one pot tortellini with meat sauce

with daylight savings time now in full force and the sun setting later and later, we're making a conscious effort to get the boys to sleep earlier. which means i am on the lookout for simple meals appropriate for adults, a toddler, and a finger-foods-eating baby that can be on the table from start to finish in a max of 30 minutes. most one pot pasta recipes i've tried fit these requirements, but don't always taste great or usually, don't have enough liquid and i end up with too hard pasta and burnt sauce. not good. this one pot tortellini is not one of those meals. while the three of us gobbled it up with our forks, the finger-foods-eating baby was the clear winner: we had to cut him off after three bowls.

looking for more one pot meals? here are some of my favs: if you've got an hour, there's apple chicken chili. if you've got 45 minutes, there's chicken and pearl couscous with tomato and lemon and of course, risotto - risotto with peas & chicken, baby tomato & spinach risotto, three cheese risotto (and two of my favorite uses of leftovers, risotto cakes & risotto stuffed portobello mushrooms), chicken marsala risotto, tomato & corn risotto, tomato basil risotto, risotto with bacon, peas & leeks, and last but not least, gruyere risotto. (i can't believe, that for someone who loves risotto so much, the last time i made it was june 2012! i better get on that...)

one pot tortellini with meat sauce
adapted from yellow bliss road
30 minutes, serves 4-6

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small or medium onion, diced
20 ounces fresh tortellini (check your grocer's refrigerated section)
28 ounces diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until most of the pink is gone. add the onion and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through. drain fat from the pan. 
2. return the pan to medium-high heat and add the tortellini, tomatoes and chicken broth. season with salt & pepper and bring to a boil. turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the pasta is cooked, 12-15 minutes. 
3. turn off the heat and stir in the cheeses. cover and let stand for about 5 minutes and mix until thoroughly combined. serve hot.

cowboy calzones

for the last six months or so, i've made homemade pizza about every other week. while relatively easy and oh-so-delicious, i was getting slightly bored with our toppings and was looking for something else to do with my now favorite pizza dough. one night, over said homemade pizza, jason and i were talking about eating pizza as kids and i mentioned that sometimes i would forgo pizza for a calzone and that i couldn't remember the last time i had one. right then and there i knew calzones would be on the menu for the following week. jason had one and only request: add meat. and because i'm not a huge fan of pepperoni, this cowboy version loaded with ground beef and three cheeses was the next best thing.

cowboy calzones
crust adapted from pink parsley, filling adapted from your home based mom
45 minutes active time, makes 8 calzones

to freeze calzones, cool completely, wrap individually in plastic wrap or wax paper, and seal in a plastic zip top bag. defrost in the refrigerator for a day (or a couple hours at least) before reheating either in the microwave or oven.

for the crust:
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sugar
~1/3 teaspoon instant (or rapid rise) yeast
1 1/3 cups ice cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

for the filling:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
8 ounce can tomatoes with chilis
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
1 egg, beaten

1. to make the crust, combine the bread flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor. add the water and pulse until combined. let rest for 10 minutes. once rested, add the olive oil and salt and pulse until it forms a ball of dough. wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
2. remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator about an hour before using it.
3. preheat your oven to 450F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
4. coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and brown the beef with the onion over medium high heat. drain excess grease. add the tomatoes, stir to combine, and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until thickened slightly. while the mixture is simmering, combine the cheeses and egg in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. add the cheese mixture to the meat mixture and stir to combine.
5. divide the pizza dough into eight equal portions. flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll each portion into a 6-8" circle. divide the meat mixture equally among the dough circles and spread out evenly over one half. fold the dough over and seal the edges either with a fork or by turning the bottom edge over the top of the dough (see my picture above). brush the tops of the calzones lightly with olive oil and cut a few slits in the top of each one. 
6. bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. let cool a couple minutes on the baking sheet before eating.

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This is definitely one of the best meatloaf recipes I've ever made, or eaten!  My husband liked it a lot, too, but what's not to like?  We weren't even tired of it on day 4 of leftovers.  This recipe comes from the blog Buns in my Oven, and as usual, I made a few changes.  I'd like to note that using both the cheese and the bacon isn't strictly necessary.  It's certainly good this way (and how I did it!), but I think it would be good too with one or the other of you're reluctant to dump both cheese and bacon into meatloaf.
 

Quick Note:  I used lean ground beef, I believe 93% lean.  Probably because of this, none of that gross looking meatloaf sludge formed around the bottom of my meatloaf!  Something to consider if you usually use beef with a higher fat content.
 

 And we're back to ugly photos...
 

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef

2 C Panko bread crumbs

6 oz diced cheddar cheese (by weight, not volume)

1/2 C mayo

1 egg

2 Tbsp dried minced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1 C BBQ sauce

1/2 C yellow mustard

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
 

Preheat oven to 350 and line a 9 by 11 baking dish (or similar sized) with greased foil.  In a large bowl, stir together everything except beef, BBQ sauce, mustard, and bacon.  In a separate bowl, stir together BBQ sauce and mustard.  Add half of it to the bowl with the other ingredients.  Crumble the ground beef over top and stir together just until everything is incorporated.

