Hobo Stew

Hello bloggers!

Here's another good stew. I'm sure you have had something similar to this one. I made up a pot of this stew today and thought I'd share. Hobo or Hamburger Stew is basically a mix of veggies with hamburger. From other recipes I've seen it seems that the veggies are pretty much any thing you have in the cupboard or fridge. For my take on this one I added a pound each of hamburger and ground pork. Not pork sausage but plain ground pork. With rising beef price I found the pork to be much cheaper. The canned tomatoes where chili style diced tomatoes which added a wee bit of a chili flavor which I was hoping for.


Well here we go....


Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (80/20)1 pound ground pork (not sausage)2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves minced garlic4 cans diced tomatoes (14-1/2oz) undrained1 can sweet corn (14-1/2oz) drained8 medium carrots, thinly sliced4 celery ribs, thinly sliced2 medium potatoes, peeled and cube 2 cups water1/2 cup uncooked med. grain rice1 to 2 tablespoons salt1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper
 Directions
1) In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, cook beef, pork and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and onions are soft. Add the tomatoes, carrots, corn, celery, potatoes, water, rice, garlic, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.
2) Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender. Uncover; simmer 20-30 minutes longer or until thickened.  
3) Invite the family over cause you gotta lot of stew to eat up. LOL

When your done browning the beef and pork and have added the veggies your stew should look something like the picture above. Bring to a boil and cook covered till tender. When all is tender and happy, happy, happy reduce your heat to a low simmer and uncover to thicken the stew. Which means to simmer out the excess moister and your stew will be much thicker. The rice will have cooked and absorbed moister/juices also.
Then the finished stew will look something like this....

 Nice thick stew, with great flavor from the tomatoes, onions, carrots and celery. The beef and pork will be flavorful and tender. Perfect on a cool fall day or a cold winters night! Super simple to make and most likely your will have all the ingredients on hand either in the freezer, fridge, cupboard or pantry.

Well bloggers that's it for today. Thanks for stop`n in and checking out my latest adventure in cook`n!

BBQ Breakfast Sushi

Well Hello Bloggers!
 Sure has been way too long since i have created a new post. The Whyldfire BBQ Crew & I have been so busy over past few months with fairs and festivals... its been forever since i have slowed down and done a little cooking for my family. Postings on social media have been over the top with BBQ recipes so i thought i`d share one that i tried today.
With the literal explosion of bacon recipes everywhere i`m not surprise to have found another one.
So here goes it...

First off we have to make whats called a Bacon Weave.

Lay strips of thick cut bacon on a tray or table, weave every other strip till you have some thing that looks like the above picture. Simple really if you ask your girl friend or in my case my lovely wife Doreen. Face it guys women make this task go real fast and easy... LOL

Next thaw out some Tator Tots... about 20 or so. Or do like i did and defrost in the microwave in a medium sized bowl and mash or break up the Tots. Finely chop a couple of tablespoons of onion & green peppers and add these to the bowl. And add one large egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix this concoction all up with a fork.

Next spoon and smooth the Tot mix onto the Bacon Weave evenly... staying away from the edges as shown in the following picture.

Carefully roll up your weave using a spatula or some other such useful kitchen utensil. When you roll it up make sure the end of the weave is on the bottom of the log. This will help hold the weave together while cooking. And you'll end up with something that looks like mine in this next picture.

 I added a handful of shredded cheddar cheese but forgot to snap a picture of this step... sorry. I imagine one can add all different kinds of breakfast like ingredients to this weave. But i thought i`d keep it simple for me and the wife. The egg from the previous step above acts as a binder and the cheese also helps stick this mix together. I cooked this "roll" on my medium sized Big Green Egg and tossed a couple of cups of apple wood chips on the coals for smoke flavor. I set the dampers to maintain 275 degree cooker temp for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or till the bacon was cooked and the internal temp read at least 165 degrees.

I also made a couple three mini rolls with the leftover Bacon and Tot mix. What you`ll end up with is a Jumbo sushi log that will slice and stay together just like the finest Sushi you have seen.

Best thing is....  Its "BBQ"!!!  The smoky bacon, the breakfast flavors of the egg, tator tots and cheese... Awwh man...  its just too good to describe! You have to try it for yourself. I`m sure if you don't have a smoker or grill this can be done in your oven also. Although it wont be as good... give it a try anyway. Who knows it might be better.

  Oh one other thing that goes pretty good with this dish is a big ole cup of some the that there Foo Foo Coffee everyone is drinking these days. My wife made me a mocha-loco-latte something or other. Mmmmm Not bad kinda chocolaty good!
Well folks thanks for checking up on my latest "BBQ Adventure". Till we meet again Happy Q`in to ya!