Introducing Uglies: The Easy, 3-Step App That Tastes Way Better Than It Looks
Because it’s what’s on the inside that really counts.
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Here at Allrecipes, we always pick substance over style. We’re not trying to win any beauty contests here—most of the time, we’re just trying to keep everybody at the table happy. So, when a tasty, three-step recipe called “Uglies” makes its way across our recipe pages, we don’t just accept it, we celebrate it.
"“Not very pretty to look at, but oh-so tasty. I'll take that trade-off any day,” said user sam."
Meet the Crowd-Favorite Recipe Affectionately Known As Uglies
Hearty comfort food meets hand-held convenience in the home-style dish affectionately called “Uglies.” These meaty, cheesy, and—best of all—easy bites deliver big flavor in a small package. They might not be lookers, but they sure do know how to win a crowd.
Uglies are like a cross between a meat pie and a Sloppy Joe slider. They’re small enough to be appetizers, but satisfying enough to be mini meals—so really, you can make them for any occasion at all.
Basically, they’re little baked biscuit cups filled with saucy ground beef and melted cheese. Each one turns out a little different than the next—whether the biscuits puff up differently or the filling spills out one side or the other—but each will be equally devourable.
These hand pies use two store-bought shortcuts to come together in a snap. First up, refrigerated biscuit dough, which serves as the base for the ugly app. Once baked, the biscuit crust offers a crispy, flaky counterpart to the hearty ground beef filling, giving you a crave-worthy taste and texture.
Next up, store-bought barbecue sauce. This brilliant addition makes the ground beef saucy, smoky, spicy, and pleasantly sweet in just one step. Cut with the sharpness of the Cheddar cheese, the rich BBQ beef filling hits every savory flavor note you can imagine.
When you bring Uglies to a party or potluck, no one will ask if they’re homemade or not—they’ll just know. But, even if they don’t look refined, they’ll be the first thing to disappear from the appetizer table. Make them once, and there will always be requests for Uglies.
How to Customize Uglies
There are so many creative ways to play with this recipe, you could make it a dozen times and never make the same Uglies twice. Take it from user Windy Ryan, who has created a whole family of “Uglies” over the years.
“I have so much fun with this recipe. It's so simple that you really can mess around with it,” she said. She’s made the Ugly Greek made with ground lamb, pine nuts, spinach, and feta; the Ugly Italian with Italian sausage, tomato sauce, and basil; and the Ugly Hunter, which blends venison and mushrooms.
“I think I'm going to try making a chicken or turkey one next. Call it the Ugly Duckling or something like that. The kids like the names and they eat things that they wouldn't normally eat because the word "ugly" is in front of it,” Ryan shared.
How to Make Uglies
These ugly bites only require six ingredients and three steps. You can make them ahead and freeze for a quick dinner later, but, recipe creator FOOD SEEKER warns, “Hide them or your family will eat them up!”
Step 1: Sauté chopped onions in a large oiled skillet until translucent. Next, add in a pound of ground beef and use a spoon to break it up into small pieces as it cooks, adding seasoning halfway through. When the meat is fully browned, drain off the grease, then stir in barbecue sauce until the crumbles are fully coated.
Step 2: Prep your countertop with a light dusting of flour. Pop open your canned biscuit dough, separate the pieces, and roll each circle of dough out with a rolling pin until it reaches about six inches in diameter.
Step 3: Here’s where things get ugly. Place the biscuits into a greased muffin cup, folding up the sides until they line the cup shape. Fill each biscuit with the meat mixture until about three-quarters of the way full, then top each with a mound of shredded cheese. Bake in a 400-degree F oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the biscuit crust is golden brown.
“Delicious!" said user Daneen Berry-Guerin. "I used both biscuits and croissants; both worked brilliantly. I made my own BBQ sauce and used carne asada instead of ground beef, which made them seem more main dish than a side dish or snack. These were very tasty.”
Read the original article on All Recipes.