Place meatloaf mixture in prepared pan and form into a loaf, about 2 inches tall and 8 by 10 inches wide.  Spread the other half of the BBQ sauce/mustard mixture over meatloaf and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.  Bake until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 45 minutes.
 

Yield:  About 8 servings

Cheesy Bacon, Beef & Rice Casserole

Please do not judge this recipe by its photo!  Casseroles are inherently ugly, but oh boy, this one REALLY is.  I've been referring to it as "50 Shades of Brown Casserole", it's not often you see this many variations on the color brown.  Hideousness aside, this casserole is really good.  It was originally billed as Mexican Rice Casserole on the CopyKat Recipes blog where I found it (it was from a lady named Virginia McDowell in 1968!), but I don't think it really tastes like the rice you get in Mexican restaurants.  The bacon doesn't really help it seem Mexican, either, but it does help it be even more delicious!
 
You could serve the casserole with sour cream, cilantro, salsa, and the like if you want it to taste more Tex-Mex (I actually made a side salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and this Creamy Salsa Dressing), but on its own, it just tastes good and is a perfect comfort food.  You could also try adding more chili powder, some cumin, and some black beans to play up the Mexican factor.  I wouldn't leave the chili powder out, though, because it does add a special little something.

Note: The original recipe called for minute rice (quick cooking rice).  I don't like minute rice, so just used regular rice since the recipe looked like it had enough liquid and the simmering time of 20 minutes is just right for cooking it.  It turned out great this way!  I also used the whole bell pepper (yellow, in my case) and onion because I didn't want to waste the rest.
 

Now I'm no great shakes when it comes to photographing food, but isn't this ugly?  I almost feel bad for it!

 

Cheesy Bacon, Beef & Rice Casserole

4 oz bacon

1 small onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 C uncooked rice

1 lb ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1 3/4 C water

8 oz can tomato sauce

1 t chili powder

1 t salt

2 C cheddar cheese, grated
 

Cook bacon in a large skillet over low heat.  Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Add diced onion and bell pepper to the bacon grease and cook until they begin to soften.  Add rice and cook for a couple of minutes, just until it starts to turn opaque and gets a little golden. 

Add ground beef and cook, stirring constantly.  Keep a close eye on the heat because the rice could burn easily!  It's okay if the beef isn't cooked all the way through if you run the risk of burning the rice. 

Add the water, tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt, bring skillet contents to a boil while stirring, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Cook without removing lid for 20 minutes.

While that's cooking, turn the oven to 400 and grease a 2 quart baking dish.  When rice and meat mixture is done, stir thoroughly, then spoon half of it into the baking dish.  Top with half of the cheese.  Layer with the rest of the rice mixture, the rest of the cheese, and the bacon.  Bake about 15 minutes, until cheese is golden.

Yield: 6-8 main dish servings

secret recipe club: italian sloppy joes

i had a hard time this month making my choice from wildflour's cottage kitchen for the secret recipe club. it was a toss up between savory - italian pizzeria style sloppy joes or philly cheesesteak sloppy joes - or sweet - peanut butter bars with cinnamon or amaretto russian tea cake cookies. ultimately, and somewhat surprisingly, savory won out.

kelly's blog, wildflour's cottage kitchen, is full of great recipes, especially since kelly was a caterer for 20+ years! it's hard to believe she has no formal training and has just learned to cook such delicious looking and sounding food all on her own. and while i had a hard time choosing a recipe to make, there's one i wish i could: kelly says she's won awards from magazines and has been a first place winner in local chili cook-offs in both indiana and new jersey. now that thanksgiving has come and gone and it's truly winter in new york, it's time for chili. kelly, i want that chili recipe!

these italian sloppy joes are one of my favorite kind of dinners: not only can you cook once and eat a couple times, but leftovers can easily be thinned out a little bit and served over pasta for a totally different meal.

 

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!

check out my previous secret recipe club posts: hard cider baked chicken & mushrooms, mini cinnamon roll cakes, double chocolate zucchini muffins with chocolate butter, butterscotch M&M oatmeal cookies, 30 minute baked tortellini, snickerdoodle bars & slow cooker chicken fajitas, meyer lemon iced raspberry yogurt cake & slow cooker chicken cacciatore, almond strawberry jam thumbprints, almond butter cookies, enfrijoladas, chocolate snack cake, bacon topped maple french toast cupcakes, cherry sorbet, slow cooker beans & mushrooms, mojito chicken tacos, maple glazed whole wheat spiced apple pizza, pig out cookies, pasta with blistered tomatoes & arugula and iced grapefruit cookies, mushroom barley soup, scalloped ham and potato bake & andes mint cake, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki, asian pork chops, lemon lime meltaways, blueberry peach crisp, minted lemon ice, white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

italian sloppy joes
adapted from wildflour's cottage kitchen
40 minutes, makes 8-10

this makes plenty enough for our family of 2 adults + 1 toddler to eat a couple times for dinner. i did myself a favor and made the whole batch, freezing half for another night, and eating the leftovers from the first half over pasta. if you prefer to make enough for four servings, cut everything in half; cook times remain the same.

