Beef Bourguignon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admittedly, I have no idea how to pronounce "bourguignon" or do I even know what it means for that matter.  My guess is that it means something like: divine, beautiful, or simply heavenly.  Sometimes I find a recipe that looks interesting and I hang onto it for months before I finally end up cooking it.  But there are other times, like this time, that I find a recipe and I MUST prepare it immediately.  Trust me, if you happened to see the photo that was printed alongside this recipe (which was featured in the October issue of the Rachel Ray magazine) you wouldn't have hesitated either.  A picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case, it was worth a thousand teeny tiny bursts of the salivary glands.

Another true fact is that the husband and I are not big fans of the traditional beef stew and this recipe is pretty similar to beef stew, but there is just something about this recipe that attracted me.  My guess is that it has something to do with the lack of potatoes called for in the recipe.  Or it may have been the addition of bacon and red wine.  Oh YUM! Those glands are kicking into gear again as I type! I prepared this dish exactly as directed in the original recipe, no alterations needed.  I'm going to do you a favor and stop babbling about it now so that you can head straight into your kitchen to cook it right up!


INGREDIENTS:

2 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb. beef chuck stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
2 C white mushrooms, quartered
3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 in. pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1 C beef stock
3/4 C dry red wine
2 TBSP fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 small baguette, cut into slices


DIRECTIONS:


In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over med-high heat until crisp, 4 minutes or so.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer into a bowl. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pot in a single layer.  Cook, stirring, until browned all over, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cooked meat, carrots, onion, tomato paste and butter.  Season and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.  Stir in the stock, wine and 1 tbsp. thyme; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to med-low, cover and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 hours.  Stir in the cooked bacon; season.  Divide among bowls, garnish with the remaining thyme and serve with the sliced baguette.  Enjoy! :)

Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers

I made this recipe for "Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers" for the first time a little over a year ago.  (I also took this lovely picture way back when as well.  Talk about procrastination!)  It wasn't until a friend just asked me for the recipe that I decided that I should go ahead and add it to my online recipe box.  You know, since I did just type the whole thing out and all.  :)  I plan to make these for dinner really soon, they are really really yummy and the husband enjoyed them a lot. 

INGREDIENTS:

 

olive oil

1/2 lb ground turkey (you can probably use lean ground turkey as well)

1 C chopped onions

1 heaping TBSP of taco seasoning (I used the homemade version)

2 C of cooked rice (I used some Spanish rice I had leftover)

3-4 bell peppers, halved and seeds removed

1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 C of frozen corn

1 (15 -16 ounce) jar of salsa (or homemade if you have it!)

shredded Cheddar Cheese

 

Toppings:

fresh cilantro

sour cream

sliced avocado

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

 Start the rice.

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the prepped peppers with the olive oil and roast them in a baking dish for 20-25 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool long enough so they can be handled.

Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey with the chopped onion and any seasonings of your choice. (I usually like to use a little salt, pepper, and garlic...fresh or powdered.) Drain any excess fat if necessary.

 

When the meat is finished, add in the taco seasoning.  Mix well to combine.  Next, add in the black beans, corn, rice and the salsa.  Mix well.

 

Now, spoon in the turkey mixture into each of the bell pepper halves.  Carefully place them back into the baking dish.  Cook the peppers for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked thru.  Just before removing the dish, sprinkle the top of each pepper with some shredded cheddar cheese.  Place the dish back into the oven long enough for the cheese to melt. 

 

Remove from the oven and top with an additional desired toppings (ex. cilantro, sour cream, avocado...)

 

ENJOY!

 

 

recipe adapted from: simplylovefood.blog.com

Broccoli & Beef

 

I can't take too too much credit for this one since I only altered a few things in this recipe.  Well, who knows, those little changes could have been what made this dish SO FREAKING FANTASTIC!!! So I guess I'll go ahead and toot my own horn for a sec.  "toot toot!"  Ok, done now. 

 I am a huge broccoli  & beef fan.  I've tried making it at home before, only to realize that the Chinese restaurants can make it much better.  The hubster requested broccoli & beef for dinner last night so I decided to go ahead and try out a new recipe that I had pinned a while back.  It turned out SO SO YUMMY!! I will definitely  be make this again and again.  It tasted just as good as a Chinese restaurant without all the MSG.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
1 TBSP water
2 TBSP toasted sesame oil
1.5lbs. flank steak, sliced thin
1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP sherry
3 TBSP toasted sesame oil
2 heads of broccoli crowns

DIRECTIONS:

Preparing the beef:

Allow the beef to come to room temperature.  (Mine sat out for about an hour and a half)  Then, using a sharp knife, slice the beef into thin strips making sure to slice against the grain.  If the slices become too long, feel free to cut them in half or even in thirds. 

