The days are getting shorter, dusk is coming earlier and my new solar-powered porch lights are making me want to spend more evenings on the back patio. Well, that and it’s not 100 degrees every night any more.

As much as I can complain about the summer heat in Texas, I do love the more mild autumns and winters. I REALLY love the fact you can comfortably grill outside all year long in the South, minus maybe a handful of days.

I like this steak salad because it combines my favorite food group, steak, with a more healthy salad, making it a hearty meal. The acid from the lime juice offsets the rich fattiness of the steak and the queso fresco provides a pop of flavor without a lot of added fat.

I also like this steak salad because boneless sirloin strip steak is on sale this week at Brookshire’s. The boneless sirloin really benefits from the marinade, so don’t skip that step!

Mexican Steak Salad

Ingredients:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs garlic, minced
1 lb boneless sirloin steak strips
1/4 small red onion, sliced
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tsp
1 small head romaine lettuce, torn
1 small head butter lettuce, torn
1/2 cup cilantro
1 cup queso fresco or feta cheese, crumbled
1 avocado, sliced
3 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions:
Mix the soy sauce with cumin and garlic. Marinate the steak in the soy sauce mixture for 30 minutes. At the same time, soak the red onions in ice water for 30 minutes. (It takes away the “bite” of the onion.)

Preheat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the steak 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 5 minutes, and then slice against the grain. Follow the same directions for a gas grill.

Toss the steak with the romaine, butter lettuce, cilantro, queso fresco, onions and avocado. Whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil with the lime juice, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 384, Fat: 26 g (6 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 52 mg, Sodium: 663 mg, Protein: 29 g, Carbohydrates: 10 g, Sugar: 2 g, Fiber: 5 g, Iron: 3 mg, Calcium: 140 mg.

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Considering my son’s current affinity for white rice, I try to work it into as many dishes as humanly possible. While Luke is a sweet boy, he’s a picky eater. He likes rice, approximately two vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower) and meat.

That doesn’t always make cooking easy.

This dish satisfies all his requirements AND is made in the slow cooker (which makes me happy). In addition, chuck roast is on sale at Brookshire’s this week, so really, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
1 cup beef stock or beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tbs sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 (12 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets
white or brown rice, cooked

Directions:
Whisk together the beef stock, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic in the crockery of a slow cooker. Place beef strips in the sauce, tossing to coat. Cook on low setting for approximately 6 hours.

When your beef is almost finished, remove about 4 tablespoons of the sauce from the slow cooker, and whisk it with cornstarch. Stir it back into the slow cooker and add broccoli. Turn heat to high; let cook for about 30 more minutes, or until sauce is thickened and broccoli is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 563, Calories from Fat: 316, Fat: 35 g (13 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 117 mg, Sodium: 2090 mg, Potassium: 402 mg, Carbohydrates: 24 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 14 g, Protein: 34 g.

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Everywhere I go, there are eggs on the food.

Eggs on pizza, eggs on burgers, eggs on noodles, eggs on sandwiches of any kind.

They’re easily the “it” ingredient of 2015.

What goes well with eggs? Well, bacon, of course.

Eggs and bacon clearly aren’t just for breakfast anymore, but when I was asked to bring a dish to a potluck brunch recently, I didn’t have to look much further than the classic breakfast staples. This cheese ball, a classic party food, makes breakfast so much fun. The trick is the soft-boiled egg. I’d probably soft-boil a few, just in case the first one doesn’t work out. Just remember to handle with care!

Use Brookshire’s Bacon for this recipe. On sale this week in your local Brookshire’s store, Brookshire’s Bacon stays crisp, even when cooked a few hours before you need it. This cheese ball lets you enjoy the creamy richness of the egg yolk with its best complimentary flavors: bacon and cheese!

Bacon and Egg Cheese Ball

Ingredients:
8 oz aged cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 slices Brookshire’s Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 soft-boiled egg
crackers of your choice

Directions:
Partially spread cream cheese on a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Place your soft-boiled egg gently in the center of the softened cream cheese, and use your hands or a small spatula to mold cream cheese around the egg, forming a ball.

Roll your ball of cream cheese in the shredded cheddar cheese until it’s covered, and then press bacon into the cheeseball, covering the bacon.

