Friday, August 1, 2025

Crack Burgers

Ingredients

1.5 lbs ground beef 80/20 blend

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ Cup sour cream

½ Cup bacon crumbles (six strips of bacon)

2 Tbsp. ranch seasoning

6 cheese slices

6 brioche hamburger buns

Optional Toppings

Burger sauce

Caramelized onions

Pickles

Instructions

Cook six strips of bacon until crispy. Remove and cut into small pieces or break into crumbles. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, ranch dressing, and bacon bits. Mix altogether.

Form six 1/4 pound patties.

On a preheated griddle, cook patties for five minutes on one side. Flip and cook for four minutes. Add cheese slices, cover, and cook for one more minute or until cheese is melted on top. Remove.

Place on a brioche bun and serve with your favorite toppings. I recommend burger sauce, caramelized onions, and pickles.

Taco Fried Rice

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp Dan-O’s Chipotle

2 tbsp Dan-O’s Taco-O

1 lb ground beef or turkey

6 cups cooked rice (preferably day-old)

1 cup green bell peppers, diced

1 cup red bell peppers, diced

3 green onion bulbs, split in halves and separate white and green parts

4 eggs

1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeños

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the flat top grill to medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and let it heat up.

Add Vegetables: corn, diced green and red bell peppers. Stir well and cook for about 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Add the ground beef or turkey to the grill. Cook until browned, breaking it apart with a spatula.

Add the cooked rice. Sprinkle generously with Dan-O’s Tac-O and Dan-O’s Chipotle.

Stir everything together, allowing the rice to heat through and absorb the flavors. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Then mix all together the rice and vegetables.

Push the rice mixture to one side of the grill. Crack the eggs onto the other side and scramble them until fully cooked. Once done, mix the scrambled eggs into the rice mixture.

Transfer the taco fried rice to plates and add optional toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, add that Mexican sauce here or sliced jalapeños as desired.

Source: https://danosseasoning.com/recipes/taco-fried-rice/?srsltid=AfmBOopKDU_9MdeTZbZPWQ1zMw7x9u9jlQxCpE4vFSy3mURsRP74Q3KY

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Hot Honey Ranch Dipping Sauce



  •  1 C Sour Cream
  • 2/3 C Hot Honey (can blend hot honey and sriracha honey)
  • 2 T Garlic Chili Oil (adjust for spice preference)
  • 4 T Ranch Seasoning
  • 4 T Freshly chopped Dill
  • 2 t. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar, stir until smooth.
  2. Transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
  3. Serve chilled, or warmed. Your preference.
Additional uses: Use as a pizza drizzle, dipping sauce for pizza crust, or finishing sauce for roasted veggies.


Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Dried Chilies to Replace Chili Powder

 

How to Prepare Chiles for Cooking

Cooking with chilies is a three-step process. First, you've got to clean them by removing their stems and seeds. (Wear gloves if you're in any way sensitive to spicy food or have sensitive skin!) Next, I recommend toasting them for maximum flavor. Finally, they need to be ground or puréed. I'll walk you through each of these processes.

Clean - remove stems and seeds

Toasting chilies, just like toasting spices, can improve their flavor and add complexity. It's not 100% necessary, but it takes only a few minutes. There are a number of ways to do it.

The oven is the best method if you're toasting lots of chilies. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet, and place them in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C), turning them occasionally, until they smell roasted and are very pliable. (If you toast the chilies before cleaning them, they'll also puff up.)

A skillet is a decent choice if you're doing only a few. Place them in a dry skillet, and heat over medium heat, tossing them occasionally, until they're toasted and pliable. It'll take about three minutes.

The microwave is an even better tool for the job than the stovetop, and it's my method of choice for a single batch of chilies. Just lay the chilies on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave them on high in 15-second intervals until they're toasted and pliable. It should take around 30 seconds.

Ingredients

  • 3 whole sweet fresh dried chilies, such as costeño, New Mexico, or choricero, stems and seeds removed

  • 2 small hot dried chilies, such as de árbol or cascabel, stems and seeds removed

  • 3 whole rich, fruity dried chiles, such as ancho, mulato, negro, or pasilla, stems and seeds removed

  • 2 whole chipotle dried chilies canned in adobo sauce, plus 2 tablespoons (30ml) sauce

  • 1 quart (950ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

  • Directions

    1. Place chiles on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high at 15-second intervals until hot, pliable, and toasted-smelling, about 30 seconds total.

