Tag Archives: Beef

Pantry Comfort

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One of my favorite comfort foods is Stroganoff. I don’t really care what’s in it, I’m here for the sauce. And the egg noodles. My grandmother makes it sirloin steak strips. My father made his with mushrooms while we were practicing vegetarians. Depending on who I plan to serve it to, I now use ground beef.

This is definitely a budget version of my grandmother’s recipe, but it doesn’t alter the flavor. It freezes very nicely and if you don’t like egg noodles, it’s wonderful over rice as well. By the time I make supper tonight, it’s supposed to be in the single digits, so I’m looking forward to this warm meal with a side of green beans. Yum!

Stroganoff

  • 1-2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional, I don’t like them so they aren’t ever in my home :) )
  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef/turkey, thinly sliced sirloin steak or Portobello mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup beef (or vegetable if making the mushroom version of this recipe) broth
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1 pound egg noodles, cooked
Melt the fat in a large saute pan, add in the onions and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant. Remove from the pan and brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked, remove it as well, but reserve the drippings. Again, in the same saute pan, heat the drippings and stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and flour.  Whisk in the flour and sour cream until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Taste and season accordingly. Return the onions, garlic and beef to the pan and stir to combine thoroughly. Serve over egg noodles and top with parsley.
**Note: If you want to substitute in the mushrooms or steak, you’ll still need to cook them separately until cooked to your liking. The rest of the ingredients can remain the same, unless noted otherwise.

 

Crunch Munch… Lunch

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Confession: my weakness is the Taco Bell Crunchwrap. It started when I was pregnant with Liam and Mexican style food was the only thing I could sort of keep down. Ever since then, I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. As in, if the thought of a Crunchwrap passes through my head at 10am, I can’t get it out of my head until my belly has been filled with 500+ calories of sodium.

CRUNCH!!!!

For some reason, although I’ve been eating them for years, I was under the impression that there were refried beans in the Crunchwrap . And for this mistaken reason, I put off trying to make it in my own kitchen. It took me quite a while, but I did figure out a fantastic recipe for refried beans. I didn’t take a photo because, well, pureed beans aren’t… pretty.

Crockpot Refried Beans

  • 1 pound dry pinto beans
  • 9 cups chicken broth
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
Put the beans, broth, onion, garlic powder and salt in a crockpot.  Set the temperature on low and cook for 12 hours. Remove the onion from the pot and strain the beans, but SAVE the broth. I have always made my beans in the food processor, but this time I used my immersion blender… I’m a convert. Smooth and silky, they were the perfect texture! Add in the milk and as much broth as you need to make it smooth. The beans get firmer as they cool, so make the beans a little bit watery. Season to taste.
To assemble a Crunchwrap, all you need are large tortillas, small crunchy corn tortillas and whatever filling you desire. I made the refried beans, rice, taco meat, cheese sauce made with Monterrey Jack Cheese and 3 slices of white American I also had salsa, shredded cheese, lettuce and sour cream for the sides. Pile and layer your fillings before folding up the tortilla and then grill. We have a George Foreman grill; it’s pretty quick to set up and use. So yes, it’s still not a candidate for nutritious meal of the year, but man is it good. So, amazingly good. I am trying out freezing a wrap and some of the beans to see how well they hold up for advance pre. I am hopeful. :)
Sadly, my husband took the opportunity to use some of the dozens of stockpiled Taco Bell sauces to add an “authentic” flavor and according to him, the addition made it “perfect”. I made mine with just rice, beans and cheese and a full 2 hours later am still pleasantly sated. Obviously, by making this meal at home, I have control over all the ingredients AND I can make it whenever I’d like… errr… experiment with fillings.  Ahem.
And thus ends my tale of addiction to cheap fast food. Have you ever tried
a fast food remake of your own?

The reason I can’t stop checking the crock pot today…

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We are going to my in-law’s for Thanksgiving. I know there are going to be lots of amazing side dishes and a huge turkey, but I’m there for the pot roast. Unconventional, I know, but I am here to tell you that my mother-in-law’s pot roast is a revelation and I probably won’t eat a bite of turkey all day. I begged my mother-in-law for her recipe and it turns out that it just involves adding dry french onion soup to the roast.

