Category: BEEF

Taco Ring Salad ~ Recipe of the Week

A lot of people have asked about this recipe of late, so I thought it was time to share it.
It is so simple and looks so good too.
It’s great for Super Bowl parties, potlucks, etc…
Kids really love it too.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
taco seasoning
1 large onion, chopped small
4 oz. can chopped green chiles, not drained
1 package refrigerator crescent rolls 1
large tomato, chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 package Sargento Mexican blend fine shredded cheese
sour cream

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a skillet brown the ground beef and onion. Drain.
  • Add taco seasoning and green chiles.
  • Simmer 5-10 minutes. Drain again so there is no excess moisture.
  • I use my stoneware pizza stone. Lightly spray it with PURE.
  • Unroll the crescent rolls and separate them.
  • Arrange the rolls (wide edges inward with the thin corner edge slightly hanging off the pizza stone) in a circular pattern around the pizza stone with the corners slightly touching.
  • Arrange the meat mixture in a circular pattern covering the large end portion of the crescent rolls. Sprinkle 1/3 -1/2 of the cheese over the meat.
  • Pull the small pointed end up over the meat mixture and pinch into large portion creating a ring that resembles a wreath. You will have an open area with meat showing through.
  • Bake according to the biscuit directions and golden.
  • I also serve it on the stoneware. Arrange the shredded lettuce, green onions and tomatoes in the center and edges. For just us, I just put it directly on the plate.
  • Garnish with sour cream and remaining cheese.
  • Serve immediately.

Freezer Food Friday ~ Chili

hosted by mjpuzzlemom

3 pounds hamburger
2 large white onions, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans Rotel original tomatoes
2 – 4 oz. cans diced green chiles
3 cups V-8 juice
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons jar garlic or 3 cloves fresh

In a large stock pot, brown the hamburger and onion together. Drain the fat off. Mix in all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a low simmer for 3-4 hours. After dinner separate the remaining chili into 4 freezer containers, label and freeze for future meals.

BBQ Bean Dinner

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1/2 pound bacon
  • 1 large onion, chopped small
  • 2 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 3 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 4 large cans Bush maple flavored baked beans
Brown hamburger and then drain. Fry bacon until crisp. Crumble bacon into pieces. Add to the remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-7 hours. Serve with beer bread or cheddar cheese biscuits. Great dish for a church pot luck.

~*~BBQ BEEF or PORK- the easiest and tastiest EVER~*~

Hubby and I are supposed to go out for Valentines, but we’re also supposed to have yet another blizzard on Valentines Day, so I may be making this recipe instead:

BBQ BEEF

3-4 pound chuck roast or boneless beef ribs*
1 large onion, chopped small
1 12 oz. coca-cola
2 cups Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup OR 1 cup mustard**
1 cup packed brown sugar

  • Put the meat and coca-cola in 6 quart crock pot on low for one hour.
  • Do NOT use high, you can’t cook this recipe fast, it just doesn’t work.
  • After an hour, add the remaining ingredient.
  • Stir well and put the lid on.
  • Cook on low for 5 hours.
  • When done, meat will be in shreds and fat will have all but dissolved into the sauce.
  • Serve over mashed potatoes or on buns.

*You can use stew eat, but it isn’t as good. You need the striation and marbling of fat. The combination of the marbling and the coca-cola tenderizes the meat and makes it yummy.

