Category: BEEF

Teriyaki BBQ Beef or Chicken with Broccoli Noodle Bowls

Last week we had an amazing Chinese-inspired dish at our house so I thought I would try another Chinese dish this week.  This is the epitome of being a home cook in that I just used what I had and I improvised.

Teriyaki BBQ Beef or Chicken with Broccoli Noodle Bowls adapted from Rachel Ray
For the BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup beef or chicken stock
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce or low sodium teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup honey or agave syrup
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 palmful coarse black pepper
1 1-inch piece of ginger root, peeled
For the steak or chicken, veggies and spaghetti:
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
3/4 pound flank steak or boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bundle broccolini or 1 small head broccoli
Salt
1 pound whole wheat or whole grain spaghetti
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
4 scallions, very thinly sliced on an angle
Directions:  Place the ingredients for the barbecue sauce in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes to thicken and concentrate the flavor a little. Remove the ginger root.
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Pour a cup of edamame from the freezer into a bowl to defrost. Add the meat to the freezer to firm up, about 15 minutes.
Trim the broccolini or broccoli and cut into 2-inch pieces. Add salt to the boiling water and cook the broccolini or broccoli to tender-crisp, 5 minutes. Remove the broccolini with a spider or slotted spoon and drain well. Drop the pasta into the water and cook to al dente.
Remove the meat from the freezer and slice it very thinly on an angle, against the grain if you’re using beef.
Heat the oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet or wok over high heat until smoking. Add the meat and stir fry until brown. Add the edamame and broccolini or broccoli and pour in the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss into the skillet to combine.
Serve in bowls topped with scallions.
Modifications:
-I just used a bag of stir-fry veggies instead of cutting up broccoli/edamame.
Here is what you’ll need:
Put all of the “wet” ingredients into a saucepan.  Let it come to a boil and then turned down to a simmer.  Put some water on to boil for the pasta.
Chop up 3 cloves of garlic.
Cut about a 1 inch piece of ginger root, peel it, and throw it in with the wet ingredients.
Throw the garlic and ginger root in.  Add the pasta to the boiling water.

Thinly slice beef, on the grain.

Cut up some scallions or green onions.

After about 20 minutes, pull the ginger root out of the sauce.

Put the canola oil in a wok or pan and get hot.  Add the beef until brown.
Add the vegetables.
Add the sauce.
Drain the spaghetti and then add to the pan.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:
Another successful dish!  The honey really adds to the teriyaki sauce and we actually loved the diversity of the frozen stir-fry vegetables rather than just broccoli and edamame.  

OLD FASHIONED MEAT LOAF

OLD FASHIONED MEAT LOAF
MEATLOAF
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 slices white bread, crusts removed, but retained
2 pounds hamburger
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated aged cheddar
1/4 cup minced parsley (fresh)
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Jumbo eggs, beaten
5 slices bacon
SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup Frank’s sweet chili sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Pour cream over bread slices and allow it to soak for several minutes until mushy.
  •  Add beef, onions, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, celery salt, sea salt, white pepper and parsley.
  • With clean hands, mix the mixture together until uniform in consistency.
  • Add beaten eggs and mix again.
  • Form into mixture into a loaf.  I use an actual loaf pan and then lift it out.
  • Line a jelly roll or broiler pan with foil. This avoids a huge mess.
  • Place loaf in center.
  • Lay bacon slices over top of the meatloaf.
  • Arrange retained bread crusts along edges of meatloaf about an inch away to absorb the grease and liquids that cook off the meatloaf.
  • Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together.
  • Spread half the sauce over the top.
  • Bake for 45 minutes.
  • Spread remaining sauce over the top.
  • Bake another 15 minutes.
  • Discard bread edges.
  • Enjoy.

Fire Day Friday: Asparagus with Hollandaise and Beef

The myth that BBQ enthusiasts don’t eat vegetables is false. We just add meat to them.


The great thing about this appetizer we made tonight was that it was all leftovers. I had some extra asparagus that I hadn’t cooked, Hollandaise sauce that I had made the day before, and the thin shaved prime rib from last night’s dinner (another leftovers dinner – click here for that post).