The cheese ball is now ready to serve, but you can also refrigerate it for a few minutes to encourage it to hold its shape.

Serve with crackers.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 336, Calories from Fat: 258, Fat: 29 g, Trans Fat: 0 g (15 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 105 mg, Sodium: 759 mg, Potassium: 189 mg, Carbohydrates: 1 g, Protein: 18 g.

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Need I mention my well-documented love of all things buffalo? Probably not. You know this by now.

However, I’ve never tried it on pork chops.

The hot sauce is a bold complement to juicy pork chops, as pork can stand up well to the tang of the sauce. When you mix it with butter, you almost think you’re eating a hot wing with less mess, of course.

When I actually made this recipe, I used bleu cheese crumbles in addition to the provolone cheese to make it feel more like buffalo chicken. I just sprinkled them on top of the provolone and completed the directions as written. It didn’t disappoint. Now, one of my kids likes bleu cheese; it’s too stinky for the other’s taste. Either way, it’s an optional way to jazz up this dish.

One of the things I love about cooking these chops in a cast iron skillet is that the butter/hot sauce combo caramelizes on the chop, creating more of a crust than a sauce.

Boneless pork chops are on sale this week at Brookshire’s, so take a chance and spice up your pork with this recipe.

Buffalo-Style Pork Chops

Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs Frank’s Hot Sauce
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) boneless pork chops (about 10 oz each)
4 thin slices provolone cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Season each pork chop with salt and pepper. Set aside to rest.

Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk the Frank’s Hot Sauce in the melted butter and cook until it bubbles. Toss pork chops into the bubbling butter mixture, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from heat; place a slice of provolone cheese on top of each chop. Place a lid or a baking sheet over the cast iron skillet until cheese is melty. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 531, Calories from Fat: 192, Fat: 21 g, Trans Fat: 0 g (11 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 237 mg, Sodium: 539 mg, Potassium: 1225 mg, Carbohydrates: 1 g, Protein: 78 g.

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A few weekends ago, we went to Brookshire’s, and Paul picked out two of the most amazing steaks I’d ever seen in my life.

I don’t even know if ribeyes were on sale that day, like they are this week at Brookshire’s, but it didn’t even matter: we got them anyway.

We got SIX MEALS out of those two steaks. Six. For each of us.

The beauty of a good ribeye is that you don’t need to do a lot to it in order for it to be the most delicious meal you’ve ever eaten.

We simply rub it with David Wade’s Worcestershire Powder, a little Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and some black pepper. Then, we (we, meaning Paul) slap it down on the grill over high heat to get that wonderful sizzle, of course, and turn the heat down a bit, cooking approximately six minutes per side for a medium-rare, 2-inch thick steak.

We had steaks the first night (with baked potatoes, salad and cream peas), steak tacos the second night (with Paul’s homemade hot sauce) and then got several more leftover meals from the meat and grilled onions.

Since they’re on sale this week, you have a ton of delicious and economical choices

One of the first things Paul made, when he got a smoker for his birthday, was a smoked whole chicken. I’ve been craving it again ever since.

This recipe uses leg quarters, which smoke beautifully and have great potential for presentation.

The chicken marinates in a bright, flavorful marinade full of citrus flavors with the heat of jalapeño peppers and the depth of spices including cumin and oregano. I’d recommend marinating it overnight or at least all day. That just gives you more flavor.

One of the things I really love about this recipe is that you don’t need a traditional smoker to make it work. The Applewood chips add smoke and a slightly sweet flavor to this chicken, a perfect complement to the sweetness in the chicken.

Pilgrim leg quarters are on sale this week at Brookshire’s, and it might just be the perfect time to smoke some more chicken.

Smoked Mojo Chicken Leg Quarters

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbs orange zest, loosely packed
1 Tbs lime zest, loosely packed
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed
6 large garlic cloves
2 red jalapeño peppers
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 chicken leg quarters (about 5 1/2 lb)
6 cups Applewood chips

Directions:
Combine the first 12 ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for about 20 seconds, or until everything is finely chopped and incorporated. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the mixture for later use. Chill.

Place chicken in an extra-large, plastic zipper bag. Pour the rest of the marinade over the chicken, zip closed and let marinate overnight, or at least 8 hours.

