Iowa's Maid-Rites

Growing up, both Brendan and I frequented our local Maid-Rites.  We both love the delicious loose meat sandwiches and indulge in them far too often.  Maid-Rite is a long time Iowa staple that runs thick through our little town.  Their sandwiches are delicious, their cheese balls are to die for and the chocolate shakes amazing!  

Brendan told me that he found a recipe that was supposed to taste like Maid-Rites.  I was a little skeptical but thought we'd give it a try.  You first brown the meat and mix all ingredients together and then let everything marinate in the crockpot for a good five hours.  When we transferred the mixtured to the crockpot we added a bit more water.  The mixture will be soupy and we did have to drain the meat when scooping it up to dish it on the buns.  

The verdict: these taste exactly like the real thing!  They were AWESOME! The kids even ate them.  We will be making these again.  Now I just need to find some cheese balls I can make at home.  

The recipe:

2 tablespoons dried onion

1tablespoon warm water

3 lbs. ground beef

1 beef bouillon cube

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 1/2 cup water (this part didn't really make sense but we went with it)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

We added cheese, ketchup and mustard to our Maid-Rites and served them on wheat buns.  We also had sautéed green beans and loaded baked potato salad. I highly recommend trying this for an easy week night or weekend meal.