Beef Ribs in the Instant Pot

Beef Ribs! One of my favorite things to get at a bbq restaurant are something I've never made at home because it sounds like it takes too much time. Plus, I don't have a smoker. Plus, I don't want to use the bbq for 5 hours.  Enter the Instant Pot. Talk about an all-around useful appliance! With minimal ingredients and only 40 minutes (+natural release time), I made fall-off-the-bone beef ribs. These got an A+ from everyone in my family!  Try it tonight.

Ingredients

~10 beef ribs (that's all that fit in my pot)
1/2 Jar Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce (best all around sauce I believe)
salt & pepper
1/2 C water or broth

Directions
1. Place the tray that came with the Instant Pot in the bottom of the pot. Stand the ribs up on the tray campfire style.
2. Sprinkle salt on the ribs
3. Pour water or broth into the pot
4. Pour half the jar of bbq sauce over the ribs
5. Set to sealing and use the Meat/Stew setting and add 5 minutes
6. Cook 40 minutes and let it release the steam naturally for at least 10 minutes. Do the rest of the release.
7. Serve with more bbq sauce on top

Note: You could put bbq sauce on and put it on a foil-lined cookie sheet under the broiler to caramelize it a bit but we didn't take that step so I can't speak to it

Shepard'a Pie

Sometimes it's hard to decide what to do with ground beef. Today was one of those days so I made Shepard' pie. The toddler didn't eat it for unknown reasons but the rest of the family loved it. This recipe is so customizable to your tastes and what you have in your fridge, freezer and pantry. I was proud to have all the ingredients at home!!

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 T butter
Milk or broth up to 1 cup
Salt & pepper
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 C carrots, chopped
1/3 c frozen peas
1/3 c frozen corn
1/2 c broth
1 T worstescheir sauce
2 t olive oil

Directions
1. Boil water in a medium pot, add potatoes and cook simmering until soft when pierced with a fork. Drain and return to pot.
2. Mash the potatoes with a masher or immersion blender. Add butter and then milk in 1/4 c increments until desired texture. Season with sale and pepper. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and carrots and cook until onion is soft. Add beef, garlic and cook until meat is browned. Add broth and worstecheir. Cook 5 minutes on medium.
4. Add peas and corn and cook 5 more minutes. Liberally season with salt and pepper
5. Preheat oven to 400
6. In a 2 qt oven proof container or an 8x8 dish, add meat mix and layer potato on top.
7. Cook 30 minutes until potatoes are browned.

Cross Rib Roast

This Christmas season, I came across a cut of beef called cross rib roast. It was on sale and very red in color so I bought one. Amazing! It cut like butter and could almost be compared to the very expensive Beef Tenderloin in texture and flavor. The next day, I went to the store and bought another. Then we sliced the leftovers thinly for French dip sandwiches. Now I have made this roast four time and will keep it up as long as I find it in the store!

Ingredients
Celery salt
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
One onion, sliced in thick rounds*
Cross rib roast

Directions
Preheat oven to 450
1. Season roast all over with celery salt, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
2. Place roast on top of onion slices on a rimmed baking sheet
3. Insert oven-safe thermometer if you have one and set to 125
4. Roast 15 min then reduce heat to 350 and roast until internal temperature reaches 125.  A two pound roast takes about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Remove from oven and let rest a few minutes before slicing

*I use an onion to mimic a roasting pan to hold the meat up from the tray. You could instead use a roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet with built in tray. The onions are pretty good after though..

Lomo Saltado

Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian beef dish with peppers, onions and french fries!  I like the one they used to serve at a Peruvian restaurant in Burbank (although I like Pollo Saltado a bit better overall) but this version was pretty good too! Sure to be a family favorite, omit the jalepeno if you aren't into spicy.

And even better, all cards were stacked against my husband going for this dish. We even had soup reserved in case. But it was actually a hit! He said it was good!!  This is 300 calories only as long as you don't have too many french fries. But then again, if you do have more - the main thing was only 300 calories...

Recipe by Skinnytaste along with the Potato Board

Putting it here cause I really want to make it again and don't want them to delete the recipe like sometimes happens!