1lb mild or hot italian sausage
1lb ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
6 ounces tomato paste
8-10 buns
1 stick butter
sliced pepperoni, about 3-4 slices per sandwich
about 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. place a large saute pan or dutch oven over medium high heat. saute the sausage, beef, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, onion, and bell pepper until the meat is cooked through. season with salt and pepper and drain grease well.
2. return the pan to medium high heat and add the tomatoes, pasta sauce, tomato paste, and a half cup of water and mix well. break up large chunks of tomato with the back of your spoon. bring up to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until thickened, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. 
3. while the meat mixture thickens, prepare the buns. preheat your broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. melt the butter and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic powder together. cut the buns in half and brush each half with the garlic butter. place butter side up on the prepared baking sheet and broil until lightly browned. remove the top of the buns from the baking sheet and set aside. keep your broiler on.
4. when the meat mixture is thickened, place about a half cup on each bun bottom. top with a couple slices of pepperoni and about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese. place back under the broiler and cook until the cheese melts. top with the bun tops and serve.

An InLinkz Link-up

Stuffed Pepper Soup

For some reason I've never made a stuffed pepper recipe worth repeating.  They've never turned out gross or anything, just not anything special.  I'll undoubtedly try more stuffed pepper recipes in the future because I love them when done well, but it's not very urgent because this soup has amazing stuffed pepper flavor!  This was dinner last night, and it was one heck of a dinner.  The recipe is simple for sure, but extremely tasty.  Everything just works together really nicely.  My husband and I made it together.  Our new kitchen is so much bigger than the old one and we had a lot of fun cooking this.  We made Garlic Butter Dips to go with it.  We just loved this soup, my husband even handed out a rare 10 out of 10 rating.

This recipe is from AllRecipes.  I made a few changes, namely more bell pepper, garlic, crushed tomatoes instead of diced, and more broth (since crushed tomatoes have thicker juice than diced).

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 Tbsp butter

1 lb ground beef

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 C chicken (or beef) broth

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

15 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/4 t dried thyme

1/4 t dried sage

for serving:

1 C uncooked rice

fresh minced parsley

Place butter in a large pot and melt over medium-high heat.  Add ground beef and break it up with a spoon.  Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook another minute.  Drain fat if necessary.  Stir in broth, tomato products, and seasonings, bring to a boil, cover pot, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Let simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

After 30 minutes, steam rice in a separate pot.  Meanwhile, continue to simmer the soup.  To serve, either stir the rice directly into the pot of soup (only if you're planning to eat all the soup immediately), or scoop individual portions of rice into bowls and top with the soup and a sprinkle of minced parsley.

Yield: 6-8 main dish servings

OXTAIL STEW- By Fiona Lau

OXTAIL STEW- By Fiona Lau modified with some ingredient

Recipe from my Club member Susan Khoo 

1-2 kgs oxtail 

3 bay leaves

3 Kaffir leaves

5pcs Cloves

4 pcs garlic 

5 pcs shallot

15 gm ginger

2 anise stars

2 cinnamon sticks

½ bundle celery

5 potatoes (cut into chunks)      

2 carrots    (cut into chunks)     

3 big onions  (chopped)

3 big tomatoes

1 cup english red wine

cornflour

oyster sauce

salt and pepper

~ Serve with ~

green lime

chilli padi 

small celery

 1) Trim off the fats.

2) Season the oxtail with oyster sauce and some cornflour.

3) Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a deep pan over medium heat.

4) Brown the oxtail in batches and set aside.

5) Saute the chopped onions until translucent and add celery.

6) Add oxtail, bay leaves, anise stars, cinnamon sticks and sufficient water to cover all ingredients in the pan.

7) Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and let it stew for 3 hours until meat is fork tender.

8) Remove oxtails from the stew.

9) Add carrots and potatoes to boil till soften.

10) Add oxtail back into the pan, add wine, salt and pepper to taste.

11) Thicken with cornflour.

Black Pepper Beef Stir fry - by Halimah Amin

Black Pepper Beef Stir fry My Style ps: if u dun have the Seri Aji Black Pepper seasoning juz replace it with freshly ground black pepper, chicken stock n abalone sauce

Garlicky Bacon & Cheddar Stuffed Burgers with Avocado

Tonight's dinner was originally going to be Chicken Cacciatore (a recipe that I'll share later if it turns out well), but right when I was about to put the ingredients in the slow cooker, I came upon some photos of a cheese stuffed burger called a Juicy Lucy.  The Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy, if you prefer) is a cheese stuffed burger from Minneapolis.  Burgers aren't usually my favorite thing, but for whatever reason, a cheese stuffed one sounded perfect today!  When looking for a recipe, I decided to combine two of them:  the idea of adding bacon came from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice, the burger recipe itself came from this one on AllRecipes, and I used cheddar, lots of garlic, and served the burgers with avocado on top because I felt like it!

