These tacos are the definition of cultural food fusion. Traditional corned beef gets a new look with red cabbage slaw and beer cheese cause served in a taco!

Like many of my recipes that have a long list of ingredients, I swear this one is not as scary as it looks. The corned beef gets thrown in a slow cooker, the slaw is tossed together and refrigerated, the whiskey sauce simmers for just a few couple minutes, and the cheese sauce is whisked and melted. After that all that’s left is the assembly – that’s only 5 steps people! Easy peasy.

While these steps are easy they also pack in a lot of flavor, made evident by the long ingredient list. To start, the corned beef is slow cooked in Guinness stout beer for 8 hours. It is then drained, shredded, and tossed in a sauce made from whiskey (because this holiday is about booze right?), honey, and brown sugar. It’s just enough to give it a sweet kick but not too much to taste like candy. After that, toss the shredded red cabbage and carrots in a vinaigrette to make the slaw before whisking together the cheese sauce made from sharp cheddar and gouda and yes, more Guinness. Layer it all in a warm tortilla, and top it with a sprinkle of micro greens and we are in business!

Arn’t the little microgreens cute? They look like baby clovers which is appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day. I realize that tacos are not the first thing that come to mind when you think of St. Patrick’s Day but in case you hadn’t noticed, I like to blend genres. Need more evidence? I served these tacos with fries, because potatoes are Irish, right? Just go with it, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

One year ago: S’mores Lucky 7-Layer Bars

Two years ago: Buckeye Whoopie Pies

Five years ago: St. Patrick’s Day Recipe Roundup (2012)

Six years ago: Heart-Stuffed Shells in a Ricotta Sauce

SLOW COOKER CORNED BEEF TACOS

Serves 8

Ingredients:

CORNED BEEF

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 (2 lb.) corned beef brisket with spice packet, fat trimmed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

12 oz. Guinness

SLAW

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp chili powder, or to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 small head red cabbage, shredded

4 large carrots, shredded

4 green onions, thinly sliced

WHISKEY SAUCE

1/4 cup whiskey

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp brown sugar

BEER CHEESE SAUCE

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 oz. Guinness

4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

2 oz. smoked gouda cheese

2/3 cup milk

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

TACOS

16 (6-inch) corn tortillas (or spinach for festive flair)

Microgreens or chopped green onion for garnish

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick spray. Spread the onion slices evenly on the bottom, lay the beef on top, and pour the pop over the beef. Set on low and and cook for 8 hours, or until cooked. Once the corned beef is cooked, drain the liquid, remove bay leaf, and shred using two forks.
2. For the slaw, in a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, mustard, garlic, chili powder, and salt and pepper. Add cabbage, carrots, and green onion and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat whisk the whiskey, honey, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and allow to reduce, about 8-10 minutes. Toss the corned beef and onions in the whiskey sauce.
4. Make the cheese sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and flour and whisk for 3-4 minutes, or until golden. Whisk in the Guinness. Add the cheese a little at a time, the milk, and the Dijon. Whisk until melted. Keep over low heat until ready to use.
5. To serve the tacos, heat the corn tortillas on a skillet over medium-high heat until soft and pliable (or microwave between damp towels for 10-30 seconds). Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the beef onto center of each tortilla. Top with slaw, cheese sauce, and microgreens. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from my Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Brisket, Diethood, and Girl Carnivore.

Whether you like pizza, pie, or Irish food this Shepherd’s pie pizza has it all. From a potato bread crust, to the classic Shepherd’s pie filling, finished off with mashed potato topping.

Happy Pi(e) Day! Both the math lover and pie lover in me loves celebrating this holiday. Here I was thinking I would be different this year and post not only a savory pie, but a festive one for St. Patrick’s Day. Only to realize exactly a year ago I shared a shepherd’s pie recipe… stuffed inside of twice baked potato skins. That being said, I gave myself a new challenge by making yet another variation of my tried and true pizza dough – potato dough! All I really did was take my recipe for potato burger buns and instead of dividing it into balls to become buns I rolled the dough out into one large pizza. The end result was just a bit more crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside than your typical pizza crust.