Ingredients

For the Baked Fries: canola cooking spray
1 medium (5.3 oz) potato, russet or yellow, washed and dried
1/4 tsp garlic powder
kosher salt

 For the Beef:
 1/2 lb lean sirloin, cut into small, thin strips (I got the stir fry sirloin pre-cut)
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 tsp cumin
black pepper, to taste
garlic salt/garlic powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, sliced into thick strips
2 mini yellow bell peppers or 1 large
1 large jalapeno, ribbed and seeded, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, sliced into wedges
1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

 Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut the potato lengthwise into 1/3-inch thick slices; cut each slice into 1/3-inch fries. Place on the baking sheet and toss with another spray of oil to evenly coat. Season with garlic powder, and salt.

 Place on a single layer onto the greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered on the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp and golden. Meanwhile, season meat with salt, pepper and cumin.

Heat a large wok over high heat. When hot add the oil and the steak, cook about 2 minutes, until browned on both sides. Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook 2 minutes.

Add the tomato, soy sauce and vinegar and cook 1 more minute.

 *If your fries aren't done yet, turn the heat to low and wait and then heat one more minute on high when ready.

 Season with more salt as needed, remove from heat and finish with cilantro. Serve immediately with french fries and divide evenly between 2 plates.

 Calories: 308.5 Fat: 9g Cholesterol: 48mg Sodium: 522mg Carbohydrates: 28g Fiber: 4g Protein: 28g

Pioneer Woman's Meatballs

We bought ground beef this week with the intent of making Hamburger Helper when we had no time. Instead, we decided to make meatballs. They took two hours to prepare!! We served them with store-bought mashed potatoes but in hindsight a green vegetable or salad would have been a nice addition.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

3/4 cup quick oats

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons very finely minced onion (about a quarter cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

4 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Sauce:

1 cup ketchup

4 to 6 tablespoons minced onion

3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Dash of hot sauce, such as Tapatio

1.Combine all ingredients through black pepper in a large bowl and stir together with spoon or hands.

2. Roll meatballs into Tablespoon sized balls (try to get them all even) and place on a tray. Refrigerate for 45 minutes

3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a pitcher

5. Heat canola oil in a large frying pan. Dredge meatballs in flour. Fry in the pan the meatballs until lightly browned. Do batches if you need them.

6. Place the meatballs in a rectangular baking dish. Drizzle sauce over the top. Then, bake until bubbly about 45 minutes.

These were good and we have more for another day! Ours were a little too wet because we only had a pound of beef and failed to reduce the amount of liquid. But, they still worked! 

10 minute prep Roast Beef

Some days I really want to cook but Hazel wants to be held the whole time. Thursday was one of those days. However, I decided to put her down for 5 minutes and get a roast in the oven WITH vegetables! Once you prep it and get it in the oven, roast beef takes a little bit to cook but it's completely hands off so you can go back to holding the baby. This dish also makes plenty for leftovers and I highly recommend beef dip sandwiches which are super simple as long as you have fresh bread and that au jus mix from the store.

I prepped this in 5 minutes total but I am giving you 10 minutes in case you want to be a bit more exact.

Ingredients
2 1/2 lb rump roast, rib roast or other roast, boneless
1/2 large onion
3-4 yukon gold or other thin-skinned potato
6 carrots
salt
pepper
seasoning of your choice (I used English Prime Rib Rub but you can just do S&P)
1 T olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325, prepare a thermometer
2. Slice the onion in four thick slices
3. Roughly chop the carrots and potatoes so they are like-sized
4. On a rimmed backing sheet toss the carrots and potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan in a single layer
5. Place the onion slices in the middle of the pan
6. Rub the roast all over with salt, pepper and spices and place on the onions fat side down if there is a fat side
7. Roast in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 130-135 for medium rare. If you cook your meat medium rare tonight it will be a little bit more well done tomorrow when you have your beef dips.

Green Eggs and Beef

When we got our first dog when I was in second grade, my mom was told she had to cook a special breakfast for this dog. She did. It combined ground beef and onions maybe and eggs and it smelled really delicious in the morning. We ate cereal. This week, we had leftover lean ground beef. We decided to to use it to make dinner but to make slightly different dinners for each of us. I decided on green eggs and beef, Joey made a sandwich.

