I don’t think of myself as a mustard fan. Hamburgers – ketchup. Hotdogs – ditto, despite my proximity to Chicago, a town that will mock you for putting the red stuff on your dog. So when I found myself out of mustard (again) recently I had to stop and think where it was all going.
1. Sloppy Jacks
Our household’s version of sloppy joes these supper easy sandwiches are a quick go to lunch. I got the recipe from an old friend (who made them as a vegetarian dish with textured vegetable protein instead of ground beef, but I love her anyway) and they got their name around here because they’re a favorite of my small one. Here’s what you do:
1lb ground beef
1 can (or ~2 cups frozen) pinto beans
a few shakes of garlic powder
a few shakes of onion powder
ketchup
mustard
Brown the ground beef and break it into small pieces as it cooks. Add the beans (drain if using canned). Season w/ garlic & onion powder. Add ketchup & mustard – I’ve never measured this but I start w/ 3 times around the pan with the ketchup & once around w/ mustard and adjust from there.
2. Egg McMom’s
Mix mustard, mayo and finely grated Parmesan cheese for the perfect secret sauce for egg sandwiches. We like ours with fried egg & cheddar on toasted English muffins. (A thin sausage patty makes this both decadent and AMAZING!)
3. Chicken Ole
As a marinade /sauce for chicken a mixture of 2 parts jarred salsa to one part mustard w/ a squirt of lime juice is fantastic. I make this with halved chickens, they cook well on the stove top. Marinade meat for ½ hour or more, remove from sauce, cook the chicken w/ a little oil in a skillet until the juices run clear then add the remaining marinade and bring to a boil. I always make extra sauce to serve on rice.
4. Honey Mustard Dressing
Okay, I might be the only one that was surprised by this but really! You don’t need anything else to make this yummy salad dressing – at home – from scratch – without high fructose corn syrup! Just mix honey and mustard to taste. The first time I tried it I was amazed at how these two very thick ingredients combine to make this lovely, smooth dressing. There is some kind of kitchen chemistry goodness going on here that I don’t understand, but do appreciate!
5. Easy-Peasy Deviled Eggs
Again, I don’t really measure here. (Somewhere along the line I think I got the idea that measuring is for wussies, sometimes that doesn’t work out so well, but that’s another post.) The real secret here isn’t the ingredients, it’s the technique, but I do use mustard. After hard boiling my eggs (Start with cold water and cold eggs, bring to a boil, turn off heat, set timer for 12 minutes then cool them in ice water before pealing.) I slice them and pop the yolks into a plastic ziplock type bag. Add mayonnaise (about a 1/3 of a cup for a dozen eggs) and a generous squirt of mustard , along with salt & white pepper. Close the bag and knead to combine everything into smooth yolky goodness. (Taste testing at this point is mandatory, go ahead, take one for the team. ) Add mayo/mustard or seasonings as necessary. You’ll want a nice smooth mixture. When it’s ready squeeze the mixture to one corner of the bag and snip about a half inch up from the corner. You now have an improvised pastry bag to fill your whites.
So that’s it, five reasons that I’m frequently adding mustard to the shopping list. For all of these I usually use brown mustard, but it is flexible, if I have Dijon or yellow on hand that’s what I’ll use.
What do you use mustard for in your kitchen? What unexpected thing do you do with an everyday ingredient? Leave a comment below.