I'm happy to say that the burgers turned out awesome.  Sadly, all of mine did end up leaking cheese a bit (really seal those edges!), but the burgers don't seem to have suffered for it at all and the leaked cheese kind of cooked onto the bottom of the burgers.  My husband and I both agreed that this burger is better than just a bacon cheeseburger.  No issues with the bacon falling off the burger this way, and the cheddar was super melty and stretchy instead of just half melted on top..  The avocado was also a perfect, creamy addition.  Tomato and lettuce would have been nice on top, but the burgers were so thick already that they would have been impossible to eat!  Instead, we had a salad on the side.

 

Sorry if the half gnawed burger looks unappealing, I wanted to show the inside but didn't want to cut my burger in half!

Garlicky Bacon & Cheddar Stuffed Burgers with Avocado

 

1 T vegetable oil

4 slices sharp cheddar

6 slices bacon

2 T dried minced onion

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1 1/4 lb ground beef

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

hamburger buns and whatever condiments you like (we did ketchup, mustard, and mayo)

Fold each slice of cheese in half, then in half again so each slice ends up as a little stack of 4 small pieces.  Cook and crumble the bacon. 

Mix together meat, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, just until well combined.  Divide meat mixture into quarters, then form each quarter into 2 equal sized balls.  Working with one burger's worth of meat at a time, flatten the two balls into uniform patties, each about 5 inches in diameter.  Place a quarter of the crumbled bacon into the center, then top with one of the folded stacks of cheese.  Top with the other patty and firmly pinch together the edges of the two patties.  Repeat process with the rest of the meat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high, and when the pan is hot, add the burgers.  Cook until browned on one side, then flip them over and poke the center in a few places with a toothpick.  This will help release steam inside the burger and help prevent the cheese from gushing out while the burgers cook.  Cook the burger on the second side until the internal temperature of one of the burgers is 160 degrees, then remove them to a paper towel lined plate.

Let the burgers sit for a few minutes before serving because the cheese inside is very hot.  Serve on toasted buns topped with avocado slices and whatever else you'd like.

Yield: 4 burgers

pot roast with mushroom gravy

it was about this time last year that i grew up just a tad bit more and enjoyed ina's pot roast. and while that roast was super flavorful, it had a long list of ingredients, none of them mushrooms. mushrooms are a big hit in our house and mushrooms + beef are one of our favorite combos. lucky for me, claire robinson had a five ingredient pot roast with mushrooms. with the addition of three flavor enhancers from my pantry - garlic, worchestershire, and cornstarch - i have a new favorite. we liked this so much i made it again the following week. not sure what to do with leftovers? freeze them, or blend the gravy completely smooth, chop up the leftover beef, and toss with egg noodles. jason likes that better than the roast!

pot roast with mushroom gravy
adapted from claire robinson via the food network
20 minutes prep, 3 hours cook time, 15 minutes finish

4-5 pound boneless beef bottom round roast
1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 medium yellow onions, halved and sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium beef broth

worchestershire sauce

1 pound carrots and/or potatoes, peeled and chopped (optional)

cornstarch

1. preheat your oven to 325F. 
2. pat the roast dry with paper towels and season all sides with salt and pepper.
3. coat the bottom of a large dutch oven with olive oil and place over medium high heat. once heated, add the roast and cook on each side about 4 minutes, until brown. transfer the meat to a plate.
4. add the mushrooms to the now empty pan. season with salt and pepper and cook until browned and just starting to release their liquid, about 5 minutes. add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. add the onions, broth, and a couple dashes of worchestershire sauce. move the mushrooms to the side of the pan and place the roast in the middle. if using, place the carrots and/or potatoes in the liquid around the roast.
6. cover the pan, bring to a simmer, and transfer to the oven to roast for about 2 hours. carefully flip the roast and cook an additional hour uncovered.
7. transfer the meat to a cutting board and tent with foil. if using, remove the carrots and/or potatoes from the pot.
8. place the uncovered pot on medium heat on the stove. use an immersion blender (or regular blender or food processor) to chop the mushrooms in the sauce to your liking. 
9. to thicken the sauce, ladle about 1 cup into a small bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. whisk the mixture back into the pot and cook, whisking frequently, until thickened. if you prefer the sauce thicker, repeat with another 1 tablespoon cornstarch. taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
10. to serve, slice the pot roast and drizzle with gravy.