I highly recommend that you make green eggs and beef. It's delicious! You can also use whatever is in your fridge. I recommend adding more vegetables such as tomatoes, extra peppers, lots of greens. Anything you want really and you could make this without the beef if you really wanted.

Ingredients (serves 1)
1 1/2 handfuls of greens (I used a mix of kale, spinach and two other greens)
1/4 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
3 T chopped bell pepper
2 T finely diced onion
salt
pepper
hot sauce or hot peppers

Directions
1. Over medium heat, saute onion and green pepper briefly until fragrant, season with salt and pepper
2. Add beef and break up with spoon, add a dash more salt
3. Once beef is brown, add greens and let wilt
4. Add egg and break the yolk, stir together quickly and remove from heat, sprinkle with hot sauce or mix in peppers
5. Serve with fruit

Pasta Pie - Inverted Spaghetti & Meatballs

When I was reading through my regular blogroll a few weeks ago I read about this pasta pie.  Immediately, I thought of my friend Robin's fat parties and sent her the dish. She told me we should have it at our next game night, and so we did.

This is basically meatballs formed into a pie crust with pasta, cheese and sauce on top.  You could totally reduce the amount of cheese and my pie plate wasn't big enough to use all the meat--so I froze a couple of mini meatballs. You could even use turkey in place of the beef if you were so inclined.  You could use a different noodle but nothing too big, this size was good for presentation but harder to fork. If you use a big noodle then reduce the amount of pasta significantly.

This is actually very delicious, it was good with sauce on the side and without. It was good the next day and several days after.

I found this recipe on The Italian Dish. The only thing I did differently was to use less meat (and I used the rest to make meatballs) and less pasta (because my pie tin was obviously not as deep as hers). You might as well still make the amount she used and have leftover pasta (sooo good due to the cheese) and leftover meatballs (roll into balls, freeze on a baking sheet, transfer to a ziploc when frozen, defrost before using for soups, pasta, pizza or sandwiches.

The Recipe.

One Roast - Many Meals

We usually use our Costco membership exclusively to buy movie tickets. But sometimes we go crazy and actually shop there. The problem is that the food is HUGE and for two people it's really hard to imagine using it all. But this time, we had a plan.  My family was coming over for New Years Eve dinner - a Christmas #3. I wanted to serve a roast because they are so easy. You rub it with some spices, throw it in the oven and let it go with no extra work until the end.  I was also going to make some carrots and some boiled potatoes...but only the carrots happened due to some last minute bad planning. However, the meat thing, was a good idea.

At Costco we found an 8 1/2lb roast for $35. We only needed about 4lbs for dinner but we have a kitchen scale.  We were planning to make chili the next day for NYD so we decided we could use the same roast. I knew we would have leftovers but we would make it work. And we did. This is one of those cost saving measures that requires creativity so you don't end up eating the same thing 12 times. And it was fun!

All Dishes Ingredient:
8 1/2 lb roast - boneless beef cap (also called Round Roast)

Roast Beef with Cilantro-Garlic Rub - Serves 7 + leftovers for 2-3 meals
4 1/2 lb beef roast in one piece
1 bunch cilantro
3 cloves garlic
salt (to taste)
pepper
1 T olive oil
2 brown onions, sliced

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Rip the leaf tops off cilantro stems, there will be some stem left but not all. In a mini chopper or food processor combine garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper and olive oil so it forms a paste.
3. Salt & Pepper roast all over. Rub the paste on top
4. Place sliced onions on the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet and place the rubbed roast on top of the onions.
5. Roast for 25-30 minutes per pound, about 2 1/2 hours until temperature reaches 145 for medium rare.
6. Thinly slice roast and serve. Save leftovers in one big chunk in foil.