The dough was literally topped with the same filling you would make for an actual Shepherd’s Pie. Then, of course there’s no way I could get away with calling this Shepherd’s Pie pizza without more potato on top so, sure enough I spread out a nice layer of mashed potatoes on top (sprinkled with shredded gouda for good measure) before transferring to the oven to bake. Oh and that cheese did turn a perfect golden color. The final product was like eating a double crusted pizza, with potato on top and potato on bottom. Nothing wrong with that!

Happy Pi Day! Terri of Love and Confections gathered up a group of blog friends to celebrate by sharing some delicious pies with you. Check out the rest of the recipes for a delicious #piday!

Cherry Hand Pies from Love and Confections
Chocolate Orange Free Form Pie from The Bitter Side of Sweet
Chocolate Peanut Butter Freezer Pie from Feeding Big
Fried Apple Pies from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Gluten Free Death By Chocolate Pie from Gluten Free Crumbley
Mini Shamrock Pie from The Freshman Cook
Shepherd’s Pie Pizza from The Spiffy Cookie
Sweet Potato Pie from My Catholic Kitchen

One year ago: Shepherd’s Pie Potato Skins

Two years ago: Coconut-Pistachio Pie

Three years ago: Crustless Ginger Blueberry-Pear Pie

Four years ago: Banana Pudding Pie

Five years ago: Flower Bouquet Cake Pops

Six years ago: Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter Pie

SHEPHERD’S PIE PIZZA

Makes 1 large pizza

Ingredients:

CRUST

1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 envelope (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

2-1/4 cups bread flour

1 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp salt

TOPPING

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. ground lamb

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup dry red wine

10 oz. (2 cups) frozen carrot, corn, pea mix

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp whole grain mustard

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup shredded gouda

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in medium saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes, reserving 5 tablespoons of the potato water in a small bowl. Return potatoes to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, shaking pot occasionally, until any surface moisture has evaporated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Process potatoes through ricer or food mill, food processor or mash well with potato masher. Stir in butter until melted.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm reserved potato water, yeast and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add flour, half of the mashed potatoes, egg and salt and mix until combined. Knead with dough hook on low speed until dough is soft and slightly sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Shape dough into ball and place in lightly greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 40-60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with a pizza stone on lower third of the oven.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes or until softened. Add meat and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
7. Add wine and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add veggies and remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
8. To the remaining potatoes, add milk, salt, and pepper and whip until smooth.
9. Once the dough has doubled, roll out to desired size and transfer to a pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) sprinkled with cornmeal. Spread filling evenly over the pizza dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border for the crust. Top with mashed potatoes and cheese.
10. Transfer to the pizza stone (it’ll take a couple shakes) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until it the crust turns golden and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serve sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.

Source: Crust adapted from my Potato Burger Buns, and topping adapted from my Shepherd’s Pie Potato Skins.

This is no ordinary pizza. With spicy pizza sauce, hot sausage, pepperoni, pepperjack, smoked provolone, crushed red pepper, garlic, oregano, and drizzled with sriracha.

I’ve officially managed to contract a summer cold of sorts. I could blame it on my nephews who are likely carries of all sorts of plagues like most kids, but I also was on 2 long flights in enclosed spaces and contact with hundreds of people. The worst part is that I am getting ready to get back on a plane for my trip with friends on Thursday! Must. Get. Better. Traveling while sick is the worst and I refuse to let it ruin my trip.

I’ve been pumping myself with fluids and trying to get as much sleep as I can. Last night however one of the cats decided to interrupt my sleep my licking a charger cord incessantly. Seriously?? The struggle is real, between the dog recently taking up the habit of peeing on the floor and couch despite being house trained for years (don’t get my started on that tale) and the cats waking me up. My savior is comfort food but since I am not craving soup in this warm weather, how about some spicy pizza to open up those airways?

You may think that this looks like a regular pepperoni pizza, but you would be wrong. Hidden in the depths of this pizza is layers of spice, infusing the sauce, cheese, and toppings starting with sriracha in the pizza sauce, spicy pepperjack cheese mixed in with smoked gouda, and topped with pepperoni, hot Italian sausage, oregano, and crushed red pepper.