When you’re ready to cook, place 3 cups dry Applewood chips in the center of a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and fold over to make a packet. Poke a few holes at the top of the packet. Make two packets, reserving one.

Preheat grill to 350° F, either leaving one side unlit on a gas grill or banking coals to one side on a charcoal grill. Place the packet of Applewood chips, hole-side up, on the lit side.

Drain marinade and discard. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Move Applewood chips to the unlit side of the grill, and replace with the chicken over the direct heat. Grill 4 to 6 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. Move to unlit side of the grill and the Applewood chips back to the lit side. Cover and cook, about 90 minutes, until the skin is golden-brown and chicken is cooked through.

You should replace Applewood chip packet halfway through the cooking process.

Warm reserved marinade and serve chicken with the sauce.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 763, Calories from Fat: 500 g, Fat: 56 g (14 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 287 mg, Sodium: 1080 mg, Potassium: 115 mg, Carbohydrates: 6 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g, Protein: 65 g.

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My younger son, Luke, has been all into cooking this summer. He wants to help in the kitchen every time I make a meal, and he’s mastered several dishes on his own (like his breakfast scrambled eggs or omelet) over the past few months as well.

While I LOVE cooking with him, he makes me nervous. He wants to wield my chef’s knife like Jet Tila and that makes me uneasy. So far (knocking on wood), so good; no injuries reported in our kitchen!

Last night we watched Food Network together and played along with the shows, describing what we’d make if we were in the contestants’ place. Luckily, Luke doesn’t have free reign of the kitchen (Laffy Taffy Cheesecake, anyone?), but he is a pretty creative cook.

We were eating dinner one night recently and he said something like, “Wouldn’t tacos be good with bread instead of shells?” I whole-heartedly agreed. Pretty much anything is better with bread.

We found this recipe on Pinterest together and he made it recently. It doesn’t require any sharp knives, and he loved scooping out the bread (and eating it) along the way. You could also make croutons or breadcrumbs with the bread you take out of the middle of the loaf.

Angus ground chuck is on sale this week at Brookshire’s, so we made a double batch for big appetites!

Taco-Stuffed Baguette

Ingredients:
12 oz Angus ground chuck
1 (4.5) oz can chopped green chilies
1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning mix (or make your own)
½ cup salsa
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 20-inch bakery baguette, fully-cooked
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brown Angus ground chuck in a heavy skillet (we love cast iron) over medium high heat. Stir in taco seasoning and mix well. Drain grease and return the seasoned ground beef to the skillet.

Stir in green chilies and salsa.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, meat mixture, cilantro and both types of cheeses. Stir well to mix thoroughly.

Using a long serrated bread knife, slice the heels off both ends of the bread. Cut bread in half or into quarters for easy handling. Scoop out the soft, middle part of the bread, leaving about a ½-inch shell in tact.

Carefully fill each section of bread with the cream cheese mixture, being careful not to tear the shell of the bread.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter, garlic and sea salt.

Place bread on a large piece of heavy duty foil and brush with the butter mixture. Wrap completely. Place foil-wrapped bread in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes until inside is fully melted and the bread is browned.

Cut into more slices and serve immediately.

Nutritional information: Calories Per Serving: 351, Calories from Fat: 259, Fat: 29 g (16 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 94 mg, Sodium: 737 mg, Carbohydrates: 7 g, Sugar: 2 g, Protein: 16 g

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I have this magnificent practical joke working in my mind, and I hope Paul isn’t reading this right now.

I want to announce to him that we’re having homemade sushi for dinner.

I would love to see his face.

Paul wouldn’t want to be within 10 feet of sushi, at least not the traditional kind. He’d put on a brave face because he’s sweet and polite like that, but he’d probably offer to go pick up some barbecue or something.

Sushi purists will readily decry this recipe, but it certainly would be a fun play on sushi for the meat-lovin’ man. COOKED meat, at that.

I’m going to play this prank this week when Brookshire’s Thick Bacon is on sale. I might even make two because I know the boys would love it as well.

Bacon Beef “Sushi”

Ingredients:
1 lb Brookshire’s Thick Bacon
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp seasoned salt
3 pieces mozzarella string cheese
1 cup barbecue sauce
French fried onions, optional

Directions:
Cut a large piece of parchment paper.

Lay strips of bacon side-to-side, touching, on top of the parchment paper to form a square.