French Dip Sandwiches (for 2)
Leftover roast, thinly sliced - use as much meat as you want
1 packet au jus seasoning mix
3 Cups water
1 loaf Italian bread, from Albertsons warm if you can but whatever, you're going to toast it
butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cut bread into thick slices - like 4 inch pieces. Slice the center so it is still connected. Butter the inside of the bread and lay open on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Add au jus to water following instructions on the package
4. Toast the bread
5. Add the meat to the au jus to warm it up
6. Assemble the sandwiches by placing meat on the bread and add some au jus. Pour some remaining au jus into small dishes for dipping

Chili (serves 4 with seconds)
2 lbs beef roast, divided
Coarse-grind 1lb of meat in the food processor
Cut the other pound into small chunks
Recipe

Meatballs with Garlic Bread (Yield 18 large meatballs)
adapted from Everyday Food Videos with Sarah Carey (I love these)
2 lbs beef, ground in the food processor
5 slices white bread, pulverized in the food processor
1/3 C water
3+ cloves garlic, minced
1 medium baguette
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5oz can whole tomatoes
3/4 t oregano
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pan. Add 1 clove minced garlic & 1/4 t oregano and cook about 30 seconds
3. Add tomatoes and salt. Breakdown whole tomatoes with a potato masher or a fork or a spatula leaving some chunks.  Simmer sauce uncovered until you need it next
4. In a large bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the water. Add meat, remaining oregano, some salt, some pepper, a little of the garlic and egg and mix with your hands until the ingredients are combined.
5. Roll meatballs in your hands and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
6. Cut the bread in half and then in half again lengthwise. On another rimmed baking sheet place the bread cut side up. Sprinkle oil over bread and spread remaining garlic over the top.
7. Place the bread in the oven for 10 minutes (or maybe a little bit less)
8. For two people, place 4-6 meatballs directly into the sauce. Push them down to be covered and cook for 10 minutes.
9. Serve Meatballs and sauce in a bowl with a side of garlic bread
10. Put the parchment lined baking sheet with other meatballs into the freezer until meatballs are frozen. Then place them in a bag.  Defrost completely before cooking next time.

Homemade Meatball & Tomato Pizza (serves 2)
1 round pizza dough (buy or make, we made ours)
2 meatballs, defrosted and re-rolled into smaller pieces
1/2 C pizza sauce
1/2 C mozzarella cheese
2 T parmesan cheese
3 small balls fresh mozzarella
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Pizza Spices
cornmeal

1. Preheat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone inside
2. Roll out your pizza dough and place it on cornmeal on top of a pizza peel (like a small cutting board) (ours rolled out, but sometimes you have to stretch it)
3. Spread sauce in a circular motion on the pizza
4. In a pan saute meatballs for a few minutes until cooked through in a bit of olive oil
5. Add pizza spices and toppings to the dough including the meatballs, broken up into pieces
6. Bake for 15 minutes, cut in half and eat while still hot!

Quick Beef Chili

It's New Years Day and nothing says new year & football like a warm bowl of chili. I decided to make one today for 4 for lunch.  Chili can be complicated and it can be easy and it is always delicious. Today, my first priority was not to make it overly spicy so that my mom could eat it without setting her mouth on fire.

For NYE, Joey & I picked up a nearly 9-lb roast at Costco. We cut it in half and roasted one half with a cilantro/garlic rub. Then I used 2 lbs of the uncooked half to make the chili. I cut 1lb in small chunks and ground the other 1lb into a course grind using the food processor (it worked great!).

This chili was fast, easy, and sat on the stove all by itself while we watched the parade/game.

Ingredients
2lb beef, half ground, half cut into small chunks
1 white onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 jalepeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 can pinto beans (15oz)
1 28.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato paste
2 cups (about 1 can) chicken broth
3 T chili powder
1 T ancho chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 T olive oil

Shredded cheese & cilantro for serving

1. Prepare all your ingredients
2. Heat olive oil in a 5 1/2 qt dutch oven over medium
3. Brown onion until soft
4. Add garlic and cook 30 sec
5. Add beef and brown
6. Remove some fat if there is tons
7. Add jalepeno, spices, crushed tomato, tomato paste, and broth
8. Simmer at least 45 minutes, but up to 2 hours is fine
9. 15-20 minutes before serving add beans
10. Serve with cheese and cilantro and hot sauce

Marinated Skirt Steak

 Hello Summer!  The weather here in SoCal has gotten warmer lately and it seems like summer is upon us.  In addition, my favorite grocery store Sprouts has been selling summery selections for a reduced price and that makes me think of having summer right now!

Tonight I wanted to eat at home but didn't want to spend all day slaving in a hot kitchen. Sprouts didn't let me down with this $5.75 meal for two.