    2. Combine all chiles in a medium saucepan and add chicken broth. Simmer over medium-high heat until chiles are completely tender, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, place chiles and chicken broth in a 2-quart microwave-safe container, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high power until liquid is simmering, about 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer to a countertop blender or hand blender cup and blend until completely smooth.

    3. Store chile paste in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Alternatively, divide paste into ice cube trays, freeze, and transfer frozen chile paste cubes into freezer bags to store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

    4. Exchange 4:1 (4 paste to 1 powder)

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Rosemary Potato Rolls with Herbed Garlic Butter

This bread is so good it’s bound to become a tradition this Thanksgiving. Baking bread can sometimes be intimidating, but these little rolls are actually quite straightforward to make.

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tbsps white sugar

1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups flour, plus a bit more for dusting

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

1 egg

2 tbsps chopped rosemary

2 tsps salt

For the garlic butter:

3 tbsps unsalted butter

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme


Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small saucepan gently warm the milk, butter and sugar until butter is melted; don’t get it too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the warmed buttery milk and allow the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t smell “yeasty” start over/find fresher yeast.

Add the bloomed yeast liquid to a bowl of a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add in the flour and potato and knead on high until combined. Add the egg, rosemary and salt and continue kneading. The dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky. Add more flour if it seems too wet.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and shape into a ball. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap. Set in a warmer area of the kitchen and allow the dough to rise until doubled (about 1 ½ hours).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface once again. Gently punch the dough down and cut into four equal portions. From those four portions continue cutting and forming small dough balls; you should have 12-18 balls in total.

Butter a baking dish or cast iron pan and transfer the shaped dough to the dish. Let the dough balls rise for an additional thirty minutes - preheat the oven to 350°F while they’re rising.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, make the garlic butter. In a small pan melt the butter with the garlic and thyme and allow the garlic to cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the rolls from the oven and brush with the garlic butter. Finish with a sprinkling of flakey salt. Serve warm.

Serves 16

 

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Easy Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk (you can use other milk but whole milk makes the rolls the yummiest)

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs (large)

1 teaspoon salt

4 cup bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoon yeast

(1 or 2 T water if needed)

Note: save the butter wrapper in the fridge for later.

Instructions:

Warm the milk to between 90 and 110 degrees F.
Mix all of the ingredients together minus the optional water.
(If you have a mixer with a bread hook you can use that or just mix by hand)
Once all the ingredients are added if the dough seems very dry add 1 tablespoon of water.  A second tablespoon of water can be added if still needed.  I rarely need to add the water unless the air in my home is extremely dry.
See picture for how the dough should look.


Once all of the ingredients are fully incorporated knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.

Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (approximately 6 to 9 minutes).

Place the dough in a very lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and place in a warm area.
Allow the dough to rise until it is about double in size (approximately 60 minutes.)
(My grandmother liked to let her bread rise in the laundry room while the dryer was running as the heat made the room warm or on top of the refrigerator.)


If you saved the butter wrapper use that to butter the 9 x 13 pan (I use a pyrex).
Just rub the empty butter wrapper all over the bottom and sides of the pan.
Your hands stay clean and you are using butter which would have been thrown away.

You will be making 24 rolls.
Split dough in half and then again so you have 4 even sections of dough.
Divide each of those in half again and then divide into 3 even balls.


To Shape Rolls: (see link below for a video how to)
Take a section of the roll in your hand.
Make a circle with your thumb and fingers that is smaller than the dough.
Hold the dough in the circle your hand creates.
Using your other hand push gently on the backside of the roll (inside your hand.)
Keep pushing gently while your other hand stays in a circle and smooths the outside of the roll.
Continue until the roll is smooth and shaped into a ball.
I make 6 rows of 4 rolls and place them in the greased pan.
Cover the rolls with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area for 15 to 20 minutes.
(You can let the rolls rise for longer, sometimes if the oven is not free I have let them rise for almost an hour and they were still perfect.)
The rolls should increase in size by about 50%.

Remove the damp towel and bake at 375 degrees F for 14 to 17 minutes or until the rolls are slightly golden brown.  The color will be very subtle so make sure you do not over cook.

Serve warm with butter.
Very yummy!!!


Thursday, November 7, 2024

Hot Cocoa Dip



Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup marshmallow creme

1/2 cup McCormick® Hot Cocoa Finishing Sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed


INSTRUCTIONS

1 Beat cream cheese, marshmallow creme and Hot Cocoa Sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until well blended and smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping.

2 Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with additional Hot Cocoa Sugar. Serve with assorted dippers such as graham crackers, fresh fruit, or marshmallows.