This really isn’t much of a recipe as it is “just throw it together”.

I tossed the asparagus tips in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I roasted it for 9 minutes at 400f on the top rack of my oven.

Meanwhile I warmed up the Hollandaise sauce the same way I made it. I added a Tbsp each of water and lemon juice, then heated it in a stainless steel mixing bowl positioned over a pot of simmering water, whisking frequently.

Then I simply drizzled the Hollandaise sauce over the roasted asparagus and crowned it with some finely diced prime rib.


These might have been leftovers but you couldn’t tell from the taste! What is your favorite “leftover” dish that you have made?

BEEF & VEGETABLE POT PIE

I’ve made several chicken pot pies but this was my first beef pot pie. The recipe called for ground sirloin but I used beef stew chunks instead.
As you can see, my lattice crust wasn’t much of a lattice.  I just piled them on top of each other.  Sorry, I’m not very crafty.  🙂
I think that I upped the veggies in this quite a bit. I LOVED how it was packed with veggies.
The recipe called for 8 oz. of mushrooms as well, we’re just not mushroom fans here but I’ll bet that would be good!

The bread was quite plain.  When I make this again, I will spread just a bit of butter and garlic powder on the breadsticks to flavor them a bit.

We all found this to be delicious!
Beef & Vegetable Pot Pie Recipe

1 lb. stew meat, cut into fairly small chunks
2 cups zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrot, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 14 oz can beef broth
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
Cooking spray
1 (11 oz) can refrigerated soft bread stick dough

Heat cooking spray in pan, add beef, cook until browned.  Add  onion, carrot, basil, and thyme, saute for about 5 minutes.  Add zucchini and garlic, saute for another 2 minutes.  Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and broth.  Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Combine cornstarch and 2 tbsp. water in a small bowl, stir with a whisk.  Add cornstarch mixture to pan, cook for a minute until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. 

Spoon beef mixture into an 9 x 13 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Separate breadstick dough into strips.  Arrange strips in a lattice fashion over beef mixture.  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until browned. 

Total calories = 2326 calories
8 servings = 291 calories per serving

Beef & Vegetable Pot Pie + Salad = 411 calorie dinner

Check out more healthy recipes at Debbi Does Dinner Healthy!

Fire Day Friday: Beefy Bite Appetizers

It is the holiday season, which unleashes a torrent of parties and get togethers.

That means it is advantageous to have an extra appetizer, hors d’oeuvres, or dessert snack trick up your sleeve. So tonight I played around with an idea I had for an appetizer. This is work in progress kind of thing.

Steak Wrapped Tater Tots

I know. That’s twisted. But sometimes you just have to cut loose and do something different.

For the first round, I cooked tater tots (well, actually Ore Ida Crispy Crowns) according to directions. I placed each one on a 1″ strip of milanesa style sliced beef (thin sliced sirloin) and topped with a variety of ingredients like pickled sweet jalapeno (we used Hobo Howey’s Jalapeno Treats), cheddar cheese, and steak sauce.

I rolled them up and secured with a toothpick and seasoned with a little bit of steak rub (I used Dizzy Pig Cow Lick).

I tried cooking them on the griddle plate of my grill cooking at 450f. It only took 1-2 minutes per side.

While it gave good sear marks, the sides didn’t get much radiant heat so they weren’t as evenly cooked as I would have liked.

It was 35f outside while I was cooking these, but I could not resist making a second attempt. This time I did the same thing but went with direct heat.

That cooked through much better.

And despite my fears the cheese would melt out during the cook, it finished just right.

Lessons learned:

  1. Instead of using a griddle pan, go for direct heat like grilling or broiling.
  2. If using cheese, start with your tater tot facing the hot side (below for grilling, above for broiling) for the first minute.
  3. Serve these quickly after cooking. These are not a “cook and leave on the table” kind of thing if you want to impress.
  4. Idea for the world’s most awesome slider – A juicy lucy style slider with a crispy crown and cheddar inside. Gonna work on that one.
  5. After testing the varieties twice tonight, I think our favorite is a combo of the sweet pickled jalapeno and cheddar. The sweet and heat combine perfectly.

