Meals, Munchies and More

I realize some of you will scoff at the thought of running your oven for 5 hours in the summertime, but this BBQ beef is pretty amazing. You can cook it anytime of the day and then reheat it or keep it warm in a slow cooker. You could probably even cook it in a slow cooker, but I haven’t done it that way, so I hesitate to guess at the time and the amount of liquid needed. Using it for BBQ beef sandwiches is a no brainer, but have you ever thought about pizza? I like to use the pre-made pizza crusts, not the refrigerated ones but the ones in the pizza sauce aisle. Smear some BBQ sauce on the crust, top with the beef, cheddar and mozzarella cheese and some sliced green onions. Bake it on a preheated grill or in the oven until the cheese is melted and browned. The parmesan potatoes recipe is written for the oven, but could just as easily go on the grill. The recipe says to use Italian seasoning, but it’s really a personal preference. I like seasoned salt and garlic powder or even dry Ranch seasoning for a change. I saw these Rice Krispies bars online, had all of the ingredients in my pantry and decided to give them a try. One word is all that’s needed to describe them… yum! I only added about ½ teaspoon of salt to the mixture, but topped the bars with a couple of pinches of flaky salt, just to be fancy.

BBQ BEEF

1- 5 lb. boneless beef roast

1 C. ketchup

1 C. BBQ sauce

1 C. water

1 onion, chopped

2 ½ tsp. white vinegar

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Buns for serving

Place meat in a Dutch oven or roasting pan. Mix all remaining ingredients together and pour over the meat. Cover and cook at 300 degrees for 5 hours or until the meat is fork tender and falling apart. Serve on buns.

PARMESAN POTATOES

1/3 C. butter, melted

1/4 C. flour

1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

6 medium potatoes, cut into 4-5 slices each

Pour butter into a 15x10x1 baking pan. In a large zip top plastic bag, combine flour, cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Shake a few potato slices at a time and coat with flour mixture. Place coated potatoes in a single layer over butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip potatoes and bake for another 30 minutes or until tender.

SALTED CARAMEL RICE KRISPIE TREATS

1 stick of butter

1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1-10.8 oz. bag of soft caramels (I used Werther’s)

1-10 oz. bag of mini marshmallows

1 ½ tsp. salt

8 C. Rice Krispies or crispy rice cereal

Pour cereal into a large bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sweetened condensed milk and caramels and continue stirring until smooth. Add salt and marshmallows, stirring until smooth. Pour mixture over cereal until evenly coated. Spray or butter a 9x13 pan and press mixture into the pan. Let cool before cutting into bars.