You know how I am, I can’t just go buy a packet of onion soup, I have to make my own. I mix it up each time I make a roast, so I don’t keep it on hand since I only make one, maybe two roasts a month. My roast isn’t exactly like my mother-in-law’s, but it’s darn close. And the best roast I’ve made since I  learned how to cook meat. So it keeps me held over until I can back up to Amish country and avail myself on the comfort of roast beef and mashed potatoes.

Dry French Onion Soup Mix

Dry French Onion Soup Mix

  • 2 1/2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. dried onion powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. dried mustard
Mix all the ingredients together and pour over a 3-5 pound pot roast. Add 1 cup beef broth to the bottom of a crockpot and add the roast.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I mean it when I say low. Don’t rush this, the longer the roast cooks at a low temperature, the more tender it will be. All the better to spoon over a mound of glorious mashed potatoes, right?

 

Apple Cider for supper

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I love apple cider. I also really love what it does to a sauce… the longer it simmers, it becomes thick and bubbly and caramel-y. Once that sauce is poured over the meat with the onions and apples, it just oozes into every crevice of the meatballs. I served this with my Autumnal Orzo and the flavors were perfect together. If you’re looking for something different to serve this weekend while the weather is glum and blustery, this may be your answer!

Apple Horseradish Meatballs

  • 1 small apple (diced)… the firmer the apple, the better
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 1 1/2 pounds meatballs (turkey or beef)
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 Tbsp. fresh horseradish
  • 1 cup fresh apple cider
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the onions and apples. Saute until the onion is soft and then add the horseradish and soy sauce. Simmer for 1 minute… the soy sauce should  bubble energetically. Slowly whisk in the cider and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce by half. Add in the meatballs and stir to coat them with the sauce. Serve with orzo.

October Freezer Cooking

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This past week was one that I was so grateful for a stocked freezer.  Supper prep for the most part involved walking into the kitchen and asking Liam what he wanted to eat. This past week, I needed the ease of a frozen meal, freshly washed lettuce for salads and fruit for the kids. I’m having to make some adjustments with Liam’s routine again and make sure he’s getting a quiet period during the day so he can rest. That boy… just like his mama. Too much busyness and he is a disaster. Thankfully, I’m learning through his needs that I can say “no” to people and activities if it’s just too much. A lesson I really, really needed!

Anyway.  I grocery shopped on Thursday of last week. It took hours because I did Sam’s Club, Kroger, Target, bulk food store, Wayne’s and our butcher shop. But again, I will only have to go to the grocery in the next month for fresh fruit and vegetables and milk. Totally worth it. I did a whole food menu for the month of suppers and made sure to account for leftovers to be eaten on the weekends and for lunches. I also calculated in for a few meals that will not be eaten at home due to birthdays, the tri and Boo at the Zoo. Friday morning, I got up with my list of meals and did the crock-pot prep meals. I started working at 930 and did not put the last dish in the dishwasher until about 830 that night. BUT, I took time out of working to play with the kids, assist in the potty, color, serve meals, read stories, change diapers, answer questions and hand out snacks. If I hadn’t done those things, I think I could have been done in about 5 hours.