Spread lean ground beef on top of bacon to cover it. Layer should be thin. Sprinkle with pepper and seasoned salt.

Place three sticks of string cheese, end-to-end, along one edge of the meat. Starting at that end, use parchment paper to roll meat into a sushi log.

Press together. Use toothpicks to hold the “sushi roll” together, if necessary.

Heat grill to medium. Place sushi roll on grill. Grill about 1 minute on each side, turning twice. Baste with barbecue sauce. Grill another minute on each side. Repeat with sauce and grill time.

Grill until cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Remove from grill. Roll into crushed French fried onions, if desired. Slice into sushi slices; serve immediately.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 654, Calories from Fat: 351, Fat: 39 g, Trans Fat: 0 g (14 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 158 mg, Sodium: 2855 mg, Potassium: 827 mg, Carbohydrates: 17 g, Sugar: 11 g, Protein: 55 g

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I used to work with a woman named JoAnne who made magical empanadas. Her doughs were light and flaky, and her fillings were extraordinary. It would make my day when JoAnne showed up at work with a huge, foil-covered plate.

I’ve never perfected her dough (she wouldn’t give me the recipe, family secret), so I gave up trying. However, I’ve gotten pretty close to one of her fillings using a slow-cooked rump roast, on sale this week at Brookshire’s.

You can make the beef ahead of time if you want, and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. You can also use a pie crust cut into rounds with a drinking glass or your own dough for this recipe. My favorite part of this is the avocado cream sauce, which I’ve been known to use for dunking my empanada instead of drizzling the sauce on top. Adding jalapeño peppers to the beef mixture makes it spicier, and you can also add a few drops of hot sauce to the avocado cream.

Beef Empanadas with Avocado Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 lb rump roast
1 white onion, diced
1 Tbs garlic, chopped
4 Tbs cilantro
1 cup salsa verde
1 pkg wonton wrappers
2 egg whites, beaten
1 avocado, mashed
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs heavy cream or milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Place rump roast in a slow cooker. Add in onions, garlic and cilantro. Top with salsa verde. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or until fork-tender. Shred meat. Drain MOST of the liquid, leaving enough so that the filling is not dry. Set aside to cool.

When meat is cooler, place 2 heaping tablespoons into the middle of 1 wonton wrapper. Fold in half once diagonally. Then, fold the edges up toward the middle, and fold the triangular edge toward the middle as well to make an envelope for the filling. Place on a baking sheet and brush with egg whites. Bake at 375° F for 10 minutes or until golden-brown.

Whip sour cream with avocado until well-blended. Thin the mixture with milk or cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle on top of empanadas or use as a dipping sauce. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 449, Calories from Fat: 215, Fat: 24 g, Trans Fat: 0 g (6 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 17 mg, Sodium: 267 mg, Potassium: 276 mg, Carbohydrates: 9 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 2 g, Protein: 51 g

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‘Twas the night before vacation, and I realized I still had a refrigerator full of food that would have gone bad by the time we returned from our trip. I HATE wasting food. Granted, I hadn’t planned very well the week before, but life happens sometimes, you know?

I pulled out Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage, a ton of vegetables, milk, cheese, grapes and eggs.

Now, clearly I wasn’t going to use all of those ingredients together (although that might have made a good episode of “Chopped”), but I did some Googling and found a recipe that made good use of most of what I had.

I had beautiful locally-grown zucchini and grape tomatoes (which are pretty much a staple in my house) and some savory smoked sausage, which is on sale this week at Brookshire’s.

It didn’t take much effort to combine all that into a one-dish meal that cooked up quickly in my cast iron skillet.

Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage Skillet
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Tbs butter or olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 lb Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/4-inch pieces
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/4-inch pieces
1 yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/4-inch pieces
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat butter or olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.

When the oil or butter becomes fragrant, add the diced onion; stir and cook until onions are soft and opaque. Toss in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding the slices of smoked sausage.

Cook until sausage is browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, tomatoes, squash and seasonings; cook another 7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Serve over steamed rice.

Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 428, Calories from Fat: 337, Fat: 37 g (18 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 75 mg, Sodium: 1102 mg, Potassium: 226 mg, Carbohydrates: 10 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 3 g, Protein: 15 g

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