When I was younger, much to my dismay my brother would sneak crushed red pepper under my cheese when I wasn’t paying attention. Little did I know that over 2 decades later I would be doing it voluntarily and wouldn’t stop with just the red pepper. That being said however, I still am not a fan of overly spicy things and this pizza was just spicy enough for my taste. Feel free to pump up the heat or turn it down based on what you can handle.

Looking for other Columbus-inspired pizza recipes? Try my focaccia pizza, or cacio e pepe.

One year ago: Spicy Mustard & Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers

Two years ago: Breakfast Crème Brulee

Four years ago: Mixed Fruit Crumble

SRIRACHA-JACK PIZZA

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 recipe sourdough pizza crust, risen

1/2 cup pizza sauce

1-2 tsp sriracha, plus more for drizzle if desired

1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

1 cup shredded smoked gouda

24-ish pepperoni slices

1 hot Italian sausage link, uncooked and crumbled

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Place pizza stone on middle rack and allow to preheat in the oven to 450 degrees for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, roll out dough to desired size and transfer to a pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) sprinkled with cornmeal.
3. In a small bowl, combine the pizza sauce and sriracha. Spread evenly over the crust, leaving an edge. Top with cheeses, pepperoni, sausage bits, oregano and red pepper.
4. Transfer to the pizza stone (it’ll take a couple shakes) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it the crust turns golden and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving. Drizzle with more sriracha if desired.

Source: Inspired by Donatos sriracha-jack pizza.

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Need burgers that will satisfy meatatarians, vegetarians, and gluten-free appetites? Then you need this easy recipe for smoky chipotle quinoa burgers.

I may not be a vegetarian, nor am I gluten-intolerant, but that doesn’t stop me from making meals that meet one or both of those requirements from time to time. If something sounds good, I’m gonna eat it. While flipping through the mere 281 recipes found in the Bob’s Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook, it is an understatement to say that I found a few that fell into that category. While there were plenty of meatatarian recipes to choose from, I landed on these quinoa burgers made with red kidney beans, ground sunflower seeds, and smoked Gouda or cheddar.

I’ve made a decent amount of veggie burgers, but I often have a hard time finding ones that can be crispy on the outside and not mush out of the bun upon the first bite. I loved how crispy these burgers got on the outsides, likely attributed to the sunflower seeds, and that they held up their structure upon demolition while still remaining tender. And the smoky flavors from the cheese and chipotle chile powder were perfectly matched with some bbq sauce on top. And the best part? They were incredibly easy to make thanks to my food processor. These would be a great option for grilling this Memorial weekend if you are needing to please vegetarians, meatatarians, and gluten-intolerant folks alike.

One year ago: Dad’s Creamy Potato Salad

Two years ago: Bacon, Egg and Avocado Taco

Three years ago: Penne with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch

SMOKY CHIPOTLE QUINOA BURGERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lightly salted roasted sunflower seeds

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda or smoked cheddar cheese

1 cup canned red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp olive oil

4 gluten-free (or regular for non-GF) hamburger buns, split and toasted

4 large tomato slices

Baby spinach

BBQ sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the sunflower seed in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add quinoa, cheese, beans, chipotle chile powder, salt, and egg. Pulse until combined but still chunky. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into four 3/4-inch thick patties.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties and cook for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes or until crispy and golden on the outside and hot on the inside.
3. Place patties on the bottom halves of the toasted buns. Top with tomato, spinach, bbq sauce (if using), and top halves of the buns. Serve immediately.

Source: Bob’s Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook

Disclosure: I was provided with a complementary copy of this cookbook by Robert Rose Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Items you may need (affiliate links):

Break out of the traditional pizza mold with this BBQ chicken pizza. A cornmeal crust topped with BBQ chicken, mozzarella, smoked gouda, and red onion.

