it with the lid slightly open to let out some steam. This reduces the broth by steaming off the water but keeps in all the good flavor. This soup is meat free but you can add in some cooked Italian sausage for extra heartiness.
Man That’s Cooking
Ingredients
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 1 white onion
- 3 celery stalks
- 3 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 cup frozen green beans
- 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach
- 1 cup elbow or small shell pasta
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
First dice the onions, carrots and celery. Add olive oil to an 8 quart stockpot and heat it on a medium temperature. Saute the onions, celery, and carrots for 8 – 10 minutes. Mince the garlic, then add it to the pot and saute for 1 minute. If you have fresh spinach (not frozen) chop it and add to the stockpot at the same time as the garlic. Add the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes.
Next, drain and discard the liquid from the canned beans then add them to the stockpot. Add the frozen green beans and frozen spinach. Cover the stockpot with a lid and bring the soup to a boil on medium high heat.
Reduce the heat to almost medium and simmer the soup for 15 minutes with the lid slightly open on the side to let out steam. This is optional and will thicken up the soup but you can close the lid tight during this step.
Next add the pasta and the Italian seasoning then continue cooking for 15 – 20 minutes. Check the tenderness of the pasta at 15 minutes and allow it to cook longer if needed. Turn the heat to low, then salt and pepper to taste.
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Pellet Smoked Spinach Artichoke Dip
Pellet Smoked Spinach Artichoke Dip
Who doesn’t love a good spinach artichoke dip when you are watching “The game that lawyers won’t let us mention”. But have you ever tried a smoked version of this dip? Sure we all know what the TGI Friday’s Chili’s Applebee’s Ruby Tuesday’s (RIP) local sports bar dip is like and heck it ain’t that bad… usually. But there is something special about a smoked version of this dip with your own hand selected cheeses. One could only guess how your favorite restaurant prepares their dip, maybe it’s all a frozen pre-mix in a plastic bag. But you have a pellet smoker and free will so you can make some fresh and delicious smoked dip! The good part about this recipe is that you can do all the prep work a day or two ahead of the cook day. When you are ready, all you need to do is put this dip on your smoker and enjoy.
Man That’s Cooking
Ingredients
- 14 oz can artichoke hearts
- 10 oz frozen spinach
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 8 oz gouda cheese
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
First, thaw out the frozen spinach overnight in the refrigerator. On the next day when you are ready to start, remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator and allow it to soften on the kitchen countertop.
Next open the can of artichoke hearts and drain out the water. Using paper towels, squeeze out the excess water from the artichoke hearts. Roughly chop the artichoke hearts and place them in a large mixing bowl.
Next open the package of the thawed out spinach and drain out the water. Using paper towels, squeeze out the excess water from the spinach. The spinach should already be chopped but if not, chop it. Add the spinach to the large mixing bowl.
Next grate the gouda, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese then set aside a small amount from each (about ½ cup total) for a topping and add the rest to a large mixing bowl. Add the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream, then mix everything together. Add the spices and mix everything once again. At this point you can cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator if you plan to cook the dip the next day.
Preheat your smoker at 250F and use mild pellets such as apple or competition blend. The total smoke time should be at least one hour and 20 minutes but you can cook for longer if desired. Transfer the dip mixture into a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet and place this on the smoker when it reaches temp.
Stir the dip every 45 minutes and if you plan to cook for the recommended 1 hour 20, then you will stir the dip just once. If you plan to cook longer, use the 45 minute stirring as a checkup to see how much moisture is lost and don’t allow the dip to get too dry.
20 minutes before you plan to remove the dip, add the 1/2 cup of shredded cheese that was set aside to the top of the dip. Allow this to cook without stirring and let it melt down. Another option you can try is to brown the cheese topping in the oven by placing it on the top oven rack and using the broiler. Set it to high and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Do not walk away, always keep an eye on the brown coloring of the cheese.
Allow the dip to cool for at least 5 minutes because it is molten lava hot. Then serve it with corn chips, or pita chips for dipping. For extra fancy stuff you can thinly slice a French baguette and toast the slices in the oven.
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Oven Roasted Eye Round Roast
Oven Roasted Eye Round Roast
Roast beef can be made from various cuts of beef, and that’s a good thing because you have options. Even better is when those options go on sale at your favorite market. If you ever notice eye round roast on sale, pick it up and try out this recipe. This is super easy to make but it really does help if you have some kind of wired or wireless digital thermometer. You want to avoid opening the oven door as much as possible so checking temperatures with a handheld thermometer is not recommended. It’s also best if you have a cast iron skillet to brown the beef in prior to roasting. So once you gear up with this small equipment investment, you are ready to enjoy some home made roast beef.
Man That’s Cooking
Ingredients
- 3.5 – 4.5 lb eye round roast
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Directions
Salt all sides of the roast then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Set the rack in the oven to the medium position. Preheat the oven to 225 F.
Dry the roast with paper towels, then rub it down with olive oil. Apply black pepper to all sides of the roast.
Heat a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet on medium high heat with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil starts smoking, sear the roast on each side for 3 minutes per side.
Transfer the roast to the rack in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for about 1.5 hours until the center reaches 115F. This recipe is a cook by temp, not a cook by time so for time estimates it will be just that, a rough estimate. Assuming a 4 pound roast takes roughly 1 1/2 hours at 225F to reach 115 F you are looking at 1 1/2 hours = 90 minutes / 4 pounds = 22 minutes per pound.
Turn the oven off, do not open the door and allow the roast to cook about 30 more minutes until the center is 130F. Remove the roast from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Slice thinly and enjoy with a horseradish sauce.
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