This meal is simple and fast. I happened to have a few hours so I threw the skirt steak in a marinade of homemade Italian dressing--you know the kind you can get in the packet that sometimes comes with a dressing bottle? I purchased that salad dressing kit a few weeks ago in preparation for an upcoming baby shower in which I need the vessel.  I did the reduced oil method of the marinade. I also described it to my salad-hating husband as a "vinegar & oil marinade with a mix of Italian seasoning" shh don't tell; he liked the marniade and the steak and thought it had a nice flavor but he couldn't place it!  If he can't tell it's dressing either can your family, they will think you slaved away in the kitchen when in fact this meal takes minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:
~1lb skirt steak (1/2lb per person is my measurement and we always end up with a little leftover)
1 recipe Italian dressing (dry spice packet, 1/4 C + 3 T water, 1/4 C vinegar, 1/4 C oil)
1 gallon sized ziploc bag
2 corn cobs
1/2 watermelon
1 orange
3 massive strawberries (or about 6 regular strawberries, but we found these massive ones at the Farmer's market last week)

Directions:
1. An hour or so early or you could probably do this in the morning, prepare dressing directly in the gallon sized ziploc bag by propping the bag up in a drinking glass.  Close the bag and shake to combine. Add skirt steak and marinate in the refrigerator, at least an hour, or up to all day.
2. Heat the grill to high heat. Place the corn on the grill over direct flame and cook turning 4 minutes.
3. Prepare the fruit salad by segmenting the orange, cutting the watermelon into small cubes and slicing the strawberries.  Place in a bowl in the refrigerator until dinner is ready. I like cold fruit, if you don't leave it on the table.
4. After you've cooked the corn about 4 minutes, add the steak to the grill over direct flame.  I used tongs to pull mine right from the marinade bag and straight to the grill. Cook the steak for 2 minutes per side or possibly less depending on how thin your steak is.  Continue to cook the corn until browned and warm.
5. Slice the steak and serve

Steak with Spicy Chipotle Mango Sauce

Have you watched that show Worst Cooks in America on the Food Network? It takes a bunch of cooks who's families think they're terrible at cooking and teaches them to be chefs in bootcamp training.  These cooks really go from terrible to good--it's pretty impressive actually.  One thing that they encourage the cooks to do on the show is to make up recipes based on what they've learned or what the celebrity chefs have just shown them.  Even though I consider myself to be a pretty good cook, that is not something I know how to do really. I am good with recipes.

So today, after watching the second to last episode, I decided to channel Vinny and try to make his steak sauce recipe that he uses in that episode.  I might have changed it up a bit but I think I got the general idea.  I thought that this sauce added a lot to the steak and was delicious.  Joey didn't really agree with me but I will let you make up your own mind!

*disclamer* this sauce looks a bit gross so if you are opposed to gross looking things tasting good this is not for you

A take on Vinny's Chipotle Mango Sauce

For the Sauce:
1 T vegetable oil (i am totoally out of olive oil)
2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (although if you're afraid of heat you may want to put more like one)
1/3 C cilantro leaves
1 mango, peeled and chopped
the juice and zest of one lime
salt

For the Steak:
NY strip steak or other of your liking
Paprika
salt & pepper

For the Potatoes & Carrots
6 red potatoes, cut into small chunks
3 carrots cut into rounds or half moons to be similar to potatoes
salt
olive oil

1. In a food process, pulse all the ingredients for the sauce until combined.  Add oil last and only add if you want a little more liquid.
2. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. Heat the grill to medium-high heat
4. In a large, edged sheet pan toss carrots, potatoes, salt and about 1-2 t of olive oil or until everything seems coated.
5. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake, stirring once for about 35 minutes until crispy and carrots start to blacken
6. Rub the paprika, salt & pepper on the steaks.  Place on the grill over the flame and sear 2 minutes per side.
7. Turn off one of the burners and set the steak over that space. Grill without flipping until temperature reaches 130-135 degrees
8. Remove steak to plate and let rest while you prepare the plate.  Serve steak with sauce on the top or on the side

Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos

Ellie Krieger is a Food Network Star who seems to be relatively unknown, which is too bad because she makes a lot of great healthy dishes! Recently, I was browsing Food Network's Healthy Weekday meals slideshow and I came across a recipe for Ellie's Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos.  They sounded perfect and fast for a weekday!

