Braised Short Ribs Stout Pie

Sunday was our sixth anniversary and Lee told me he had a special dinner planned.  I was supposed to fly in from a conference I was at over the weekend at 5:30, but had the worst delay in Houston and didn't get home until 10:30.  I totally missed dinner.  

Luckily this tasty pile of meat and potatoes is even better after its had time to meld together even more.  The meat just dripped off of the fork and into my mouth and the potatoes melted.  It was absolutely amazing. I really love short ribs. I'm crushed that I didn't discover how much I love them until I was 30.  Look at what I missed over the years!

I'll admit, I don't know why this is called pie. It's not pie.  I couldn't find any bread or crust, but it is nonetheless delicious.  Probably more delicious since I'm not a fan of savory pie crust anyway. 

So overall, this is an awesome dish and the best part is that since I missed our original dinner, I'm pretty sure that Lee owes me another anniversary dinner! Look for that soon!

Sausage and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

My Uncle Bill would hate this recipe.  Uncle Bill hates mushrooms... the texture, the taste, all of it.  My Uncle Bill is about the last person you would expect to have a nemesis, but mushrooms are truly his.  When we were kids and we would get pizza with him, he always got sausage and onion instead of our family's usual sausage and mushroom. I thought he and my aunt were exotic. 

I figured out later that they were not exotic, they were crazy.  Mushrooms are the best. 

One of Lee's first dinners for me included stuffed mushrooms and that pretty much sealed the deal for me.  This recipe is a little different from the original, but no less delicious.  It's a little lighter than the traditional all sausage or my favorite cream cheese and crab.

When mixed together, the crab and sausage are a powerhouse of tastiness.  


This is a great make ahead dish,  Lee was making sausage for breakfast and saved a portion of that cooked sausage for this recipe. He also mixed everything and stuffed my mushrooms early in the afternoon and refrigerated them until I was ready for dinner.

Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

Growing up, my family would get pizza most Friday nights. None of us could resist just one more slice until the box was empty.  Twenty years later, I'm still the same way. I just can't say no to just one more slice of ooey gooey pizza pie.  

That's why these little guys are perfect, they're built in portion control!  

Unlike frozen mini pizzas, these are just as satisfying as the same thing... and ALMOST as easy as microwaving a frozen one.  

What I really love about these is that you can personalize each one.  You can put just about anything in each one in any combination.  The options are endless! We put turkey pepperoni, onion and olives in ours, I'm angling for my favorite- sausage, mushroom, green pepper, and onion next time.