**Ketchup makes it a little sweeter while mustard makes it more tart.

~*~Dinner Challenge Update~*~Stuffed Spinach Manicotti Shells~*~

1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons minced jar garlic
1 box chopped frozen spinach (thawed & drained)
salt & pepper to taste
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can Contadina tomato paste
10 ounces beef broth (I use granules and make my own)
2 tablespoons Classico sun-dried tomato peso
1/4 cup butter
2-8ounce shredded mozzarella cheese packages
1 box organic pasta Manicotti Shells, prepared very Al dente
  • Brown hamburger. Add garlic and onion about half way through. When the hamburger is browned, add spinach and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain off fat.
  • Mix all other ingredients together except the shells and cheese and bring to a simmering boil. Add one third of the sauce to the meat mixture.
  • Stuff the shells with the meat mixture. Continue until all shells are full. This recipe serves 4, but at this point since there are just the 2 of us now, I tend to either A) have leftovers or B) try to think ahead and prep meals to freeze for easy cooking on the nights we’re busy with appointments, but still need a home cooked meal. This Manicotti recipe is great for that. The shells come in a box with 2 layers of plastic protectors. I make sure to save one to protect the shells I’m going to freeze. I prepare the recipe like normal, but split it in half before baking and freeze half. As you can see it all slips easily into a gallon size ziploc bag. After removing everything, I roll the bag up and stick in the freezer door until the next time I prep the whole recipe.
  • In a small greased casserole layer some sauce on bottom. Lay in half the shells, pour more sauce over top reserving half the sauce for the freezer. Put that sauce in a quart size ziploc. Top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove fol and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes.
  • In the gallon sized ziploc bag slide the extra tray of shells into it. Slide the bag of sauce on top of that as well as the second bag of mozzarella cheese. Zip shut and freeze. You now have a home cooked meal for another night.

Favorite Ingredient Friday~Super Savory Pot Roast & Veggies

Favorite Ingredient Friday, hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy.
Super Savory Pot Roast & Veggies
I love Pot Roast. I adapted grams old recipe to my family and their likes.

Ingredients:
2-3 pound Pot Roast
2 medium Onions
1 bag baby carrots
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 large Yukon potatoes~scrubbed clean, but not peeled
Kosher Salt
White & Black Pepper
3 t. minced garlic
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Pampered Chef Rosemary mix
Beef bullion
Red Wine (2 cups) OR White Wine (2 cups)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. The meat you use is important. And like Ree over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks, my favorite roast is the chuck roast because it has wonderful marbling throughout the meat, and when cooked right (prep, cover, cook ~ don’t fiddle with it while it’s in the oven) any chuck roast winds up being tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Be aware that the tougher the piece of meat is, the longer it needs to cook so that the connective tissue will soften and break down. You truly can’t rush a pot roast, you’ll be disappointed if you try as it will be dry or lack flavor. BE PATIENT. You want the meat to basically fall apart. You SHOULD NOT need a knife to cut it.

Bring the piece of meat to room temperature. GENEROUSLY sprinkle the first side of meat with the Kosher Salt and Pepper mix. Heat enough olive oil in the bottom of a fry pan to make a thick coating. Heat to a medium-high heat. Cut the onions tip to root, cut off root and stem, peel and lay flat into hot oil. Brown both sides well. Remove to side. Add the baby carrots and do the same. I normally cut each carrot just in half. Brown carrots and like Ree said you’re trying more for color here than cooking. They will have plenty of time to cook in the oven. I also like to add my garlic (I use the bottled minced garlic from the produce section) and spices at this point. By this time I have put them all into a mortar and pestle to revive their scents and aromas. When carrots are finished, remove them to the same plate as the onions. If necessary add more olive oil to the pan and add the roast seasoned side down. While it’s browning season the other side really well Brown both sides and all edges really well.

Now, for the oven I like to use my grandma’s old Magnalite dutch oven which cooks really even! And see those little hobnail bumps in on the bottom side of the lid? Those are better known as drip catchers. They collect the steam from the juices and redistributes it all right back down on the roast as it cooks. These help keep the meat moist and juicy. After the roast is browned, place it in the dutch oven and spread vegetables all around it.

While fry pan is still hot, add white or red wine and the beef bullion to deglaze the pan ~ make sure you scrape up all the stuck little bits from the bottom. Cook long enough to mix well and then pour over the roast. The liquid should come up at least half way on the sides of the roast and vegetable mixture. For this recipe we added the white wine to the recipe and drank the red. The red wine, Harrod wine, is from our nephew’s vineyard so we don’t waste it cooking, but enjoy every last drop.

Put the lid on the dutch oven, put it in the oven, don’t open the door for AT LEAST 3 hours! Today’s roast was 2.39 pounds and I roasted it for 3 1/2 hours. Go relax or at least get the dishes you’ve dirtied so far done up. At 3 hours, I prep the potatoes for boiling. I too, prefer not to cook mine with the roast ~ I prefer a bit of substance instead of the mush they become with the roast. I do a basic mashed with heavy cream, salt, pepper, and butter (hey you gotta splurge a little sometimes!)

We get 2 meals out of these proportions. Now to us eating starts with the eyes ~ so make it pretty. I love my polish pottery, all of it is unique one-of-a-kind creations and decorates a table and your meal so easily!