Maryland Steamed Shrimp with Homemade Cocktail Sauce

I made this for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve this year. My mom always made it on special occasions growing up, especially after we left the east coast and moved to Illinois. There is no other way to eat shrimp, in my opinion!

*2 lbs uncooked, deveined shrimp (works well with or without shells)
*2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning (no substitutes!)
*1 cup beer
*1 cup apple cider vinegar
*1 tsp salt

In a large pan or soup pot, combine Old Bay, beer, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp. Cover and turn off heat. Wait until there all of the shrimp turns pink. (If your shrimp is too cold, you may need to turn the heat back on and return to a boil for a couple seconds.) Drain. Serve immediately or chill for several hours and serve cold. I prefer it cold.

For the cocktail sauce:
*Ketchup
*Pure Horseradish
*Lemon Juice
*Worchershire sauce

Combine all ingredients to taste. I like mine spicy, so I add lots of horseradish.

You could buy prepared cocktail sauce, but as a seafood snob, that goes against my beliefs. It tastes so much better when you make it yourself.

Use the directions for shrimp to make Maryland Shrimp Salad. Chill the shrimp, chop it into chunks, add mayo, chopped celery, a little lemon juice, pepper and more Old Bay to taste. Serve on wheat toast with lettuce and tomato. My favorite sandwich ever!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Football season is upon us. And I have a new crowd-pleasing crockpot favorite. I love the taste of buffalo chicken, but those of you who know me know I can't eat meat off the bone. (Yuck.) This chicken is great on wrap or sandwiches with a little shredded cheddar, but would also be great on a buffalo chicken pizza, even nachos. And no deep-fat frying!

-4 boneless, skinless, uncooked chicken breasts
-1 bottle wing sauce
-1 packet ranch dressing mix
-2 tbsp butter

Place chicken in crockpot. Whisk together wing sauce and ranch dressing mix; pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add butter to the sauce, and use two forks to shred the chicken. Don't be tempted to skip the butter, as I was. It gives the sauce a really nice texture. So good!!

Sloppy Joe's

Ever since Gretchen posted on her blog that Cooper wouldn't eat his Sloppy Joe, I have had a craving. This is on the menu tonight. Here's the recipe I use. It's about as traditional as you can get. It's great with ground turkey, too.

1 lb lean ground beef

1 cup ketchup

3 tsp Worchestire sauce

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp yellow or spicy mustard

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp water - more if you need it to thin the sauce

I make the sauce up ahead of time to let the flavors blend together. When you're ready, brown the ground beef and drain. Pour sauce and let simmer about 30 minutes. Serve on sandwich buns.

Shana Beef

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks and have made it for parties and other get-togethers. This recipe is a big hit with Jane's husband. In fact, he is the one that started calling it Shana Beef and it has stuck.

2-1/2 lb. beef roast - I use eye of round
2 medium onions, chopped - optional
1-1/2 cups or 12 oz. can cola-flavored beverage
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. been bouillon granules
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1 TBSP butter

Place roast in Crock Pot; add onion. Combine cola, and next 7 ingredients; cover and chill 1 cup of the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the roast. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or on LOW for 9 hours or until roast is very tender. Remove roast with chopped onion from the Crock Pot, using a slotted spoon and shred meat with two forks.

Combine reserved refrigerated sauce, ketchup and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly or until heated. Pour sauce over the shredded meat.

Easy Italian Beef

This is one of my oldest go-to recipes. The beef turns out really tender and makes delicious sandwiches.

3-4 lb beef roast, eye of the round

1 can beef broth

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 jar sliced pepperonicis, with juice

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place the roast in the bottom of crockpot. In a small bowl, combine broth, garlic, dressing mix and seasoning. Pour over meat. Top with pepperonicis, juice and pepper. Cook on low 8 hours. When finished cooking, shred the meat with two forks. Leave the meat in the juice to store to keep it tender. I like to serve this on chewy bread, like ciabatta, and top with mozzerella cheese. Then stick the sandwich, open faced, under the broiler for a minute or two. YUM.

Maid-Rite Sandwiches

When you visit the heartland, as I did this past weekend, you eat some darn tasty grub. This recipe is an Iowa favorite. My sister (who lives just over the border in Omaha) is married to an Iowa native... and has mastered the art that is the Maid-Rite. Maid-Rite is actually a fast food restaurant chain in Iowa that specializes in loose-meat sandwiches. But many families out there also make their own. The sandwich gets its name because it is just "made right." And it's true. YUM!

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, chopped fine (my sister doesn't always use onion, but my brother-in-law's 88-year-old adorable Grandma told me that it's a must)

1 can chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef and onion together. Drain. Return beef to pan and pour chicken broth over. Turn on high and bring to a boil. Let cook until all the liquid cooks off. Salt and pepper to taste. That's it!

Serve on hamburger buns. I put cheese on mine, but that is an Iowa no-no. They serve them with mustard and pickles. Ketchup is also, apparently, strictly off limits. I've been known to put ketchup on, too. Hey, I'm an Marylander-Ohioan... sue me!