Tell me: When the pressure is on during the holidays, what is your “go to” appetizer/snack?

TOASTED ONION SALISBURY STEAK SLIDERS & BONUS HOMEMADE ORANGE CRANBERRY SAUCE

I made this recipe last week when I was trying to clean out the pantry and the fridge and was quite pleased with the results.  I never hesitate to experiment and/or substitute what I have on hand for what a recipe traditionally calls for.  We are usually (99% of the time) quite happy with the change up of ingredients.

TOASTED ONION SALISBURY STEAK SLIDERS
2 small flour tortillas, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
1 1/2 pounds ground round
1 package Laura Scudders toasted onion dip
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons flour

  • Pour milk over tortillas and let sit for an hour.
  • With your hands mix ground round and onion dip mix together and let sit for an hour in fridge.
  • Mix together the tortilla mixture and the beef mixture until uniform in consistency.
  • Hand form 6 small steaks.
  • In a large skillet, melt butter.
  • When sizzling, add onions and pepper and saute’ until caramelized.
  • Lower heat slightly. Arrange onions around the outside of the skillet and add steaks. Turn regularly until brown all over and cooked through.
  • In a saute’ pan, bring broth to a simmer.
  • Sprinkle flour into broth while constantly whisking until slightly thickens.
  • Lower heat, transfer steaks into broth mixture and top with onion mixture.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes.

Since Thanksgiving is so close and Linda did a wonderful apple cranberry sauce yesterday, I thought I would share how very easy it is to make homemade cranberry sauce.

CRANBERRY SAUCE
1/2 cup orange juice with pulp*
1/2 cup pineapple juice*
1 bag cranberries
2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange peel
Wash cranberries and drain in colander. Mix orange juice and sugar in saucepan until dissolved. Add cinnamon and orange peel. Stir well, Add the cranberries and simmer over medium high heat until bubbling, stirring often. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat. Cook 10 minutes uncovered or until all cranberries have ’popped’. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for future holidays.

Yields: 2 cups
*You can use ALL orange juice if you prefer

***I like to make a double batch at Thanksgiving and freeze half for Christmas.

    ITALIAN BEEF STROGANOFF ~ SLOW COOKED

    ITALIAN BEEF STROGANOFF
    28 ounce can Contadina crushed tomatoes
    8 ounce can Contadina tomato sauce
    1 MAGGI beef seasoning cube
    1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
    4 cloves garlic, minced
    2 1/2 pounds chuck roast or chuck eye steak*, cut into stew sized pieces
    2 cups cooked wide egg noodles
    1 cup sour cream
    fresh parsley

    • Layer beef chuck pieces, garlic and onions in bottom of slow cooker.
    • Whisk together tomatoes and sauce.  Microwave for 3 minutes until HOT!  Add beef cube and stir until dissolved.
    • Pour over meat and onions.
    • Cook 8-10 hours on low OR 4-6 hours on high.
    • Pour meat through colander so it is separate from the sauce.
    • Stir sour cream into sauce. 
    • Fold noodles into sauce mixture.
    • Fold beef back in.
    • Sprinkle with parsley.
    • Enjoy.

    *these 2 pieces of meat are actually from the same cut, but I base it on which one is currently on sale.  This week I saved 50 cents a pound by using 2 steaks instead on 1 roast.