  • Taco Soup (2 batches)
  • Tuscan Mac and Cheese (2 batches)
  • Meatloaf (2 batches, meatloaf made and shaped then frozen)
  • Greek Casserole (4 batches… this was a mistake, should have only been 2, but they are in the freezer for a quick meal when needed)
  • Pizza (2 batches of dough made and then frozen.)
  • Chicken Tikka (ingredients in a bag that will easily dump into the crockpot whenever I’m ready)
  • Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (not prepped and recipe to be shared… eventually)
  • Meatballs (2 batches, one for stroganoff and one for bbq meatballs with orzo)
  • Cheeseburger Mac (meat and seasonings cooked, and in a bag with the cheese and pasta… will take 10 minutes to finish)
  • Dippin Tacos
  • Sloppy Janes with ground turkey (not sure how great this will be… I was tired by the time I got to this recipe, so this could wind up being a pb&j sort of night.)
  • Pot Roast with mashed potatoes (Meat will go in the crockpot and the mashed potatoes are made and ready to bake.)
  • Spicy Apple Glazed meatballs (new recipe that I can’t wait to share!!)
  • Beef Pot Pie (this will be made with the leftover pot roast meat so it’s not even prepped)
  • Confetti Chicken Pasta (new recipe, not freezer friendly)
  • Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole (new recipe and I’m not certain how freezer friendly it will be… we’ll see)
  • Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
  • Panini
  • Falafel (not prepped, but the garbanzos are cooked and waiting in the freezer)
  • Sloppy Lentils (also not prepped, but the lentils are cooked and in the freezer)
  • Bread (4 loaves made and 3 frozen)
To be entirely fair, the beans and lentils were already cooked and in the freezer (which is how I picked those meals) and I baked the bread Wednesday. I also decided to bake the meatballs instead of frying them and I may never go back.  I made 2 pounds of meatballs and then just baked an entire pan full while I continued to work. In the next few months, I won’t do as many freezer meals because of the holidays, but I do plan a turkey for next month and look forward to some fun casseroles or quesadillas with the leftovers!
So my freezer is stocked and I’m free to spend my afternoons playing in the still pleasant weather or baking. Although… now that I’m not training for something, I probably shouldn’t bake so much. I hopped on the WiiFit this morning and it yelled at me for snacking. I wonder who told that nosy thing?!

A twist on a favorite standby

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I love Pinterest.  For me, it’s the best way to get out of a meal rut.  I just like seeing all those photos of people’s creativity.  And then, I try to figure out how to make it work for me!  Pinterest inspired this recipe, of course, but you know… I changed the original… a LOT.

This recipe, I will be completely honest, is not a favorite of my children, but Matt and I love it. This is our new date night meal.  Yep.  We’re parent of two children under 3, meatballs and pineapple = dinner and a movie.  Personally, I am totally ok with it.

This meal is a perfect freezer meal.  I double bag the sauce to protect against leaks, and then bag the veggies and meatballs.  Finally, I typically add in a bag of rice, just so it’s all ready to go.  Freezer to table, this meal takes only as long as it takes to cook your rice!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups chopped peppers and onions
  • 1 1/2 c. chicken broth
  • 1/4 c. cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 4 tsp. soy sauce
  • 6 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 cup brown rice
Using the ground beef, egg, whole wheat flour and seasonings, make meatballs.  Fry them in a saute pan until they are browned.  Drain them on a paper towel. (Cool them if you are planning to freeze, before you put them in a Ziploc bag.)  Cook the rice.  Saute the onions and peppers for 5 minutes.  Then, mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through sesame oil) and pour into the pan with the peppers.  Cook until the sauce is thick.  Add the meatballs and thoroughly coat with the sauce.  Serve the meatballs and sauce over the cooked rice.

May freezer cooking extravaganza

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Perhaps “extravaganza” is a touch overstating things.  I really enjoyed all the freezer cooking I did last year, but hadn’t restarted once Spring hit and my weekends were just too full to set aside time to do more than a few meals.  I don’t know about the weather where you are, but here it is glorious.  Glorious enough that since the backyard is now safely fenced in, the kids and dogs and I can run wild all afternoon and not once do I worry about anyone getting hit by a car!  However, far too many nights we have been outside playing with nary a thought to supper until Matt pulls in the drive and we are all too hungry to wait for me to cook and off to Burger King we go.  *hanging head in shame*  No more.  I knew my grandmother was going to be in town this week, so I asked if she’d come over and help out; chopping veggies, browning meat, doing dishes.  Turns out, having the extra body in the house made my cooking experience a breeze.  We finally collapsed on Monday afternoon with a freezer full of food and only a little bit to do the next day.

Beef meals:

http://onceamonthmom.com/italian-flank-steak-pinwheels/ (not frozen… Mother’s day meal that I will make again and again… this is the recipe I used for inspiration)

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cube_steak_milanese.html (not prepped at all, it’s a very quick meal though)
Chicken:
http://www.slenderkitchen.com/slow-cooker-thai-peanut-chicken/ (meal over the weekend, ingredients from this shopping trip… tasty, but not Earth shattering)
http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/2009/07/bang-bang-chicken.html (not prepared, all ingredients together in a bag for when I am ready to make, though)
http://www.sweetpeasandpumpkins.com/2009/02/next-to-boiling-water-this-could-be.html  (this is how I cook the whole chicken for the pizza and tikka masala)
Pork:
Ground pork and sweet potato tacos from Clean Eating
Vegetarian:

Meals for the next 2 weeks in the upstairs freezer. The rest are stored in my deep freeze.