I ended up making the tacos tonight after to a visit to the museum with my sister's family.  They really were quick. The entire meal was ready in 30 minutes!  I grilled the top sirloin steaks for about 7 minutes or so flipping only once. I ended up buying 4 individual sirloin steaks although in the video it looks like one single. This actually was a good idea because I didn't put the spicy spices on one of the steaks for my nephew.

I did not make anything but the steak from her recipe but it had a nice flavor in our tacos with all of my favorite toppings!  I will make this again!

Chili Rubbed Spiced Tacos Recipe

I served this steak with:
Corn tortillas
Cilantro
Raw white onion
mixed shredded cheese
queso fresca
salsa

Delicious!

Individual Shepherd's Pies

After Thanksgiving, we got to share in the wealth of the leftovers and they were delicious as is for a few days, but today I thought I'd love to use the potatoes in a new way.  Suddenly it came to me--Shepherd's Pie!  I knew that we didn't have that many potatoes, so I wanted to make just enough food to fit into our small individual serving sizes--which actually turned out to be plenty of food and quite satisfying!

I chose a recipe from the Epicurious Iphone App while at the store and then found I pretty much had all the ingredients already.  On a whole, the only things I had to pay for at this time for this meal was the ground beef and the peas.  I bought Organic beef that was vegetarian fed because it came in a smaller package, I didn't think there was  much of a taste difference if that's something you have always been wondering but were too afraid to try (I have).  This took about an hour to prepare from the chopping to the baking but I don't know why, I felt like I got home and dinner would be on the table in minutes but I guess I dilly-dallied more than I thought.

Ingredients (I changed the recipe to have less meat because I knew I had less potatoes but I kept the spices and liquid the same)
1 T canola oil (or similar)
1/2 one small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced (I don't peel carrots anymore, I can't taste the difference)
0.6lbs of lean ground beef (this would be good with lamb which the original recipe called for or even turkey)
6 T frozen peas
1 C+ leftover mashed potatoes, or make your own, or buy some already made
1 T tomato paste (I recently bought a tube of paste because recipes are always calling for too little of the can to keep around, it's really handy even though it initially seems like a bad value)
1 Cup broth (I used vegetable)
1 t Rosemary, crushed a little (I used dry)
1 clove garlic smashed
1/2 t Oregano (I used dry)
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a large skillet brown beef, onion and carrot over medium high heat--about ten minutes
3. When the meat has browned, drain and return to pan.
4. Add all other ingredients EXCEPT the peas
5. Bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes until mixture has thickened slightly (honestly my mixture didn't really thicken but I still removed it after 10 minutes
6. Divide mixture between two individual oven-proof dishes. Add 3 T peas (straight from the freezer is fine) to each dish
7. Top the dishes with leftover potatoes and try to cover as much surface as possible, as you can see I was a little short on potatoes but it still tasted good
8. Bake dishes at 375 for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown on top
9. Dishes will be very hot right out of the oven.  If you can wait, hold off 5 minutes before eating.

Texas Red Chili

This month's Everyday Food had a chili cook off in it between the editors. They all made vastly different chilis but only two of them really peaked my interest. So this week Joey and I decided to make one of these chili dishes and then use the leftovers for a second meal later in the week.

We chose Texas Red Chili. <--see picture? I think we can all agree that our Texas Red Chili was anything but red. In fact it was brown, and it wasn't thick like chili and it really had no texture at all. What some call Texas Red Chili, I might call beef & beef soup. I mean it was good beef soup--but it was like just meat. Meat Beef Soup. And it's not even spicy.

I don't know what we did wrong. We couldn't find the right dried peppers but we used a replacement that the internet said would work. Our blending wasn't perfect cause we don't have a real blender--just an immersion one. But even if those things worked for us I'm not sure this chili would've turned out any better.

So Martha, what'd we do wrong? If you need some really moist beef for say, meat soup, you should make this recipe and add a bunch of vegetables and maybe some barley and it will be delicious. (beef & barley soup!)

