Food – The Bearded Hiker

Cajun Meatball Stew

Cajun meatball stew: Not many foods make me feel…homey…you know what I mean, quite like Cajun meatball stew does. I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the dish, but very simply, it’s meatballs and veggies cooked and simmered in a luscious, dark roux. I heard you groan when I said dark roux. No, don’t even. Just stop. Making a dark roux is very easy if you make an oven roux or look, just buy it in a jar guys. There is no shame in that. I make a double batch (or triple) in the oven and freeze…

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Apple Pie Baked Beans

Apple pie baked beans put a bit of a twist on traditional baked beans and truthfully, it’s a match made in BBQ-side heaven! And it’s super easy too! These apple pie baked beans have only 4 ingredients and hardly any prep. You can pop them in an oven or on your smoker or grill while other things are poppin’. Too easy not to try it. If you really want to jazz it up, you can add: chopped bell pepper chopped onion jalapeno slices bacon on top minced garlic crushed seeds, like cumin or mustard I haven’t tried this yet, but…

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Grown Up Sloppy Joes

Oh my goodness kids…it has been FOREVER! So many events and changes have happened since I last posted. I won’t get into all of them, but to sum it up…life happened and it hit me like a ton of bricks! My schedule is so wacky that carving out time for posting, videos, pictures and just the food planning and cooking has been ridiculously challenging. But I’m back and will figure out a way to make this all work! So, with that sorry explanation, I’m back with a solid, old-school recipe….GROWN UP SLOPPY JOES! Yes people, sloppy joes. Funny little story…

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Best Ever Dump and Go Beef Stew – Instant Pot

So…best ever beef dump and go beef stew…big claim, no? I’m sticking by it though because it’s pretty bad ass. I’m not saying it’s the best ever beef stew in the world – I did specify that it’s the best ever dump and go beef stew. I mean, my mom’s beef stew was pretty rockin’, I gotta admit. I’m the type who likes to brown my meat, especially for a beef stew. But I didn’t want to fool with all that for this recipe. One night I just wanted to put the stew ingredients in the pot and be done…

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Butternut Squash soup in your Instant Pot. Silky soup in 10 minutes!

Butternut Squash Soup – Instant Pot and Stovetop

Butternut squash soup in the Instant Pot or any old electric pressure cooker you have lying around is quite probably the easiest soup ever. The hardest part is dealing with the butternut squash and that’s not that difficult, people. I don’t know if any of you have access to an Atlanta Bread Company, but if you do, go there and get their butternut squash soup. It’s what dreams are made of and it’s what inspired me to create my own. (I don’t want to shell out stupid money at Atlanta Bread Company for soup all the time.) I’ve tried other…

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This is my absolute favorite split pea soup recipe - the most delicious in the universe!

Split Pea Soup – Instant Pot and Stovetop

Split pea soup is one of my absolute favorite soups. Thinking back though, I’m sure I’ve said that about every soup that’s on this blog. I mean it this time – for reals. No, really! I actually only have split pea soup a few times a year because, well, I guess I’m a bit of a split pea soup snob. It’s only when I have a ham bone that I’ll make it – it just puts it over the top. I have made it with just chopped ham – still delicious. I have made it with Boar’s Head deli ham,…

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Buffalo Style Ribeye - A simple, home made buffalo style sauce is just what your ribeye needs. Oh, and don't forget the blue cheese compound butter!

Buffalo Style Ribeye Steak

This post is sponsored by El Yucateco. As always, I only partner with brands that I love and truly believe in, allowing me to bring you more delicious recipes. All opinions expressed are my own. Promise. #ElYucateco #GoNative2020 #KingofFlavor So, this social distancing, cooking at home all the time thing is getting….boring, mind-numbing, frazzling? Well, at least for me it is as. I mean, the wife and I typically cook at home a lot. But there’s always that, “Hey, I don’t want to cook, let’s go out” option. That’s not so easy anymore. Now, it’s like, how can I turn…

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Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya – Rice Cooker and Instant Pot

Looking for a one-pot, one-stop meal in a pot your whole family will love? You’ve found it – Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya! I have extolled the virtues and my love of a rice cooker before, but not enough. Rice cookers, in a way, are the OG. Before Instant Pot, there was rice cookers, ready to throw out all kinds of goodies. They don’t do the same thing, obviously, one uses pressure one doesn’t, but the concept, that thing that people love about the Instant Pot – ease of making a meal at once, in one pot – rice cookers are…

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Tacos Galore Roundup

“I hate tacos!” said no Juan ever! And that my friends, is why I’ve put together this delicious round up of my favorite tacos. One day, going through the boring side of this blog, you know, the side that you guys can’t see. The side that sometimes looks like gobbledy gook. The side that has the numbers and stuff. Looking around, I realized I have quite a few taco recipes and I talk about tacos – a lot. I said to myself, I said, “Self, put it all together in one spot so people can see all the glorious tacos…

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Instant Pot Cola Pot Roast - comfort food at your fingertips!

Cola Pot Roast – Instant Pot

Many, many, many years ago this cola pot roast was made in a dutch oven. I like…No, I love that method. Slow roasting just brings out something special in meat. I do still do it that way in the winter. Sometimes I do it outside over a fire. But what about the summers? Some days I want cola pot roast! So it occurred to me one day to make my favorite roast in my pressure cooker and it turned out brilliant. And it pressures for a fraction of the time of oven cooking. Gotta love that. I think I ran…

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