Shortcut Korean Beef

Traditional Korean beef bulgogi is incredible of course, but this Korean ground beef bowl recipe is even easier (no marinating or slicing beef), faster, and it's cheaper.

After just one bite I think you'll completely appreciate this dish. Those sweet, salty, and umami flavors over the richness of the well browned beef are simplicity at it's best.

Then when you pair it with fresh veggies and cozy rice and you've got a tempting, piled high bowl of hearty and delicious comfort food the whole family can agree on!

These ham and Swiss slider sandwiches are crowd pleasing party favorite, a weeknight dinner the family can agree on, or even a helpful leftover holiday ham recipe.

They can be made with store-bought bakery rolls for a quick option, or for fresh homestyle goodness try them try them on homemade dinner rolls.

Their ham, cheese, creamy honey mustard combo is a flavor trio everyone will love! Plus there's a bonus of everything bagel style seasoning atop as a finishing touch, paired with a generous dose of butter of course.

You'll love these because they are a classic that's easy to make, clean up is simple, and it's a recipe both young and old alike will thoroughly enjoy. You get so much flavor and cheesy goodness in every bite!

Easy Black Bean Soup

This black bean soup is a must try soup recipe! Sure it may sound meh if you've never had it but trust me, if you flavor it right it can become a crave-worthy soup.

Here we add rich bacon, vibrant bell pepper or poblano peppers, fire roasted tomatoes, earthy seasonings including cumin and ancho chili powder and it takes basic bland black beans to an exciting new level.

And let's not forget to mention those highlighting finishes. Bright fresh lime juice, herby cilantro, creamy avocados and sour cream, and always cheese (cheddar, queso fresco or feta are great).

This may just become a new favorite black bean recipe for you!

Looking for more ways to make meatballs? Also try my super popular Italian Meatballs and the healthier Turkey Meatballs.

Greek Keftedes

Keftedes are a popular Greek dish made with ground beef, lamb or pork, bread crumbs (dried or fresh) with a liquid to soak, egg to bind, and to flavor they include onion and fresh herbs such as mint and parsley. Traditionally they are pan fried in oil but for a healthier alternative they can be oven baked (I've included both methods in the recipe).

They have delicious rich meaty flavor paired with fresh herby notes, they are beautifully browned, and you'll find them to be incredibly hearty and filling (5 meatballs may not seem like much but it's quite a generous serving).

These can be served bowl style as a main dish combining them with other sides, or stuffed in a sandwich, or you can opt to serve them as of an appetizer on a mezze platter. See serving suggestions below.

Chili Con Carne

Chili con carne is a robust and rich chili made with beef roast that includes deeply flavored Mexican chilies and spices all simmered together in a stew-like dish. This is a Texas style chili and it's made of mostly beef and chili sauce without lots of added fillers.

It uses a generous amount of browned beef chuck chunks rather than ground hamburger and this really builds up the meaty flavor. Whole dried chilies are used in place of pre-ground store-bought chili powder, and those chilies are toasted in a skillet then soaked in liquid and pureed in a blender to build the base of this hearty chili.

The chili is simmered low and slow on the stovetop for well harmonized depth of flavor and to tenderize the beef.

It's an impressive made from scratch chili that may seem intimidating at first but once you try it you'll see it's easier to make than you'd think.

It's also a tasty change from the original style chili and you may find tasters to love it even more, especially meat lovers! Plus it could just win your next chili cook off!

Want to try a different type of burger next? Go for my Turkey Burgers or Black Bean Burgers to switch things up sometimes.

An Easy Classic Burger Recipe

Burgers have long been a staple food in our family. So I guess you can say we are a typical American family.

Growing up we had them cooked to that hockey puck doneness, overly well, but as a kid I didn't care it was a burger. One thing my mom never got wrong though was that she never used the pre-formed patties. That's burger mistake number one in my mind.

Shaping your own burgers from fresh ground beef will give you a fair superior result.