This month’s cooking will last until the middle of June.  I have planned for 2 out-to-suppers and a few vegetarian meals that will have to be made the nights they are planned for.  This I suppose is important to note: I ONLY cook for suppers.  I know a lot of the monthly planners calculate in for breakfast, lunch and supper, but I don’t.  Reason being that it’s just me and the kids most days.  I plan lunches on the weekends, but they are typically very simple since we are either playing or traveling.  I made a few breakfast casseroles a week or so ago and froze individual pieces so for breakfast here we’ll do that or cereal or muffins and yogurt.  I usually do french toast or  pancakes on the weekend.  Lunches here are typically whatever Liam is wiling to eat that day, eggs, mac and cheese, leftovers… pretty much whatever appeals to us.

This shopping trip cost me $221.57.  This is all the meat, staples, frozen veggies, dairy products and fruit.  I did pantry/freezer dive right before with the goal of using as much of those items as I could.  I will have to go back to the store in between and buy fruit, salad greens, milk, eggs and cheese, but those trips aren’t too bad.  Once I get my garden going, I will only have to go for the dairy products since I am still not allowed to have a cow or chicken.  I’m hoping to keep the food budget under $350 for this time.  All the meat is from MaryAnne’s (local, grass fed, etc.) except for the chicken which I got at Kroger’s ON SALE.  I do ask Matt to drive out to Planktown for the eggs every other week since the holy grail of eggs is only $1.89 and 15 minutes from his office and they are almost 4 dollars here in town.

I’m thrilled with how this went and fully plan to continue this throughout the summer.  I will soon be canning the garden’s bounty (if I ever get the plants in the ground…) and will be extra grateful for meals all ready prepared!

**In case you are interested, here’s the timeline for Mondays’ cooking:

630: up and taking care of house/kids/self for day…
830: Slow cooker Asian Pork meals prepped and packed into ziploc bags, instructions for cooking taped to the outside of the bags.  Whole organic chicken (Krogers!) in the crockpot for 5 hours on high.
845: Bang bang chicken ingredients organized and frozen.  Recipes printed.  Action plan written out.  Drama with children.  3 trips to potty. 2 Diapers changed.  Laundry in wash.
1000: Grandma arrives.  I’m browning the ground beef for The spicy beef lettuce wraps.
1030: Beef for wraps cooling, I make the meatball mixture and hand it to Grandma to make… 6 dozen meats from 4 pounds of ground beef.  I freeze the other 2 pounds of unused meat for later.  I make the filling for the eggrolls and set aside to cool.
1130: Lunch for Sylvi.  Bag and label the spicy beef wraps filling.  Sylvi for nap.  Grandma still rolling meatballs.
1200: Lunch for Grandma, me and Liam.  I hang laundry.
100:  Grandma begins cooking meatballs.  I prep for the pork and sweet potato tacos.  Veggie mix made for Sweet and Sour Meatballs.  Sweet and sour sauce made.  I make all the egg rolls.
230: Egg rolls in the oven.  I made beef taco mix.  Pack the meatballs with veggies, label and freeze.  Pork taco mix cooked, cooled and frozen.
315: Egg rolls cooling.  Sylvi up from nap.  Snacks made.  Grandma shreds up the chicken.  We decide we are done for the day and go outside.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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Just for fun, this recipe takes a basic meal and spices it up just a bit for Cinco de Mayo!   I tried cooking it in my crock pot for the first time yesterday and it was a revelation of ease.  Apparently I am the last home cook on the planet to discover cooking meatloaf in a crockpot. :-P  Because of the salsa, the meat loaf stayed moist even after cooking all afternoon.  I served it with peas and chipotle sweet potato fries.  A simple, run-of-the-mill supper was made just a little bit more exciting just by changing the flavor palate!