Slow Cooker Pesto Beef with Grape Tomatoes

I came upon this recipe while scoping out cook books on Amazon.com.  They offer previews of many books and this recipe is in a sample from The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cook Book by Kitty Broihier and Kimberly Mayone.  Everything about it intrigued me, so I decided to give it a shot and had no idea what to expect, in part because I'd never put any of the ingredients in a slow cooker before.  Happily, it turned out very well!  It's extremely ugly (the pesto of course is no longer green after cooking for hours), and does not specifically taste like pesto, but the meat is fall apart tender and it has a lot of flavor.  The fresh grape tomatoes are great as well and infinitely better than canned tomatoes would be.  This is different than most other slow cooker recipes and I can see myself making it often!  I served this with melon and fresh, steamed green beans, but you could probably serve the meat and tomatoes over penne pasta or rice with a little of the cooking liquid from the meat (strained first!) if you feel so inclined, since the cooking liquid is pretty flavorful.  Even better, just toss pasta with more pesto!

The original recipe actually calls for a whopping pound of mozzarella (the fresh, water packed kind), but as much as I like cheese, that amount sounded excessive and I ended up just using about half a cup of grated mozzarella since the store was out of the fresh kind.  My husband liked it best with the cheese, but I kind of preferred it without and think it would be very good with parmesan.  My portion of the leftovers will definitely get some parmesan! 

Quick Note:  The type of pesto you use here is important.  I vastly prefer pesto that's sold in the refrigerated or frozen section of the store.  It's bright green and tastes fresh and wonderful.  The jarred, dark green kind found with the dried pasta tends to be extremely strong tasting and has enough garlic to kill an elephant.  Whenever we visit my family in Seattle, I always try to bring home at least a couple big tubs of frozen pesto from DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine at the Pike Place Market, but this time I used Buitoni brand pesto and it was quite tasty.

Slow Cooker Pesto Beef with Grape Tomatoes

1/2 C prepared, refrigerated pesto (I used Buitoni)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 lbs beef round steak, cut into 6 pieces and trimmed of fat

4 C grape tomatoes (two 10 oz containers)

salt to taste

optional: grated mozzarella or parmesan, or sliced water packed mozzarella

In a slow cooker, mix together pesto and pepper, then spread evenly in the bottom of the crock.  Press both sides of each piece of steak into the pesto, then arrange so they fit in the bottom (you may have to stack them).  Sprinkle the beef with a bit of salt, then top with the tomatoes and give them a sprinkle of salt as well.  Cover and cook on low until meat is fork tender, about 4 to 6 hours depending on your slow cooker.  Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the tomatoes out of the crock (you don't want to break them up), then spoon off most of the liquid around the meat. 

 

If you're adding grated mozzarella: Sprinkle with mozzarella, put the lid back on, and cook until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.  To serve, divide meat among plates and top with the tomatoes.

If you're adding grated parmesan or fresh mozzarella: Divide meat among plates, top with the cheese, then top with the tomatoes.

Yield: 6 servings

Homemade Taco Seasoning

If you've never mixed up your own taco seasoning, you should really give it a try!  I have been making it myself since I came across this recipe on AllRecipes a couple of years ago.  If you have tacos a lot, you will save yourself quite a bit of money, especially if you buy spices in bulk.  This mix also tastes better than packaged seasoning and doesn't have any weird ingredients.  And if you need any more convincing, it doesn't take any more time to cook taco meat with this than the packaged kind.  If you mix up a big batch of the seasoning, all you have to do when you're cooking the meat is measure out the taco seasoning, sprinkle on a little flour, add water, and cook and stir.  Easy peasy!  Oh, and great served on homemade tortillas.

This base recipe is pretty mild heat wise, though that will depend on your chili powder and other ingredients to some extent.  It shouldn't be too hot for kids or people who don't like spicy.  If you want it hotter, just add more cayenne!  You can also leave out the salt (though I already cut down on the salt by 1/3 in the recipe I posted) or change any other ingredients.  Maybe even add a smidge of cocoa powder.  There are lots of options.  Oh, and you can use this for things other than meat- I'll bet it would be good in chili or sprinkled on popcorn or french fries.  In a couple weeks I plan to make roasted cashews sprinkled with this taco seasoning.  Yum!

Seasoning all mixed up:

  

and cooked with ground turkey:

Homemade Taco Seasoning

4 T chili powder
3 1/2 T paprika
3 T cumin
2 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
4 t salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Place ingredients in a glass jar, put on the lid, and shake to mix.  To make taco meat, brown 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet.  Drain off fat.  Sprinkle on 2 T taco seasoning and 1 scant T flour (about 3/4 T).  Stir well until meat is coated, then add 3/4 C water and cook, stirring, until liquid has thickened, about 2 minutes.  Serve however you would regularly serve taco meat.

Yield: Enough taco seasoning for about 8 lbs of meat.