Helpful Tips

After 20 years of experience making hamburgers I've learned several other things along the way to create the perfect burger:

• Use a high quality bun for the base as this makes up a huge portion of the completed burger. Homemade or bakery fresh is best.
• Go for a good fat ratio within the beef for tenderness (personally I prefer 85%).
• Adequately season the meat with salt, this is a big one people often miss.
• Careful not to overwork the beef as you shape the patties so it's not tough.
• Use a food thermometer to cook to the right temp so it's not undercooked and dangerously rare, or over-cooked and dry and rubbery.
• Preheat pan/grill and maintain that proper temp. Otherwise you'll end up with a pale steamed-like patty or overly charred burger.
• Cook at a fairly high temp without disturbing as it cooks, this helps create a beautifully brown crust. The only way I could achieve this in the oven was to start that pan out super hot and not turn the burger until the end, for one nicely browned side at least.
• Slice toppings fairly thin. For texture and this allows the flavor of the beef shine if we don't go overboard on toppings.
• Toast the buns so they don't get soggy and they hold up better.
• If grilling burgers don't leave them unattended. Grills can have dangerous flare ups if you don't keep an eye on things. You should also be cleaning the fat from the grill regularly.

Over the years I've also tried different things like seasoning the beef to build in other flavors, creating various sizes of burgers, and trying various toppings.

I've settled on simple, and freshest is best but you are always welcome to change things up and go more bold (unique toppings, hot sauce/ peppers, blue cheese, etc).

And of course if you are a cheeseburger fan don't forget to add the cheese after turning the burger (during cooking) for perfectly melty cheesy goodness.

If you are wondering what my personal favorite method of cooking is here it's easily the cast iron stovetop method. But the others are nice for convenience as well and I use all three.

What is Beef Shawarma?

If you’ve never had beef shawarma, you’re in for a treat.! A famous Middle Eastern street food, shawarma is made with chicken or beef that is heavily marinated in oil, lemon juice, and warm spices. Then, it is placed on a vertical rotisserie or spit and slow-roasted for days until it is unbelievably tender. 

Most commonly, it is shaved off and served stuffed into bread with fresh toppings and a drizzle of tahini or tzatziki. However, you can also find it presented as part of a platter along with sides like tabbouleh and hummus. No matter how it’s plated, it’s always incredible and is guaranteed to leave you coming back for more. 

Don’t worry, though. You don’t need a fancy spit to make your own beef shawarma at home. I’ll show you how to create the same bold flavor and tender texture by searing on the stovetop instead! 

Club Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a family favorite pasta salad! It's similar to the taste of a club chicken sandwich meets a ranch salad. In other words it's completely irresistible!

It has all the best flavors including the unmistakable taste of dill, sweet corn, vibrant tomatoes, crave-able cheese, meaty bacon, bone-in cooked chicken, and a rich tangy dressing. And if you want one more summery mix-in you can also include in a buttery avocado.

It makes an extra large batch which is perfectly fitting for a summer cook out of about 12 people, but the recipe can easily be halved as well for a smaller family lunch or dinner (amounts are included at the bottom of the recipe).

Though you'll find it also keeps well in the fridge so you may opt to just make the full batch and have the extra for lunch that's ready to go the following few days.

This chicken pasta salad is chilled and refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day. Plus it's such a tasty upgrade from traditional pasta salad. So much delicious goodness in every serving!

Our Favorite Navajo Tacos!

Think piled high taco salad but even better! These are a Southwestern classic.

Just imagine a pillowy soft yet chewy center encased by a lightly crisp, perfectly fried golden brown exterior. Then it's generously topped with a deeply flavorful browned beef taco filling and all those vibrantly colorful toppings that have a pleasant complementary blend of textures.

People of all ages love them! They are such a simply satisfying taco to say the least.

Try them soon and you'll see why our family has craved them as long as we can remember!

A Quick and Easy Skillet Lasagna Recipe!

This is likely to quick become a new family favorite! It's unbelievably easy to make yet the finished result is undeniably impressive for something so simple.

You get all the flavors of a traditional lasagna with a fraction of the effort. None of that tedious pre-cooking and repetitive layering. And huge bonus - there's not tons of extra dishes!

Let's also not forget you don't even need to turn the oven on. This is a cooked solely on the stovetop.

Which could also be nice if you want free up oven space to bake breadsticks, garlic bread, or roasted broccoli to pair with this.

A classic dish with a updated and simplified, modern weeknight spin. So much to love here, especially that overload of cheese!