Category Archives: beef

May 23 2012

Mongolian Beef

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P.F. Chang’s is one of my favorite chain restaurants. A few weeks ago, I was supposed to meet a friend there for lunch but we ended up having to cancel because of work scheduling conflicts. Ever since, I’d been dreaming of their Mongolian beef. Lucky for me, though, I found this copycat recipe. It totally hit the spot!

Mongolian Beef
(from Chaos in the Kitchen)
Serves 4

2 lbs. flank or skirt steak
1/4 c. corn starch
2 t. vegetable or peanut oil
1 t. fresh ginger, minced
1 T. garlic, minced
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. vegetable or peanut oil
1 bunch green onions, green part only, cut in half

Trim all fat and silver skin from meat. Cut the meat opposite the grain (horizontal) into two bite-sized pieces. Dust steak pieces lightly in cornstarch and set aside while preparing the sauce.

In a small sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and water to the ginger and garlic before it browns. Add brown sugar and whisk until dissolved. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and reserve.

In a large skillet or wok heat 1 cup oil over medium high heat. Working in batches, add the steak a few at a time to the hot oil. Cook about 1 minute without touching the meat then flip each piece and cook 1 minute more. Remove meat while still rare inside, and continue with next batch. Once all meat is browned, pour off oil and wipe out skillet.

Heat skillet over high heat. Add steak to the hot pan and cook about 1 minute. Add sauce to the pan and simmer and toss meat and sauce about 1 minute. Add green onions. Toss with steak and sauce and heat 1 minute.

Use tongs to remove meat and veggies to a serving dish, leaving excess sauce in the pan. Serve over rice.

May 2 2012

Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

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A few weeks ago, my Aunt’s father passed away. The wake was on a miserably rainy, chilly day – the first like that we’d had in a while.  My parents and grandmother came over for dinner after the wake so I wanted something warm and comforting that would be ready soon after we walked in the door.

This slow cooker dish hit the spot. I did all of the prep earlier in the day and when we walked in after the wake, the house smelled awesome and dinner was pretty much ready – I just had to reduce the gravy a bit. It got rave reviews from the crowd. My parents made fun of me for snapping pictures of it before we ate, but I’d bet anything that my Mom makes this in the future!

Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast
(From Kalyn’s Kitchen)
Serves 6

3-4 lb. boneless chuck roast
1-2 T. steak rub
Black pepper to taste
1-2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. water to deglaze pan
2 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 c. beef stock, reduced to 1/2 cup
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. tomato sauce

Trim as much fat as you can from roast, and cut if necessary to fit into your slow cooker. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides.
 
While roast browns put 1 cup beef stock in saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture. Peel onions and cut into thick slices.
 
Place onions in bottom of the slow cooker. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until beef is tender. The meat might be partly submerged in liquid after this much time.
 
Remove meat from slow cooker and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from slow cooker and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.
Mar 28 2012

Beef Enchiladas

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I’m really loving recipes that are bulked up with veggies lately. I think it’s the result of starting to plan the garden. I keep wandering down the produce aisle thinking, I’ll have that in my garden in a few months!

These enchiladas have zucchini in addition to the ground beef and it’s hidden enough that picky eaters won’t object. I made the enchilada sauce too, so I could control the spice level, but canned would work just as well.

Beef Enchiladas
(from Recipe Diaries)
Makes 10

1 1/2 lbs.  lean ground beef
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 c. tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic
2 recipes enchilada sauce
10 6″ flour tortillas
8 oz. Mexican cheese blend
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

In a pan, brown ground beef and drain any extra fat. Add zucchini, onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of tomato sauce and 1 cup of enchilada sauce.

Place about 1/2 cup of beef mix onto a flour tortilla and roll up like a burrito and lay seem-side down in a 9×13 baking dish. When all flour tortillas are done spray tops with cooking spray.

Cook enchiladas for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven, and pour on remaining enchilada sauce and top with cheese. Place back in oven until the cheese melts.

Feb 8 2012

Korean Beef Tacos

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I really love having my slow cooker to lean on when I have a busy day. Walking in the house after a long day and smelling dinner simmering is such a mood booster for me. I also love slow cooker recipes that I can whip together in five minutes – the longer I get to sleep in the morning, the better. This recipe was perfect on both accounts.