Best Hamburgers Ever (aka Umami Hamburgers)

On Monday night we bought an inexpensive propane grill!  I've been wanting one for a while because I'm terrible at cooking anything other than veggies, steak, or hot dogs on our hand-me-down round charcoal grill.  My one attempt at grilling chicken resulted in what appeared to be charcoal briquettes.  Last night we had grilled barbecue chicken using Christie Jordan's barbecue sauce from her Southern Plate cook book.  They chicken turned out amazing and I would love to share the recipe for the sauce, but I feel kind of weird doing that since she specifically chose not to post it on her own blog.  The sauce was great but I want to make a few changes next time and will share my version then.  Tonight we decided to go with our favorite hamburger recipe and in the next week we're planning to do portobello mushroom burgers and grilled pizza, too.  Yum!  If anyone has a favorite grill recipe that they think I should try, I would love to hear about it!

Now, on to the recipe.  If you can believe it, I had never cooked a hamburger until about a year ago.  Once or twice I'd made turkey burgers, black bean burgers, and portobello mushroom burgers, but never hamburgers.  They just aren't my thing.  The only ones I ever really cared for are the ones my uncle makes, which are full of garlic.  But then I came across this recipe over at White on Rice Couple and was intrigued by the addition of fish sauce to the meat.  Diane and Todd promised it made the meat extra savory and I just had to try it!  The burgers ended up being out of this world delicious and I've made them several times now over the past months.  I still don't like hamburgers from other places, but we both think these ones are incredible.  This is my tweaked version of the original recipe (with lots of garlic, like my uncle's hamburgers!) and how we love them best.  If you've never tried fish sauce before (or have a bottle languishing in your fridge already), this is a great recipe to use it in!

Sorry there's no picture, I meant to take one but we were hungry!  They just look like your standard hamburger though.  The flavor is what makes them special.

Best Hamburgers Ever

1 lb ground beef (I've used lean and fattier beef with great success)
1 T fish sauce
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t salt

Gently mix together ingredients, being careful not to handle it too much or the burgers will be tough.  Form into 4 patties.  Make them thinner and wider than you want the finished burgers to be because they will shrink when cooked.  Poke a hole in the center with your fingertip so the burger will cook evenly.  To cook the burgers on a stove, heat about 2 T oil in a large nonstick skillet (believe me on the nonstick!) over medium-high heat and cook on one side until browned, then flip and cook on the other side until the burgers reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.  You can add a bit of water to the skillet if the bottoms of the burgers start cooking too much.

If you want to cook the burgers on a grill, just grease the grate and cook the burgers on one side until browned, then flip and cook on the other side, being sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you want cheeseburgers, when the burgers are done you can top each one with cheese and close the lid on the grill for about a minute or until the cheese melts.  Serve the burgers on toasted buns with whatever toppings you'd like.  A bit of mayonnaise and sliced avocado is especially good!

Yield: 4 hamburgers

Teriyaki Beef

A delicious dish made with our old friend, Miso Dressing

Serves 6

½ bottle My Secret Kitchen Miso Dressing with Ginger

750g beef
stir-fry strips
500g udon noodles (dry weight)
2 tbsp honey
sesame oil for frying
200g fresh spinach, washed
chives and spring onions to garnish

Prepare the teriyaki sauce by mixing the Miso Dressing with the honey in a large bowl. Add the beef, stir together and then place in the fridge for 1 hour to marinate.
Cook the noodles as instructed on the pack, then strain and plunge into cold water. Add the sesame oil to a wok or large frying pan.

Stir-fry the beef for 1-2 minutes before adding the spinach. Add a little water, then quickly stir together to wilt the spinach. Next, add the noodles and more water if needed.

Serve immediately by piling the noodles in a bowl and garnish with the spring onions and chives.

Beef Bourguignon with Balsamic Glazed Onions & Mushrooms

A wonderfully warming winter dish

Serves 4

½ bottle My Secret Kitchen Red Wine & Port Finishing Sauce

3 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil
1 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Balsamic Reduction
500g braising steak, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
50g butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp plain flour
500ml beef stock
300g baby onions, peeled
200g button mushrooms, wiped


Heat a tablespoon of the Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil in a large heavy-based pan. Brown the meat then remove from the pan and put to one side. Add half the butter to the pan and sauté the diced onions and carrots, scraping up any meat juices from the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and tomato purée and sauté gently. Add the flour and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Return the meat to the pan and stir together with the vegetables. Add the Red Wine & Port Finishing Sauce and beef stock to the pan and stir thoroughly until the sauce is smooth. Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer gently for 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender (or use a slow cooker).

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and add the baby onions. Brown gently, then reduce the heat and caramelise for 30-45 minutes until golden. Remove from the pan, add the button mushrooms and cook gently until the juices run. Return the onions back to the pan, add the Balsamic Reduction and stir until sticky and glossy. Serve alongside or on top of the bourguignon.

