thousand island | The Spiffy Cookie

Reuben Mac & Cheese

Erin — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 11:00:53 +0000

Turn a beloved sandwich into a bowl of reuben mac and cheese with 3 different cheeses, corned beef, sauerkraut, and Thousand island dressing.

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Why do I enjoy St. Patrick’s Day so much? While you may think the menu is limited to corned beef, cabbage, Guinness, and shamrock shakes, I would disagree. Since it’s not a holiday ruled by tradition I think it lends itself to my desire to not make the same thing every year (a desire that becomes a battle at Thanksgiving).

As such, every year I strive to bust out all the creative ideas that St. Patrick’s Day has to offer. Just take a look at the 30 (and counting) St. Patrick’s Day tagged recipes in my archive. The possibilities are endless!

After already sharing 4 delicious corned beef recipes, in most recent years I’ve been going outside the box a little by coming up with alternative St. Patrick’s Day meals: two different pizzas, a Reuben burger, Reuben taquitos, a rutabaga and corned beef hash, and a Guinness beef stew.

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some corned beef and cabbage and will likely revisit one of the four this year. But like most holidays, I tend to celebrate for more than one day. And today it’s time to load up on the cheese!

Using my go-to mac and cheese base recipe, I came up with a reuben version incorporating Irish sharp white cheddar, Irish Swiss, Gruyere, corned beef, sauerkraut, Thousand island dressing, caraway seeds and even rye bread crumbs for topping. To seal the deal, I also stumbled upon shamrock shaped pasta just prior to making it. It’s like it was meant to be!

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you’re a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of the month. This month our theme is in honor of St. Patrick’s day. We are posting recipes for ways to use up Leftover Corned Beef.

Corned beef and Cabbage Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Corned Beef Hash with Yukon Gold potatoes and Chilies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Hunter’s Beef Stew by Snehas Recipe
Palusami – Samoan Stewed Greens by Pandemonium Noshery
Reuben Pizza by Palatable Pastime

One year ago: Nutella & Oreo Car Bomb Lasagna

Two years ago: Small Batch Green Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Five years ago: Nutella Fruit Dip

REUBEN MAC & CHEESE

Yield: Serves 6 as side or 4 as entree Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 50 Minutes 50 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

8 oz. favorite pasta shape (I used shamrock)
2-1/2 cups whole milk, warmed
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. Irish sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz. Irish Swiss cheese, grated
2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup chopped, cooked corned beef
1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained
1/4 cup Thousand Island dressing
1-2 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 cup rye bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 11×7-inch (about 2 quarts) casserole dish and set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions until just barely al-dente (about 1 minute less than recommended cook time). Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium heat add butter and melt until frothy. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking until it begins to bubble and turn golden, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in milk, whisking vigorously, until all the milk is incorporated and mixture is smooth (will clump but keep whisking).
Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking regularly, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk the salt and pepper. Slowly add cheeses (except a 1/2 cup mixture), a handful at a time, whisking until melted before adding more. Stir in pasta, corned beef, sauerkraut, and caraway until evenly coated.
Pour into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with reserved cheese and breadcrumbs over top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until filling is bubbling, then broil for 1-2 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Source: Adapted from my Rosemary Mac & Cheese.

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Reuben Mac & Cheese

The Spiffy Cookie

Reuben Burgers

Erin — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 05:01:52 +0000

What better than a burger? A burger topped by more meat! These reuben burgers are topped with a mixture or sauerkraut, corned beef, and Thousand island dressing.

In addition to my regularly scheduled Secret Recipe Club post this month, today I am participating in a holiday themed reveal. It works pretty much the same as usual, but instead of picking any recipe you must pick a holiday themed one, which in this case would be St. Patrick’s Day or Easter. Since St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays to cook for I was particularly excited to participate this month. I was assigned to Michaela’s blog An Affair from the Heart and at first was debating between two cheesecake recipes: No-Bake Marshmallow Cheesecake or Irish Cream Cheesecake. But then I came across the recipe for these Reuben Burgers and I knew what I had to make. Can you blame me?

Four years ago: Bacon Jalapeno Burgers with Chipotle Sauce

REUBEN BURGERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

BURGERS

1-1/5 lb. lean ground beef

2 Tbsp Thousand Island Dressing

2 Tbsp dried minced onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

TOPPING

1 cups sauerkraut

1 cups chopped corned beef

SERVING

4 rye or potato buns, buttered and toasted

4 slices Swiss cheese

Thousand Island Dressing

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine burger ingredients together and form into 4 patties. Grill or pan fry until done. Top with Swiss cheese and melt.
While the burgers cook, in a small saucepan, warm corned beef and sauerkraut.
Place burger on bottom bun, top with a heap of the corned beef mixture, drizzle with Thousand Island dressing, add top bun and serve.