I really loved this. The sweetness of the sauce of the beef paired well with the slight spiciness of the cucumber slaw. Leftover were gone in record time!

Korean Beef Tacos
(from Pink Parsley)

1 1/2 lbs. boneless short ribs
3/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
5 cloves garlic
1-2 in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled
6 T. rice vinegar
2 T. dark sesame oil
1-2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

For the cucumber slaw:

1 hot house cucumber
4 t. rice vinegar
1 t. sugar
2 pinches of salt
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

In the bowl of a small food processor, pulse the garlic and ginger until finely chopped.

Add the ribs to the crock pot. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the cooking liquid. Pour over the ribs.

Set the crock pot to low and cook about 8 hours. When ready to serve, shred into bite-sized pieces.

Skim the fat off the top of the liquid and add to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened and reduced. Pour over the shredded meat and serve.

For the cucumber slaw, slice the cucumber as thinly as possible, using a mandoline if you have one. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes. Toss the cucumbers in the mixture and refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve, warm tortillas and fill with the shredded meat and top with cucumbers.

Sep 5 2011

Chili Garlic Burgers

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Last Monday, we were in the midst of a more than 3 day blackout, courtesy of Hurricane Irene. We had access to a generator so we keep our fridge cold but all of my kitchen appliances and stove were  not an option. Still, we made a nice home-cooked dinner every night of the power outage. There were certainly other options – like hitting up local restaurants that didn’t lose power – but being able to sit down to a hot meal at home was a much-needed few minutes of normalcy in those crazy days.

These burgers were one of the meals I made during the blackout. Prepping only took a few minutes and then we sat out on the back deck grilling. The original recipe called for the onions to be caramelized. I think that would have been fantastic, but in the interest of making things quick and easy, we just threw the onions on the grill until they were soft.  They were great this way, but when I make these again I’ll definitely try the caramelization route!

Chili Garlic Burgers
(adapted from PreventionRD)
Serves 2

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 t. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T + 1/4 t. chili garlic sauce, divided
3/4 t. black pepper
2 slices bacon
2 slices sweet onion
2 T. bleu cheese dressing
2 burger buns
2 slices Swiss cheese

Preheat grill. Mix the ground beef, soy sauce, the black pepper and 1 tablespoons of the chili garlic sauce. Form into two patties.

In a small bowl, mix the bleu cheese dressing and the remaining chili garlic sauce.

Grill burgers, bacon and onions over medium heat, removing to a plate when done. (The bacon should finish before the onions and bacon.) In the last two minutes of grilling, melt the cheese over the burgers and toast the buns.

Aug 17 2011

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

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I love jalapenos - but I’m a wuss when it comes to heat. When I went to this year’s local master gardener plant sale to pick out my tomato plants for the year, they also were selling “fooled you” peppers. They taste like jalapenos but have none of the heat! I was so excited about that little plant.

Of course, less than a week later a deer came along and chomped off the top of the plant. I was sure that was going to be the end of it but it’s been resilient and last week gave me three beautiful jalapenos.

Three wasn’t really enough for the jalapeno poppers I was dreaming up so I decided on these burgers instead – and they didn’t disappoint. Freezing the cheese beforehand really helped keep the cheese in the burger – even when mine started to burst open during cooking. This made two very generous burgers – I think it could easily be stretched to four burgers.

I also carmalized up the other half of the onion and remaining jalapeno for on top. It was heavenly.

Jalapeno Popper Burgers
(from Brenda’s Canadian Kitchen)
Serves 2

1/2 c. shredded cheddar
2 T. cream cheese, softened
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped (and seeded if you want less heat)
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 egg
1/2 small onion, grated and drained
2 T. panko
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 lb. ground beef

Combine first four ingredients and mold two small, flat, equal-sized patties out of the cheese mixture. Place on a small plate lined with wax paper and freeze for fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the egg, onion, panko, salt, pepper and ground beef. Separate into four equal-sized patties.

After the cheese has had 15 minutes to chill, remove it from the freezer. Sandwich each cheese patty between two beef patties, taking care to seal the edge well to prevent the cheese from dripping out during cooking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grill over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.