Fiesta Meatloaf

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup shredded Colby jack cheese (optional)
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 Tbsp. dried cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Mix together the spices and the bread crumbs thoroughly.  Beat the egg with the salsa and add the ground beef.  Sprinkle the bread crumb mix over the meat and blend well.  Form into a loaf and place in a casserole dish.  (I do not grease my baking pan as I find that the runoff from the cooking meatloaf coats the pan well enough that additional fats are not needed.)  Bake at 375 for 1 hour 15 minutes – 1 and a half hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 150-160 degrees.
*Note: To cook this in a crock pot, follow the instructions as above, place in the crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Diapers, bananas and soup

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Well, hello!  It’s Monday and in this house, it’s laundry day for our diapers.  I don’t have many to wash and I’m hoping this is the beginning of the end of 2 kiddos in diapers.  We’ve already had a potty victory today and also a defeat.  Oh well.  Sometimes, the learning curve is just that: a curve.  Do you have any potty learning advice for me?

I wrote this post today about how our life is changing.  Parenting was something I always wanted to do.  I love being a parent and I really love having a little boy, but life doesn’t always fit into the neat little cubbies we plan for the moments.  In light of that, it’s going to be an interesting journey to see what we learn along the way.

In between countless trips to the potty today, I made these banana cream cheese muffins.  Wow.  Just Wow.  I am using all my willpower right now to not go back into the kitchen and eat… more.  This week, I think I’m going to make this Chicken Florentine Pasta from The Pioneer Woman.  Haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since I saw it this afternoon.  Yum.

Supper tonight was Taco soup.  Our house shook from the strong winds blowing all day today and soup was all we needed!  Taco soup is one of the easiest meals I make.  1 pound of ground beef, 1 pint of my home canned corn, 1 pint of my home canned diced tomatoes, 1 quart of my home canned tomato puree and 1 recipe of taco spice.

Homemade Taco Seasoning:

  • 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. kosher or sea salt
Even though it’s only a pound of meat, one pot of soup stretches very nicely for the week.  And, it freezes great!  I’ve been slacking on my freezer cooking lately, so it’s nice to have something extra on hand again.  I made a double batch of the banana cupcakes with the plan to freeze half… although the number to freeze is dwindling.  :)

Spicing up our weeknight recipes

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I’ve been looking for some new recipes that can be made in advance and have some options built in.  As I’ve mentioned in practically ever post that includes beef, this is the easiest ingredient to ensure Liam will eat supper.  Soooo… back to the drawing board with that.  I came up with a mini-meatball recipe that was inspired by a fantastic Remoulade sauce that Matt brought home from the store last weekend.  We shaped them with a small ice cream scoop and then fried them like you normally would.  These mini-meatballs were then turned into 2 recipes: Spicy meatballs over rice and Cajun meatball subs.  I loved them both ways and so did Liam!  I think what really made these fun was the addition of Adobo paste to the meat mixture for an added flavor and kick.  I made the full recipe and then froze half for use this week.  I must say… I’m really beginning to love batch cooking!
Spicy Meatball Recipe:
  • 2 lbs. ground beef
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. dried mustard
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. Adobo Paste
  • 1/4-1/3 cup flour (used to bind the meatballs together)
Mix all the ingredients together and then shape into whatever size you’d like.  I chose a mini size to add to the novelty, but that was just for me.  Fry them in a pan with hot oil until they are cooked through and a brown crust as formed on the outside.  Serve in either of the 2 suggestions below.
Spicy Meatballs over Rice:
  • half a recipe of meatballs
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 2 cups tomato puree
  • 1 Tbsp Adobo paste
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Mix together the puree, Adobo paste, garlic and onion powders and pepper flakes.  Heat through.  Serve the meatballs over the rice with the sauce and garnish with cilantro.
Cajun Meatball Subs
  • Half a recipe of meatballs
  • 4 Hoagie buns, sliced lengthwise
  • Remoulade Sauce
  • Shredded cheese
  • shredded lettuce, tomato slices and diced onions (optional)

Warm the meatballs thoroughly and toss with the cheese.  Remove a small amount of bread from the inside of the buns to form a small indentation.  Place the meatballs and cheese in this space.  Generously spread the remoulade on the bun.  Top with lettuce or tomatoes or onions if desired (or just make a salad on the side).