Great with crispy croutons made with leftover Beer Bread Mix!

lasagna bolognese

i make lasagna once, and only once, each winter. and when i do, i make two large pans of it. one for now, one for the freezer. i figure if i am going to go to all the trouble of making it - two homemade sauces, all the layering and dirty dishes - then i may as well get a full four meals out of it. 

but don't let the time and sheet volume of ingredients discourage you. this is the best lasagna. noticeably absent is ricotta. on purpose. we aren't big fans of ricotta around here, and once you have lasagna with bechamel instead of ricotta once, it's the only way you'll ever want it again. trust me.

lasagna bolognese
bolognese adapted from giada de laurentiis, bechamel adapted from mario batali
makes one 9x13 inch pan

to make ahead, build the lasagna in the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and a layer of plastic wrap. freeze for a month, at the longest. remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to defrost at least 24 hours before baking it. do not bake directly from frozen - especially if you use a glass pan, as the glass will shatter.

for the bolognese:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, diced

4 carrots, diced

1/2 pound ground beef, meatloaf mix (my grocery store's mix is 80% beef, 15% veal, 5% pork), or 1 pound quartered mushrooms

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese

 

for the bechamel:
2 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked, drained, and sitting in cool water
1 pound fresh mozzarella, shredded  or thinly sliced 
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

1. make the bolognese. in a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. add the celery and carrots. cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
3. add the meat or mushrooms, and cook until meat is no longer pink or the mushrooms are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. stir in the tomatoes, parsley, and basil. cover and bring to a boil. reduce to simmer and cook about 30 minutes.
5. season with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese.
6. make the bechamel. in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. whisk in the flour and cook, whisking continuously, until pale golden brown. while whisking, slowly pour in the milk. add the salt and nutmeg and whisk almost continuously, until it thickens. 
7. preheat your oven to 350F. 
8. to assemble the lasagna, pour a small amount of bolognese on the bottom of a 9 by 13 pan and spread around evenly. cover with a layer of noodles. top the noodles with about one quarter of the bolognese, then one fifth of the bechamel,  and sprinkle with about one fifth of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. repeat the layers, starting and ending with noodles. spread the top layer of noodles with bechamel and the remaining cheese.
9. spray one side of aluminum foil with nonstick spray (so the cheese doesn't stick) and cover the pan, sprayed side down. bake for about 1 hour, or until bubbly. let cool 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.

Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches

I made these sandwiches for dinner last night and we just loved them! With only 3 ingredients in the meat, it's also one of the easiest things you could possibly make. If you know you like peperoncini peppers and beef, you will probably really like this one. If you don't know, I suggest you buy a jar and taste a pepper before making the recipe because it does have a strong peperoncini/vinegar flavor. Lucky for us, we both love peperoncinis, so the sandwiches are right up our alley. They are a little spicy- probably too much so for kids or those with delicate taste buds- but not too much for me and I'm fairly wimpy when it comes to heat. We shared a big bowl of cold green grapes while we ate and they helped keep things manageable.

Quick note: The original recipe called for a beef chuck roast but I came home from the store with a beef eye of round roast, which is very lean. The meat was fairly tough after cooking, but after I shredded it and let it cook in the juices, it turned out just perfect.

Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches

3 lb beef chuck roast or eye of round roast
5 cloves garlic, minced (I used the stuff in the jar because I had it!)
16 oz jar of sliced peperoncinis
sub rolls
sliced provolone or mozzarella

Place roast in a 4 quart slow cooker and top with garlic. Pour peperoncinis, juice and all, over top. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender, 6 to 8 hours. Remove meat, shred, and stir into liquid in slow cooker. Turn heat to high and cook, uncovered, about 1 hour so the meat has a chance to soak up the liquid and some of the excess juice can cook off. Top sub rolls with meat and cheese, then broil to melt the cheese.

Yield: 8 to 12 sandwiches

ina's company pot roast

in all the years i've daydreamed about being an adult, i never pictured myself making a pot roast. it seemed way too grown up for me. which is crazy. since there are few things better than beef that's been slow roasted in vegetables and wine for hours. this is what sunday meals should be made of.

my one and only piece of advice: make sure your dutch oven is big enough to contain everything. i cooked a three and a half pound chuck roast in a four quart pan, and it almost didn't make it. had my roast been a tad bit larger, i would have needed a larger pan.

ina's company pot roast
adapted from ina garten
45 minutes prep, 2 1/2 hours cook time, 15 minutes finishing

3 to 5 pound boneless beef chuck roast
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups chopped carrotts (about 4 medium sized)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped (about 5 stalks)
2 cups leeks, chopped (about 2 medium sized)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine
28 ounce can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock
3 branches fresh thyme
3 branches fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
mashed potatoes for serving