1 1/2 ounces dried guajillo chilis or California Anaheim chilis

1 chipotle in adobo sauce + 1 T sauce

1 lb boneless beef short ribs cut into 1 inch pieces (we stripped ours from the bone cause we couldn't find them boneless)

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

salt & pepper

1 T vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 t cumin

1 t oregano

2 T cornmeal

3 3/4 C low-sodium beef broth

1 - 2 T white vinegar

Cheese, onions and yellow mustard for serving (yellow mustard seems weird but it actually tasted kinda good)

1. Place whole peppers in a pot and cover with boiling water. Weight down with a plate and let steam about 15 minutes until pliable. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid. Remove stems and seeds and set aside.

2. In a blender, blend reserved soaking liquid, chipotle & sauce, and dried peppers until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside

3. In a large dutch oven heat pot over medium high. Salt & Pepper short ribs and cook until browned about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

4. Add oil to the bot and season beef chuck. Cook until browned about 5 minutes. Transfer to the meat bowl.

5. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, garlic and 1/2 C water and cook until translucent and fragrant scraping off bits from the bottom of the pan

6. Add spices and cornmeal and cook 1 minute.

7. Add meat, broth, chili puree and water to cover meat if necessary.

8. Cook 1 hour partially covered. Then remove lid and cook 45 minutes longer until slightly thickened. Add vinegar to taste and serve.

The Broiler: A Love Hate Relationship

This morning I made a quick marinade of one of those picnic-sized bottles of red wine, some chopped basil and a dash of salt and herbs de Provence. I threw in a slab of top round steak and called it a day--a day in the refrigerator that is. The plan was to come home, spend all my time making applesauce while the grill did the work on the steak.

But once again the grill failed to do it's part in the plan. It didn't heat up and seemed to run out of gas. I feel like we just bought said gas, but I suppose that could totally have been at the beginning of the summer...Anyway, because I was already making the applesauce and the meat was soaked in wine, I decided it was imperative to make the meat at home. So I called on the poor-man's grill, the broiler.

The broiler pretty much annoys me. I don't like how you are supposed to use a special pan. I don't like how hot it is and how close your oven mitt-clad hand has to get to the heat. I find the special pan a bit awkward to handle. Plus the texture of the food that comes from the broiler to me isn't perfect. On the other hand, it cooks really really fast.

10 minutes after discovering the faults of the grill, the meat was cooked and sliced. The applesauce was still cooking away on the stove. I thought the beef was not as firm as it would be when cooked on the grill but it is possibly the cut of meat.

You win again broiler.

P.S. The marinade needed some kind of acid like lemon or maybe a little oil. If you are a wine connoisseur you would love this marinade because it tastes like wine (surprise!)

Marinated Flank Steak Tacos

I bought some flank steak planning to make these kebabs with a spicy pepper sauce. But then I used the jalapeno and pasillo pepper in that chili I made earlier this week. I still had a serrano but I just wasn't into it anymore. The seasoning on that flank steak was nothing and so it was all riding on the sauce.

So instead I decided to make the Pioneer Woman's marinated flank steak for nachos--but then instead of nachos make tacos. I made this decision at the store days after reading the Pioneer Woman's recipe. I decided to change it a little and get a little Mexican beer for the marinade. In all honesty, I read somewhere about the beer in the marinade--reading that if you did a dark beer it would make the taste bitter. I wasn't positive this was in the pioneer woman's recipe but I hoped it was. It wasn't. I used it anyway.

Original Recipe

Revised recipe:

Ingredients

1 can chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

2 limes

1 Cup or so Mexican beer like dos equis but I definitely used an off brand

2 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed (Just smash them with a heavy pot and the peels will come off)

handful cilantro, stems & leaves

1 flank steak (about 2 lbs)

For Serving:

corn tortillas

salsa

onions

cilantro

cabbage

queso fresca

1. In a mini chopper or blender combine can of chipotles and sauce, garlic, cilantro and lime juice. Blend. Add beer (i didn't measure) and olive oil (i bet you could skip it cause you used the beer). Blend

2. In a large ziploc bag place the flank steak, place in 2 bags if you can get it to be all flat. Cover steak with the marinade and turn to coat. Close the bag. Place in the refrigerator all day or overnight (I made mine in the morning and cooked it about 12 hours later).