Source: Adapted slightly from An Affair from the Heart.

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Slow Cooker Reuben Dip

Erin — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 12:00:18 +0000

Whether you need a great dip for your party or are looking to use up corned beef leftovers this hot reuben dip is sure to please! And it’s easy to make.

What are your plans for St. Patrick’s Day? This past weekend I hosted my annual St. Patrick’s Day pot-luck style dinner party so I’ve already celebrated. This year was extra special because my celebration coincided with pi day! We had glazed corned beef, sausage and cheese stuffed jalapenos, green veggie quiche, coconut-pistachio pie, and chocolate cream pie. With all that bountiful food I definitely overestimated how much corned beef I needed to prepare and ended up with a decent amount leftover. Time to start making St. Patrick’s day leftover recipes! Breakfast hash, reuben pizza, reuben taquitos, etc. are in my future.

If you also are suffering from excessive corned beef, how about making a dip out of it? I’ve had this hot reuben dip almost every year for St. Patrick’s Day but this year I decided to cook it in my mini slow cooker, which is the perfect size for dips. Unfortunately it is not as photogenic as the baked version, however it is just as delicious! Especially when enjoyed with a glass of Irish whiskey and coke. Just sayin’.

One year ago: Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Rutabaga and Carrots

Four years ago: St. Patrick’s Day Menu & Gluten-Free Green Velvet Cake Balls

SLOW COOKER REUBEN DIP

Makes approximately 3 cups

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese

4 oz. cooked corned beef, chopped

1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing (or homemade)

1/2 cup drained sauerkraut

Pretzels of rye bread, for serving

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until evenly distributes. Pour into a small crock pot and cook on low for 1-2 hour (OR bake in a shallow dish at 400 degrees for 15 minutes).
Serve hot with pretzel crisps or rye bread squares.

Source: Adapted slightly from Brown Eyed Baker.

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Reuben Pizza with Guinness Crust

Erin — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 13:00:07 +0000

Turn your Reuben sandwich into a Reuben pizza with thousand island dressing sauce, sauerkraut, corned beef, Swiss all on top of a Guinness rye pizza crust.

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St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect excuse to turn your food green and put booze in everything. Last year I made a green pizza which included a spinach crust, pesto, and green bell peppers cut to resemble four leaf clovers. Since the green option has been covered in the pizza department, I decided to go the boozy route this year with a Guinness pizza crust. All I did was substitute warm water for warm Guinness and a little or the flour for rye flour in my trusty pizza dough recipe. But it is still kid friendly as the alcohol will bake off in the oven.

To stick with the holiday theme, I topped it off with thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, shredded corned beef, and Swiss cheese to create a Reuben pizza. It truly does taste just like the sandwich if you served it open faced. If you want to have a full blown St. Patrick’s Day pizza party you could make this Reuben pizza, the green pizza, and a Shepherd’s pie pizza too. Sounds like a fun way to celebrate to me!

One year ago: 90-Minute Whole Wheat King Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Two years ago: Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

Four years ago: Chicken Parmeatballs

REUBEN PIZZA WITH GUINNESS CRUST

Yield: 3-4 Servings Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 42 MInutes 42 MInutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

CRUST

1 pkg. (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm (about 110 F) Guinness or other stout beer
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup rye flour*
1 cup bread flour*
Cornmeal for dusting

TOPPINGS

1/2 cup Thousand island dressing
1/2 tsp carraway seeds
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground paprika
1/4 cup sauerkraut, drained
6 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 oz. cooked corned beef, shredded

Directions

Place pizza stone on the bottom rack in the oven and allow to preheat to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.

In a large bowl bloom yeast in warm beer, approximately 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, and oil followed by 1 cup of rye flour until it forms a loose dough, add the remaining bread flour 1/2 cup at a time until it forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough.

Knead by hand 20 times or until well incorporated, 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, cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

Roll out dough and transfer to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal**. Evenly spread dressing over the surface of the pizza dough, leaving an edge for the crust. Sprinkle with seasonings, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and corned beef.

Transfer to the pizza stone** without removing from the oven (it’ll take a couple light shakes) and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until it the crust turns golden and the cheese starts to bubble.

Notes

*If you don't have rye and/or bread flour you may also use all-purpose but the amount needed may differ. **Can use a regular baking pan instead of a pizza peel and stone.

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Source: Adapted from my Pizza Dough.

Post updated 3/15/2026. Photos above and below are the originals.

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