Jun 8 2011

Filipino BBQ Skewers

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I often make fun of my husband’s love of stuffed meat – he always seems to gravitate to those recipes – but I think I’m about ready to admit to my own little obsession with meat on sticks.

I’m really loving kabobs and skewers this year. They make such a fun summer dinner.

The marinade from these skewers give them a nice sweetness – with a little kick, thanks to the red pepper flakes. They’re one of my favorites!

Filipino BBQ Skewers
(from Gina’s Skinny Taste)

2 lb london broil, sliced long, 1/4″ thick, 2″ wide
1/2 can lemon-lime soda
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 lemon, juice of
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients in a large non-reactive bowl and marinate the meat overnight.

If using wooden skewers, soak in water at least a half hour so they don’t burn on the grill.

Thread the meat onto skewers and grill. Discard unused marinade.

May 12 2011

French Dip Sandwiches

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We’re having a super busy week around here so this recipe was perfect. It’s much easier to run errands after work knowing you have a hot meal waiting for you at home – slow cooker meals are awesome that way.

We tried out this recipe as part on another swap – it was basic but really good. The minimal ingredients and no pre-cooking required, it was easy to toss this in the slow cooker before work. When we were ready to eat, we were at the table in about five minutes. It’s a perfect option if you’re short on time!

French Dip Sandwiches
(from Christine’s Kitchen Chronicles)
Serves 4

2 lbs. beef chuck roast
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 T. herbs de provence
3 bay leaves, broken in half
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
3 c. water 
4 hoagie rolls or french bread, cut in half horizontally
4 slices provolone cheese
Mayonnaise
Italian seasoning

Place meat in crock pot. Sprinkle with garlic, herbs de provence and bay leaves. Add in soy sauce and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours until the meat is tender and is easily pulled away with a fork.

To assemble the sandwiches: Take bottom piece of your bread roll & add the meat. Top with cheese. On top half of the roll spread a thin layer of mayonnaise and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Place open faced sandwich in oven and broil until bun is lightly toasted and cheese is melted and bubbly.  Place top half on top of sandwich.

If desired, skim the fat off the top of the au jus remaining in crockpot.  Then, place some of the au jus  into a small bowl and serve with sandwiches for dipping.

Mar 28 2011

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs

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I’m so ready for warm weather because I can’t wait to break out the grill.  When I saw this recipe I couldn’t wait to make it – a little taste of summer from the oven.

These were delicious. You’ll need a knife and fork!

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs
(from In the Wabe)

Hot dogs
Hot dog buns
1 can of chili
Red onion, diced
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Sweet relish

Line your baking pan with foil. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Line inside of hot dog buns with mayonnaise and sweet relish. Evenly add mustard. Fill with hot dogs and squish into the baking pan.

Top hot dogs with chili, cheese and diced onion. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Mar 17 2011

Corned Beef with Parsley Sauce

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I love corned beef. Mark only puts up with it on my behalf. When I saw The Country Cooking of Ireland on the library shelf, I had all these grand intentions of making a more Mark-friendly St. Patrick’s Day dinner. This cookbook is truly drool-worthy – the photography is beautiful and had me considering things I’d never think of eating (like, everything in the “Offal” section). If you’re interested in Irish cuisine, I highly recommend checking it out.

In the end, I just couldn’t break up with my corned beef – I love it too much – but this slight variation was enough to make it a little different than the usual. The original recipe called for boiling the corned beef for serveral hours – the traditional preparation – but it worked perfectly in the crockpot too.

I served this alongside roasted potatoes and – of course – cabbage.

Corned Beef with Parsley Sauce
(adapted from The Country Cooking of Ireland)
Serves 4

2 lb. corned beef brisket with spice packet
2 T. butter
1 T. minced onion
2 T. flour
3/4 c. milk
2 t. minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. spicy brown mustard
Pinch of nutmeg

Place the brisket in a slow cooker. Sprinkle spices from spice packet over the brisket. Add just enough water to the slow cooker to cover the brisket. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When finished, reserve 3/4 c. of the cooking liquid.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onion and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for an additional minute. Add the reserved cooking liquid, milk, parsley, mustard and nutmeg, whisking until smooth. Cook for 4-5 minutes longer, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens.

Serve the corned beef sliced, with the sauce poured over it.