3. Preheat the grill to very high heat. Grill meat about 4 minutes per side for medium rare (unless your steak is thicker in the middle, if so a little longer). Chop into small pieces and serve as tacos with desired toppings.

Citrus Marinated Blade Steak

I was planning on making marinated steak for dinner last night, but I forgot/didn't have any time in the morning to get the marinade prepared. So, I settled for a 20-minute marinade while the potatoes did most of their cooking knowing the thin blade steaks would take hardly any time at all on the grill.

I prepared a marinade loosely based on one I found on my Epicurious app while I was walking to the car from the office. The marinade calls for soy sauce which my husband insists he doesn't like and can taste a mile away, so I omitted it and instead used Worcestershire sauce and some actual salt. I think the marinade really did take and the thin steaks were pretty delicious--although possibly slightly overcooked. (Timers, I need to remember to set them)

Citrus Marinade

scant 1/4 C olive oil

zest of 1 orange

juice of 1 orange (it can be the same orange but be sure to zest before juicing)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon (same as above)
1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

dash salt

1/2 t dried cilantro

dash pepper

thin steaks

1. Add all ingredients to a gallon sized ziptop bag. I found the best way to do this was to stand up the bag in a strainer type bowl (it was on the drying rack) with high sides, that way you don't mess up a dish!

2. zip the bag and shake around to combine.

3. Reopen the bag and drop in the steaks in the same size pieces you want to cook them in, zip the bag and move the meat around to coat.

4. Let sit 20 minutes or more, as long as overnight, turning occasionally so that all sides get coated.

5. Heat the grill, remove steaks from bag directly to the grill and grill until done, turning once. Serve with crispy roasted potatoes.

Grilled Marinated Steak with Parmesan Asparagus

I receive the weekly newsletter from Beef It's What's for Dinner. Usually I don't find anything that really stands out to me but this time, while doing my menu planning, I thought this recipe for Grilled marinated steak and asparagus would hit the spot. Plus, I knew that asparagus has been in season at the Farmer's market.

The recipe calls for Top Round Steak which of course I couldn't find at the store so I got 2 half-pound steaks that had something about round in the title, were "for braising" according to the sticker and were about 3/4 inches thick.

The marinade was easy to whip up as I cleaned up the dishes from last night's epic fail chicken parmesan. I ended up using balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and I marinaded the meat overnight and all the way until dinner. The flavors were nice and not too overpowering and really spiced up the steaks.

The grilled parmesan asparagus was fantastic. We had the same asparagus steamed the night before without seasoning and it was totally bland. How refreshing to have it taste much better and different with just a dash of olive oil and cheese. I didn't serve this dish with orzo as it calls for but instead some sliced oranges. A perfect spring meal for this 90 degree day!

Recipe and photo here!

Spicy Beef Chili

I decided to make chili while at the store. I wasn't prepared with a recipe but I had a rough idea of what ingredients might be required. I pulled out my handy new iphone and started to look for recipes but I found the internet connection and no app yet downloaded to be cumbersome, so I just ran with it. I knew I had all the main spices at home--I just needed the other stuff. This turned out to be a 3-texture chili--meat, beans and sauce. I didn't add bell peppers and I cut the onions so finely you couldn't detect them. If you like textures, add bell peppers or cut your onions bigger.

The habeneros were pretty and on sale...the serranos have such a great flavor...

This chili was very spicy....oops ;) We ate it anyway with cheese and cilantro and corn muffins and glasses of milk.




Spicy Beef Chili

Ingredients
1.5 lb stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces if not already (that is chunks of beef--I like this for the chew factor, some people want this AND ground beef...)
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 habenero peppers, stems removed
2 serrano peppers, stems removed
3 T chili powder
scant 1 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped (jf you can find one, otherwise just use about 3/4 of the giant one from the store)
3 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil
Cheese (for serving)
Cilantro (for serving)

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add meat and onion and brown until onion is soft.
2. Meanwhile, in a mini chopper, chop all 4 peppers and 3 cloves garlic. Combine spices in a small bowl, and open cans of tomatoes.
3. Once the meat mixture has browned, add garlic mixture and cook 30 seconds. Then add tomatoes and spices. Stir.
4. Bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or more. 10 minutes to end of simmering, add beans and serve when heated through.