Sunday Recipe Blogging

I was kind of a slacker in the domestic department this week, so yesterday I thought I'd better make an especially good dinner. We had some beef that needed cooking, so I decided to make BBQ beef with cornbread and spinach greens - a good southern meal. I used my mother-in-law's barbecue recipe with some tweaks of my own, and I must say the whole meal was freaking YUM. Here are the recipes.

BBQ Beef
3 lbs. stew beef
3-4 slices of bacon
1 onion, diced
1 c. ketchup
1 c. water
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. mustard
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. celery, diced

Put bacon and onions in large frying pan over medium heat. Saute until onions are transparent, about 5 minutes. Add beef and saute until brown on all sides (it does not need to be cooked through). Turn off heat and let pan cool slightly. Add all other ingredients to a large crock pot, and stir to blend. Add meat, bacon, onions and juices to BBQ sauce and turn crock pot to high. Once sauce is bubbling, turn crock pot to low, and let cook for at least 5 hours (or as long as 8 hours). Savor the barbecue-y goodness.

Southern-style spinach
In medium sauce pan, bring 2 c. water, 1 t. salt, and 1 strip bacon to boil. Add large package of chopped frozen spinach. When water returns to boil, turn heat down to lowest setting and let simmer for 2-3 hours. Drain before serving or use slotted spoon.

Cornful Cornbread
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. oil
1/2 c. milk
1 egg, beaten
1 can corn, drained

Heat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Grease 8 or 9 inch pan. Mix together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat egg, then blend in other wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients and corn to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve hot, with butter, and don't forget to sop up the leftover BBQ sauce.

Mmmmmm.