1. preheat your oven to 325F.
2. tie up your beef so it stays in one piece and doesn't flop around. pat the entire roast dry with a paper towel and season well with salt and pepper. coat the entire roast in flour.
3. coat the bottom of a large dutch oven with olive oil and place over medium heat. sear each side and ends of the roast for about five minutes per side, until browned. once all sides are seared, remove roast from the pan and set aside.
4. coat the bottom of the dutch oven with olive oil. add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until softened. add the wine and bring to a boil. add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and season with salt and pepper. tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. put the roast back in the pan, bring to a boil, and cover. 
5. remove from heat and place in the oven for an hour. turn the heat down to 250F and cook about another 1 and a half hours, or until the meat falls apart and measures about 160F internally.
6. remove the roast and place on a cutting board. tent with foil.
7. remove the herb bundle from the sauce. using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until about half of the vegetables have been pureed. if you prefer a smooth sauce, blend all of the vegetables.
8. in a small bowl, mash the remaining 2 tablespoons flour with the 1 tablespoon butter until a paste forms. whisk this into the sauce and stir until thickened. taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
9. remove the strings from the roast and slice the meat. serve the meat over mashed potatoes and spoon the sauce on top.

slow cooker chili

one of my unofficial new year's resolutions is to spend less time cooking. sound counter-intuitive? i'm all for spending hours in the kitchen, on occasion, to make great food, but during the week, i want good food, fast. a typical workday for us means we leave the house at 7:30 and get home by 6:30. and the days we stop at the gym after work, it's more like 7:30. the last thing i want to do is spend 45 minutes cooking on a monday night. which is why i'm on the lookout for shortcuts.

and a slow cooker is one of the best kept secrets (ok, maybe you already know how much of a time saver they are, and i'm finally jumping on the band wagon). i've heard it a million times from friends, family, and coworkers, but it's taken me a couple meals to really understand how great it is to spend 15 or less minutes preparing dinner. i love it. so much so, that i've added a slow cooker tag to my recipes so you can get to all of them even easier. even though there are only a few posted now, i hope to continue using mine about once a week.

have a great slow cooker recipe?? leave a link in the comments!

slow cooker chili
adapted from pass the sushi
20 minutes prep, 6-8 hours slow cook; serves 6

while you can certainly brown the beef the morning you plan to eat this, to make morning prep even faster, prepare all the ingredients the night before. cover and place your slow cooker insert (or all the ingredients in a large bowl if your insert isn't removable) in the refrigerator. the next morning, simply put the insert in the cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. placing your cold slow cooker insert directly into the cooker might cause it to crack. mix everything in a separate bowl the night before, cover and refrigerate. the next morning, pour everything into your slow cooker & cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
16 ounce can tomato sauce
3 ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
16 ounce can or 2 cups kidney beans, drained and rinsed
your favorite toppings

1. brown the ground beef in a saute pan over medium heat. drain and put in the slow cooker.
2. while the meat is cooking, dice the onion and pepper and mince the garlic clove. add all remaining ingredients to the slow cooker.
3. cover and cook on low for six to eight hours. remove bay leaf and serve.

Cranberry Meatballs

Earlier this year, my mother-in-law gave me a Christmas cook book from Gooseberry Patch that she found at a garage sale. I've liked Gooseberry Patch stuff since I was a little kid and my mom received the catalogs. It's so darned charming! I have a couple of their cook books and each one has a lot of yummy looking things in it.

The other night I decided to cook meat for the first time since I made Cincinnati Chili and whipped up Cranberry Meatballs (aka Tangy Barbecued Meatballs) from the Gooseberry Patch book. In the past I've made similar meatballs with jelly (grape on one occasion, currant on the other) and they were good but they're amazing with cranberry sauce! The meatballs themselves were great, too. Meatballs are one of those things I'm particular about and while I've tried many recipes, not a single one held a candle to the meatballs my mom makes (I will post that recipe sometime soon!). Her meatballs are so tender and have a ton of grated parmesan. These ones are cheeseless but also very, very good and perfect for a sauce that doesn't really go with parmesan. Next time I'm going to try them with ground turkey because I prefer ground turkey and turkey and cranberry kinda sorta go together :)

Without further ado,

Cranberry Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 C crumbs (bread, cornflake, cracker, whatevs)
2 T dried minced onion or 1 t onion powder
2 t dried parsley
1 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t black pepper
2 T soy sauce
6 T ketchup
2 eggs
2 lbs lean ground beef

Sauce:
16 oz can jellied cranberry sauce
12 oz bottle chili sauce (the kind next to the ketchup, not the spicy Asian kind)
2 T brown sugar
1 T lemon juice

For the meatballs, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 baking dish. In a bowl (or gallon plastic bag if you're me!), combine the dry ingredients for the meatballs, then add the soy sauce and eggs until well mixed. Add the ground beef and gently stir/squish until thoroughly combined. Form into meatballs and place in the prepared dish.

To make the sauce, add all ingredients to a medium pan. Mash with a potato masher to break up the cranberry sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cranberry sauce has melted. Pour over the meatballs. Bake, uncovered, until meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees, which will take about 40 minutes. Enjoy over egg noodles or rice.

Yield: 8 servings, about 3 meatballs per person