    TOASTED ONION SALISBURY STEAK SLIDERS

    TOASTED ONION SALISBURY STEAK SLIDERS
    2 small flour tortillas, cut into small pieces
    1/4 cup milk
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
    1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
    1 1/2 pounds ground round
    1 package Laura Scudders toasted onion dip
    1 1/2 cups beef broth
    2 tablespoons flour

    • Pour milk over tortillas and let sit for an hour.
    • With your hands mix ground round and onion dip mix together and let sit for an hour in fridge.
    • Mix together the tortilla mixture and the beef mixture until uniform in consistency.
    • Hand form 6 small steaks.
    • In a large skillet melt butter.
    • When sizzling, add onions and pepper and saute’ until caramelized.
    • Lower heat slightly. Arrange onions around the outside of the skillet and add steaks. Turn regularly until brown all over and cooked through.
    • In a saute pan, bring broth to a simmer.
    • Sprinkle flour into broth while constantly whisking until slightly thickens.
    • Lower heat, transfer steaks into broth mixture and top with onion mixture.
    • Serve over mashed potatoes.

      QUICK & EASY CHICKEN CHILI and CHEDDAR CHEESE BISCUITS

      QUICK & EASY CHICKEN CHILI
      3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, frozen
      2 cups homemade chicken broth, frozen
      1 can cream of potato soup
      1 jar dried beef, chopped
      1 Williams chili mix package
      1 can chopped green chilies
      • Place frozen chicken breasts on the bottom.
      • Pour green chilies over chicken pieces.
      • Top with cream of potato soup.
      • Top with frozen broth.
      • Sprinkle chili seasoning mix on top of chicken broth.
      • Top with beef pieces.
      • Slow cook on high for 2 hours. Reduce to low for 6 hours. Or cook on low 10 hours.
      As the slow cooker heats up, the broth will melt absorbing the chili seasoning mix which will then be absorbed by the potato soup and by the end of the day you have a huge bowl of wonderful yummy goodness perfect for a crisp fall evening. Serve with cheddar cheese biscuits.

      Hubby likes the biscuits a bit more done and the rest of us like them a little lighter! Either way they are really yummy.

      CHEDDAR CHEESE BISCUITS
      2 1/2 cups Bisquick
      1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
      2 teaspoons celery seeds
      1 egg, room temperature
      1 cup milk 
      • Combine Bisquick and seeds and mix well.
      • Add cheese and mix again. 
      • Whisk egg and milk together. 
      • Gradually add egg mixture to Bisquick mixture and mix until well blended. 
      • Drop by spoonfuls onto a well greased cookie sheet or use a mini-muffin pan.
      • Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

      London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri

      First, I must say thank you to Chris for asking me to guest post for him.  I was so excited when I received his email!  I love to grill…actually, love doesn’t even describe it correctly, it’s more than that…grilling is in my blood.  For me, being asked to guest post on Fire Day Friday is like a home cook being asked to star in their own show on the Food Network!!
      But enough with this embarrassing gushing, let me introduce myself.  I’m Jenn from Jenn’s Food Journey.  I have a love affair with cooking and, of course, grilling.  I had no desire to cook when I was younger.  Yes, I loved to help my mom or my grandma with certain little tasks in the kitchen, but that was it, I didn’t want to do the whole shebang.  It was much later in life when I found the passion and love I have for it now. Grilling is my true love, though.  When my boyfriend and I moved into our house together, my parents gave us the best house warming gift ever: A GRILL!!  As soon we got it set up, I immediately wanted to start cooking on it.  From that point on, I grilled 6 nights a week for 3 months straight. (Seriously!)  Despite all the hours standing at the grill, I still do not claim to be a master griller (is that an actually word? who cares, I like it)…but every now and then I truly shock myself with my creations……like this one I’ll be sharing with you today…yes, I’m finally getting to why I’m really here!!
      I made my first Chimichurri -an Argentinean sauce similar to pesto- back in August.  I had recently come in possession of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue and knew his recipe for chimichurri would be one of the first ones I would try.  When Chris asked me to guest post my mind immediately started turning…what was I going to make?  I sorted through files with all kinds of grilling recipes and could not come up with a good idea.  Then it hit me.  I had a London Broil in my freezer that I had been wanting to use, why not do something with that?  (And by the way, I found out after purchasing this particular cut of meat, that London Broil is actually the way you prepare the cut of meat, not the cut itself.  London broil is broiling or grilling flank steak.  So even though the cut I bought said London Broil on the package, it’s really a cut of flank steak….I learned something new I guess!  So don’t worry if you can’t find “London Broil”, it’s really just flank steak!!)  Once I knew what kind of meat I was going to use, I started thinking about what to do with it.  Marinating?  Yes, that would be a good start.  A sauce maybe?  Well, yes, of course, I am a self proclaimed sauce lover.  But what kind???  hhhhmmmm… I have jalapenos…what about a fire roasted salsa of some kind??  DING! (that’s the light bulb going off in my head by the way)  The spicy chimichurri was born!  I am one that loves heat, you may not be, so to tone down this recipe, you can just use jalapenos, or better yet, use an Anaheim or poblano pepper instead.  Either way, this chimichurri will work fantastic on any cut of beef, chicken, or pork.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