Preparing the marinade:

In a large bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients. Then add the beef strips and thoroughly coat them in the marinade.  Cover the bowl in plastic wrap, set aside and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.  (Now would be a good time to get your rice started)

In the meantime:

Trim your broccoli and set aside.  In a small bowl whisk together the 1/2 C low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, flour and sherry. Set aside until the meat is finished marinating.

When the meat is ready:

 Heat 2 TBSP of the sesame oil in a wok or  large sauté pan over high heat.  Next, add the broccoli and sauté in the oil for 4-5 minutes.  (I prefer my broccoli a little on the crunchy side, feel free to cook longer if you like it softer.)  Transfer the broccoli to a dish and set aside. 

Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the remaining 1 TBSP of sesame oil to the pan.  Add the meat to the pan and then pour in half of the soy sauce/brown sugar mixture on top.  Saute until the meat is no longer pink, this takes just a few minutes.  When the meat is finished, add the broccoli to the wok with the remainder of the soy sauce/brown sugar mixture.  Saute for another minute. 

Serve over steamed white rice. ENJOY!!


Recipe adapted from: Rainydaygal.com

Tricia's 20min. Stovetop Chili

Its been a little while since my last post.  I went through another one of my cooking funks.  It's the kind of funk where I never know what to cook, nothing ever sounds good, and I go on a menu planning strike.  I think I am over it.  For now.

The boys have been bugging me for weeks to make them some chili and cornbread.  The weather is getting nicer here so I was hoping they'd forget about it and instead be satisfied with the lighter dishes that I like to cook during this time of the year.  Nope!  So last night, I gave in and cooked them what they wanted.  I love to take care of my spoiled brats!

This is a super quick recipe that will definitly satisfy your chili cravings.  It is one of my go-to recipes since I usually have all the ingredients on hand.  Start to finish, you can have this dinner on the table in 20 minutes! What's not to love? If prepared the way the recipe is written, the chili will have a kick to it.  My way of dealing with that when serving it to my boys is to stir in a healthy helping of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, it helps curve the spice. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 14.5 oz. can of petiete diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can of red kidney beans (drained)
1.5 TBSP ancho chili powder
1 TBSP cumin
1TBSP paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C water

*Topping options*:

cheddar cheese
chopped onion (yellow or green!)
sour cream or plain Greek yogurt


DIRECTIONS:

Chop the onion and garlic.  Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic and drain any excess fat.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.  Let simmer on low for 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with Garlic Mayo

Every few months or so my husband and I host a "game night" at our house.  We have friends over, cook dinner, and play board games.  Its always a good time!  We hosted a game night last night and this time I chose to make something that I could prep for ahead of time and just throw it together without much fuss once our guests arrived.  It was a little messy to eat...but that's usually a sign of GOOD food, right?! :)  This was my first attempt at this particular recipe so  I was a little nervous since we were having company over.  All in all everyone thoroughly enjoyed dinner and we played the best game of Jenga ever!!  We all agreed that we would brush our teeth extra good before bed that night because we could all taste garlic in our teeth all evening. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C mayo
2-4 cloves of garlic minced (depending on your taste)
1 TBSP olive oil
2 LBS beef round steak, cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper cut into 1/4 in strips
1 red bell pepper cut into 1/4 in strips
1 large onion sliced into rings
steak seasoning
salt
6 colombo rolls
2 cups of shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
At least an hour before cooking Sprinkle steak strips with steak seasoning (a little or a lot depending on your preference), cover and refrigerate.  ( I allowed mine to marinate all day).
Mix minced garlic with the mayo, cover and refrigerate until assembly.
Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Lightly brown the steak.  Add the bell peppers and onion and cook until the veggies are tender.
Meanwhile open up the colombo rolls, place on a large cookie sheet and place under the broiler for 1-1.5 minutes and allow to toast lightly. Once finished spread with Garlic Mayo.  Top with the meat mixture once that is finished and sprinkle with cheese.  Place in the oven just long enough to allow the cheese to melt.  Enjoy! :)

Mongolian Beef

This recipe for Mongolian Beef was SO yummy that my husband ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning!!!  It is definalty a keeper and getting filed into my recipe binder ASAP!!!  This recipe says it makes two servings, but I'd say it makes a little more than that.  My husband had two helpings last night, I had one, and he had some for breakfast (but it wasn't quite a full serving) so you do the math.  :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 C cornstarch
3 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)
1 TBSP chopped garlic (2-3 large cloves)
1/2 C water
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

PREPARE THE MEAT:
First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry with a paper towel) and mix them with the corn starch.  Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated.  Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

MAKE THE SAUCE:
Heat half the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger.  Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes.  Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl.  Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point.  The corn starch in the beef will thicken up later.

COOK THE MEAT AND ASSEMBLE DISH:
Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok.  Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing).  Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat.  Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner.  Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.
Serve it hot with rice.  (I used jasmine)

I'd like to give credit to the website that I got this from, but I can't remember where I got it :( Sorry!