I love pizza, mostly for it’s versatility. Just like brownies andcookies you can cram just about anything in there. Change the crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, seasonings – the combinations are endless. This allows you to make your pizza your own which is why making pizza at home is so much fun. You can even stuff the crust, adding a whole new variable. Did anyone else drool over Pizza Hut’s commercial for their new bacon and cheese stuffed crust? Come to mamma.

If my childhood self knew the kinds of things my adult self would be putting on top of a sacred cheese pizza I would have be dumbfounded. Falafel? Butternut squash? Jalapeno? Eggs!? The horror! And to think I even dared to put onion on today’s pizza. My childhood self would not have stood for it. It was a brave day when I would have sausage or pepperoni. As you can tell I was a very adventurous child when it came to food and I have come a long, long way. Some of my family members still like to recall how picky of an eater I used to be whenever I whip up something particularly unusual.

But I digress. Bring on all the toppings! Today I give you the recipe for a pizza I discovered upon moving to Memphis nearly a decade ago (holy crap), BBQ pizza. I thought Cincinnati was weird their their combination of chili and spaghetti, but BBQ on pizza? Yes BBQ on pizza and it’s wonderful. I even added cornmeal to the crust to give it a cornbread-like flavor. BBQ pizza was the first pizza to open my eyes to the world of non-marinara sauce based pizzas. And what a fabulous journey it has been!

What is your ideal pizza?

Two years ago: Buckeye Cheesecake

Three years ago: Rustic Sourdough Bread

BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients:

PIZZA DOUGH

1 pkg. (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup yellow corn meal, plus more for dusting

2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for coating

TOPPINGS

1/2 cup BBQ sauce, divided

8 oz. chicken breast, cooked and shredded

3 oz. (2/3 cup) smoked gouda, shredded

3 oz. (2/3 cup) mozzarella, shredded

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl bloom yeast in water, approximately 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, salt, flour and cornmeal. Add yeast and oil, and knead by hand 20 times or until well incorporated (or use the dough hook of a stand mixer), adding a little bit of extra flour (too sticky) or water (too dry) if necessary. Form into a ball, coat with oil on all sides and place in a clean bowl. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes or until doubled.
3. Meanwhile, place pizza stone on middle rack and allow to preheat in the oven to 400 degrees, for at least 10 minutes.
4. Once the dough has doubled, roll out to desired size and transfer to a pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rest.
5. In a medium bowl toss chicken with 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce. Spread remaining BBQ sauce over the pizza dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border for the crust. Top with chicken, cheeses, and red onion.
6. Transfer to the pizza stone (it’ll take a couple shakes) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until it the crust turns golden and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serve sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.

Source: Toppings adapted from Food Network. Crust adapted from my Pizza Dough and Baked by Rachel.

Grilled cheese is the perfect pair with tomato soup. But what cheese are you using? Be bold and try a blend of three!

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Is there ever any doubt that the perfect sandwich to pair with tomato soup is grilled cheese? Surely there is not! Which is why when I made the Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque this sandwich was a necessity.

The only dilemma I ran in to, was deciding on which cheese to use. There are so many delicious options and combinations! Smoked gouda is a frequent pick.

The first time I posted this recipe I went with a three-cheese party including asiago, sharp white cheddar, and fontina. When I updated this post 9 years later I went with provolone, smoked gouda, and smoked sharp cheddar. I’ve also added cream cheese before (obviously not shredded) for the ultimate creamy factor!

What cheeses are on your perfect grilled cheese sandwich?

Post updated 10/20/20, photo above is the original.

GRILLED THREE CHEESE SANDWICH

Print

Yield: 1 serving Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

2 slices of preferred bread

1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

3/4 cup shredded cheese (1/4 cup each of 3 types)

Olive oil or butter

Directions

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, lightly coat one side each slice of bread with olive oil using a pastry brush (or butter with a knife).
3. If using, spread mustard on the opposite side of one slice of bread. Distribute the cheese evenly over the mustard, and season with fresh black pepper and top with the second piece of bread, oil/butter side out.
4. Place the sandwich in the hot pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until browned. Carefully flip over, and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Let cool for a couple minutes, then slice and serve!

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