      London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri
      Created by Jenn’s Food Journey
      Printable Recipe 
      Ingredients:
      For Marinade:
      1 cup lager beer
      3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
      1 Tablespoon honey
      1 Tablespoon olive oil
      1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
      1/2 teaspoon black pepper
      2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
      1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
      1 1/4 lbs. London broil
      For Spicy Chimichurri-
      2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
      2 jalapeno peppers
      1 Serrano pepper
      1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
      1 Tablespoon lime juice
      1/4 cup packed fresh parsley, minced
      3 Tablespoons olive oil
      1/2 Roma tomato, finely diced (about 1 Tbls) 

      Directions:

      In a resealable bag or baking dish, mix together all the marinade ingredients.  Place the London Broil in the bag, seal, and marinate for at least 4 hours, but 8-24 is recommended.
      Fire roast your garlic and peppers.  For the garlic: place unpeeled cloves in a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and seal foil around it.  Place on preheated grill for about 5 minutes, or until the garlic becomes soft.  Squeeze garlic from the skins, mash with side of knife and mince.  For the peppers: rub with a little olive oil and place directly over the fire on the grill grates.  Allow to cook until the skins are black and blistered, about 8-10 minutes.  Place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 5 minutes.  When peppers have cooled a bit, peel skin, remove seeds, and then finely dice.
      Heat grill to 350-400 degrees.  In a bowl, combine the garlic, peppers, and oregano.  Stir in the lime juice.  Add the parsley and the olive oil and mix to combine.  Fold in the tomatoes; set aside.
      Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade.  Place the meat on the grill grate directly over the fire and close the lid.  Allow to cook for 4-10 minutes on each side, depending on your desired doneness. (Rare: 120-125 degrees; MedRare: 130-135 degrees; Medium: 140-145 degrees; MedWell: 150-155 degrees; WellDone: 160 degrees).  Remember to take the steak off about 5 degrees sooner then your desired doneness, they need to rest for at least 5 minutes and they will continue to cook.  Serve with chimichurri and enjoy!

      BEEF VEGETABLE STEW revisited

      BEEF STEW

      1 pound lean beef stew eat, cut into cubes
      1/2 pound baby carrots, halved
      1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and quartered
      1 teaspoon minced garlic
      1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
      1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
      1 teaspoon sea salt
      1/2 teaspoon pepper
      Knorr Spring Vegetable Recipe Mix
      1 cup V8 juice*
      1/4 cup white zinfandel wine*
      2 tablespoons brown sugar*
      1 tablespoons tapioca*

      • Spray bottom of slow cooker lightly with PURE!
      • Place the beef cubes in the bottom of the slow cooker.
      • Layer onions over top of beef.
      • In a mortar and pestle, grind all the seasonings together to reactivate their properties.
      • Add to Knorr Spring vegetable mix and blend well.
      • Sprinkle over the meat and onions.
      • Add carrots.
      • Whisk together the wine, V8 juice, brown sugar and tapioca until sugar and tapioca is completely dissolved.
      • Pour this over meat and vegetables.
      • Cover and cook on low 5 hours, undisturbed.
      • DO NOT CHECK ON IT!
      • Serve Immediately over mashed potatoes.
      *The tapioca, wine and brown sugar make a really nice thick gravy consistency with robust flavor when mixed with the V8.

      aprons 3