Beef Tips & Noodles

The first and only time I've ever had beef tips & noodles was when I was about 14 years old.  My mom used to manage a local resturant and I remember being there one afternoon and the resturant was filled with this amazing aroma.  I told her whatever I was smelling, thats what I wanted to eat.  And a few minutes later, she brought me out a plate of beef tips & noodles.  I rememberthat it tasted just as incredible as it smelled.  So it was a very exciting moment for me last night when my kitchen started filling up with that familiar, yummy aroma.  And if your wondering, yes, it tasted just as good as I had remembered!!!

This dish took about two and a half hours to prepare.  I plan to try it in my crockpot the next time around.  The last step of the recipe tells you to mix one cup of water with a packet of dry brown gravy mix, I think next time I will leave that step out.  I had a taste just before I added it and I honestly think that the gravy didn't do anything for the taste besides maybe dilute the flavors a little.

INGREDIENTS:
3 TBSP veg. oil
1 onion, chopped
2 lbs cubed beef stew meat
Cornstarch
2 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 (.75 oz) packet dry brown gravy mix - I'm going to say this is optional
1 C water (if you leave the gravy out, then you will also want to leave out this additional water)
1/4 C red wine (optional) I used the red wine...I love cooking with wine!

DIRECTIONS:
1.) Place about a half a cup of cornstarch in a large mixing bowl.  Place the stew meat on top.  With your hands or mixing spoon coat dried stew meat completely.  Place the meat in a collander and shake off any excess.  Set aside
2.) In a large skillet heat oil over high heat.  Saute the onion and garlic until almost translucent. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3.) Add the stew meat to the skillet (and a little more oil if needed).  Cook on high heat until meat is browned on all sides; about 3-5 minutes
4.) Pour 2 cups water, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce into the skillet.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours
5.) Meanwhile combine the gravy mix with 1 cup water.  During the last 30 min. of simmering add the gravy mix into the meat mixture.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently until slightly thickened.
***I had used 3/4 C water 1/4 C red wine with the gravy.  Next time I will omit the gravy and the water and just add the red wine during the last thirty mintues.  The original recipe did not include the cornstarch step, adding this step in thickens the sauce on its own, therefore leaving the gravy out would not mean that your meat mixutre would be thin***
Serve over a plate of egg noddles.  Rice or mash potatoes would work well too.

Oven Baked Chimichangas and/or Brown Bagged Burritos

When I was a kid, whenever we had left over meat mixture from stir-fry my mom would roll it up into burritos and deep fry them.  She would then wrap them up individually and freeze them. We'd pop them in the micro for a few minutes and walla...they were the BEST quick meals I can remember having!!! (Not to mention the worst as far as calorie count!!!)  I recently came across two seperate recipes and combined with my fond food memory I was inspired to create this meal.  I've been told that a good cook never lets anything go to waste, so I was determined to use up two NY steaks that we had leftover from a BBQ a couple days before.  I then remembered the two recipes I've been saving and thought...hey, why don't I just incorporate all of this together?!?!? So I took my meat, through it in a sauce creation, added some beans and cheese, baked them (which made a DOZEN!!), and with the leftover chimichangas I froze them! They'll make the perfect weekday lunch for when I head back to work!  Keep in mind that you don't have to follow my recipe for this meat mixture, there are SO many possibilites to this recipe.  You can use just about any type of leftover meat for this! (I just happened to use steak) Oh...also I made a few that were beans and cheese only for my son. :)

INGREDIENTS:
2 BBQ'd NY steaks; cut into small cubes
2-3 cloves of garlic; minced
1/2 onion; chopped
1 1/3 C enchilada sauce (I used red, green would be yummy too I'm sure!)
1 can chopped green chilies (4 oz)
1/8 tsp chili powder
garlic salt (as much or as little as you'd like)
1/4 tsp oregeno
2 cans of refried beans
3-4 C Mexican blend cheese (or shred half Monterey Jack and half Medium Sharp Cheddar like I did)
12 burrito sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the steaks into small cubes.  In a preheated skillet, reheat steak cubes in the minced garlic and chopped onion.  Add the enchilada sauce, chopped green chilies, chili powder, oregeno, and garlic salt.  Simmer on Med/low for 20-30 minutes.  In a saucepan heat up the refried beans.  When those are ready spoon meat filling off center on each tortilla.  Top with beans and cheese.  Fold sides and end over filling and roll up.  Place burritos on a foil lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  (I had to use two cookie sheets to accomidate all 12 burritos.) Bake for 8 minutes, turn and bake an additional 5 minutes.

TO FREEZE:
Place burritos on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.  Once they are cooled wrap in a paper towel and then in foil.  Transfer your wrapped burritos to a resealable plastic freezer bag.  They will stay good for up to two months.

TO USE FROZEN BURRITOS:
Unwrap foil.  Place paper towel-wrapped burrito on a microwave safe plate.  Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.  Let sit for a minute then eat!!
I had one of these for lunch today, and I must admit...it tasted better today reaheated than it did last night for dinner!  I love when leftovers taste that good!!!