Recipe Share: Chef Boyd Brown III's Dirty Spaghetti

Recipe Share: Chef Boyd Brown III's Dirty Spaghetti ALDI had this beef and pork:

half and half beef and pork and this recipe calls for 2 lbs, so I bought two tubes. Chef has used hot italian sausage. I'm going to make this a mild verson and since my meat is unseasoned, I'm going to be adding 1 tablespoon of italian herb blend and 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic salt. into the skillet... Cook it until it's browned, do not drain. Add in a tablespoon of flour and Knorr beef stock into 1 cup of hot water and give it a stir. add one can to tomate paste and mix. I'm using a short cut and pulled out a frozen veggie blend I use for frying potatoes I got from Walmart... onions red and green bell peppers.

adding in more granulated garlic, whistershire sauce. simmer and season with black pepper to taste. In other pot, boil water with salt and cook the spaghetti noodles. Once done, drain and add noodles to the sauce and combine.

Instant Pot Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage

 Happy St. Patrick's Day 2026!

Equipment:

6-qt Instant Pot "Duo"

Steamer pot

Steamer insert

Ladle

Knife for chopping vegetables

Ingredients:

Prepackaged corned beef brisket

5 lbs bag of carrots

5 lbs bag or red potatoes or your favorite variety

one head of green cabbage

Note:

Once upon a time, we used to use the crock pot overnight to get a tender brisket, but now This is *the only* way we make corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day... 

The corned beef comes out tender and you won't over cook the vegetables that accompany the dish.

We've tested this recipe using a variety of different brands and styles of brisket, and they come out great!

Instructions:

First, get yourself an Instant pot... at least the 6 quart Duo variety if you don't already own one. Or borrow your one from a friend.

The Instant Pot is where you will cook the corned beef only for two hours with three cups of water.

Once the two hour time is up, quick release the vent and then transfer the meat to a carving dish and slice into servicing size pieces.

The second part of this recipe is prepping and steaming the vegetables that go along with this dish.

Get out the largest soup pot that you own and place a steamer insert in the bottom. Add enough water to reach the bottom of the steam insert. We are going to call this the steamer pot.

*Prep the carrots cutting them into one inch pieces. Place the carrots in the bottom of the steamer pot so that there is about two layers of carrots. (We love carrots in our house and are always running out of them hence two layers of carrots.) 

*Prep the potatoes. This year, we are using red potatoes, but you can use your favorite variety for this dish. You can quarter the smaller ones, and for the bigger ones, you can cut them in thirds and then half the middle section. You are going to prep at least 6 potatoes and add them to the steamer pot. 

*The last layer of vegetable will be the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half through the core, then in quarters and then two halfs in quarters so you are left with 8 pieces of cabbage. Lay the cabbage on top of the potatoes in the steamer pot and check to make sure that the lid will sit on the pot because it will be full of these cut vegetables.

The steamer pot will need to be cooked on the stove top on medium heat for 30 minutes. So watch the timer on the instant pot and when it gets to 35, start the steamer pot full of vegetables.

To Serve: 

Add one or two slices of corned beef to the bowl, then add the steamed vegetables.

Using a ladle, add some broth from the cooked corned beef onto the vegetables in the bowl. 

Season to taste. We usually add butter on the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Instant Pot Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

OK, now this is not a 100% recipe you can make in the InstaPot, but I did cook the chicken from frozen in a broth that I also added to the saucepan on the stovetop.

I started this recipe with three frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs because they are more flavorful.

Into the InstaPot they went with 2 glasses of water and 2 tablespoons of Knorr chicken bouillon and one tablespoon of montreal chicken seasoning. This cooked on the meat setting for 30 minutes, then quick released after it was done.

In the meantime, on the stovetop, I placed my large saucepan with about 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil on low. I diced one sweet onion and  then simmered the diced onion in the oil and added kosher salt. Stir occasionally. After the onions become translucent (about 3 minutes) I added freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to bloom the spices.

Then I added one can of diced tomatoes with the juice, and one drained can of kernel corn. 

I drained one can of cannellini beans and one can of organic black beans in the colander in the sink and ran water over beans until the water was clear. Otherwise, if you just dump the black beans in the pot without straining and cleaning them, your soup will turn an unappealing color of black/gray due to the little bits of beans left over from processing in the can. Don't skip this step.

Then I added the drained and cleaned beans into the saucepan. Add one tsp of taco seasoning.

By this time, the InstaPot will be done and you can fish out each cooked chicken thigh with thongs, placed it into a bowl and shred it before transferring it into the saucepan on the stove.

Then I found a soup ladle and added 3 ladles of the chicken broth from the InstaPot into the saucepan. Add no more than three three ladles and definitely not the entire thing otherwise your soup will end up being way too salty and greasy.

Add more water if needed so your soup is not so chunky.

Serve with crushed tortilla chips on top as a garnish or in the bottom of the bowl.

Note: I have family members who do not like green chiles, cheese nor cilantro but they could also be used as a garnish.

Instant Pot Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

3 frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 can kernel corn, cannellini beans, organic black beans - drained

1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain

Knorr chicken bullion

montreal chicken seasoning, taco seasoning

1 medium diced onion

3 tbsp canola oil

water

taco seasoning or just ground cumin or both

freshly ground black pepper

garlic powder

salt

Egg Bites

 Egg Bites

10 eggs, scrambled + two tsp water

2 slices danish ham sandwich slices, diced

1/2 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely diced white onion

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Lawry's Season salt to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I'm using a silicone cupcake pan, so I'm not using any additional cooking spray, but if you are using any type of metal cupcake tin, you're going to need to spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking. *Do not use "baking spray with flour"* 

Chop all of your veggies and meat and add to a medium bowl.

Break your eggs in a separate bowl, add water and scramble, then add seasoning.

Pour the seasoned scrambled eggs into the chopped veggies and meat bowl and combine.

Fill each cup 3/4 full. Do not overfill.

Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 30 minutes or until done. The eggs should be set, not wet and jiggly.

The bites will look as though they spilled over their cups at first when removed from the oven, but they will quickly deflate.

Makes 12 servings.

14 Carrot Cake

 This is a recipe that I was fascinated to try. A recipe originally published in the

The Los Angeles Times

Thu, Aug 22, 1974 ·Page 132

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/43285880/

I loved the fact that it did not contain any dairy but moreover, no shortening! For my first run at it on 08/30/2025, I used an oblong pan, 9 in x 13 in.

Korean Vegetable Pancake (Yachaejeon)

 https://www.mjandhungryman.com/korean-vegetable-pancakes-yachaejeon/

Homemade Hummus

 Homemade Hummus

Ingredients:

2-15.5 oz cans S & W organic garbanzo beans, drained

1 cup tahini

1 tsp kosher salt

Add all ingredients into your favorite food processor, pulverize and drizzle olive oil into the mixture until you are happy with the consistency. When I used my Ninja Blender, this took about 6 minutes.

Store in an airtight container overnight with more olive oil and before serving, add your favorite toppings.

Everything Bagel Seasoning from Costco in the photo is a serving suggestion.

Yield: about 3 cups.