Cumin-Rubbed Beef

Step 1 : Mix together cumin, mustard powder, garlic powder, sea salt, sage, and bread crumbs.
             Heat water for pasta, add pasta when the water boils.  Try to time it so pasta is done around the                    same time as the beef.

Step 2 : Coat pieces of eye of round beef with the seasoning mixture, then brown them on each side.

Step 3 : Pour red wine into the pan, just enough to cover the beef. 

Step 4 : When the beef is about halfway done, add vegetables to the pan.  

             I used cabbage and carrots.  I also grated some ginger into the pan. 

Step 5 : Remove the beef from the pan when it is done.  Once the pasta is drained, add it to the pan with the              vegetables and sauce, mix well. 

Step 6 : Eat.

Ground Beef Surprise

It's been too long since I concocted something random in the kitchen, so I decided to remedy that yesterday.  I went through the fridge and cabinets and came up with some random things to throw together.  It came out quite tasty, just like all my other experiments.

Ingredient List

I also used about 1/4 c of marinara sauce, which I forgot to write down.

Brown the onion and garlic, then add the chickpeas, corn, and tomatoes.  Cook for a bit, then add the beef.  Mix well, then add the mushrooms and pineapple.  Add seasonings. Add marinara sauce.  Cook until it reaches whatever level of thickness appeals to you.  Serve over pasta. 

One Pot Meal : Beef Stroganoff

I bought a huge 5 qt skillet about 2 months ago, and it is a great addition to my kitchen!  It was the perfect size for tonight's stroganoff, and there was even room to spare (a/k/a room to stir the food without any spilling over the sides).

Side note : spell check wants me to change stroganoff to "strongman."  strange...

One Pot Beef Stroganoff

3 cloves garlic

1 in chunk of ginger root

1/4 onion

4 carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 lb stew beef

1 can mushroom soup

1 can cream corn

1+ c marinara sauce

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 can Guinness

egg noodles

Chop all of the chop-able ingredients.  Brown the onion, garlic, and ginger in some olive oil.  When they start to brown, add the beef.  Let the chunks of meat start to brown, then add all remaining ingredients except for the pasta.  Stir well, cover, and let cook until the meat is almost done, stirring occasionally.  When the meat is almost done, add the pasta and cook until done.  

This stroganoff is definitely my favorite that I have made so far, the consistency was perfect 

and it was really delicious!

Meaty Pumpkin Lasagna

1 cup pumpkin

c. 15 oz tomato sauce

1 cup water

16.5 oz alfredo sauce

2 eggs

oregano

garlic powder

large handful of shredded cheese

Cook 1 lb ground beef in the sauce & pumpkin.

Layer:

1) cover the bottom of a baking dish with the white sauce mixture

2) lay down 3 ready-bake lasagna noodles

3) cover with the meat mixture

4) pour a layer of white sauce

5) lay down 3 more noodles

6) cover with meat mixture

7) lay down 3 more noodles

8) pour the remaining white sauce mixture on top

9) sprinkle with cheese

Cover with a double layer of foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour.

Peanut Butter Beef & Broccoli, yet again

I've made this several times before, it's different every time.  (Like just about everything else I make!)  The other versions can be found on the "Meat" page of this blog.

Put a pot of water on to boil for pasta.  Chop 1/4 onion and begin browning it in some olive oil.  Chop 3 cloves of garlic and roughly a tbsp of fresh ginger and add them.  Add some garlic powder, ginger powder, and about 1/2 c of veggie stock. Chop up a pound or so of steak and add it to the pot along with some more veggie stock, a bit of beer, and some soy sauce.  Cover and let cook for awhile.  When the pasta water boils, add some salt, olive oil, and a large handful of linguini, broken in half.  Steam a bunch of baby broccoli, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.  When the beef is cooked, add about 1/3 c of crunchy peanut butter.  Sitr well, let cook until it has thickened enough not to be watery when mixed with the pasta and broccoli.  Combine everything in a large bowl and toss til evenly mixed.

This dish turned out to be just the right stickiness to make it possible to eat the pasta with chopsticks.  Hooray!

Stout Stroganoff

I've made Beef Stroganoff with red wine before, I've never made it with beer.  My plan this evening was to make it with Guinness, but then I discovered that I was out of Guinness.  I did have a Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout though.  So I went with that.  1 cup of the beer went into the pasta pot along with 1 jar of beef gravy, one can of mushroom soup, and 2 cups of water, the rest went into a skillet with the stew beef with some garlic powder.  In a separate skillet, I cooked 1/4 of an onion, 2 carrots, and 4 stalks of celery.  When the beef was about done, I added the veggies.  When the pasta pot started boiling, I added egg noodles and cooked them for about 10 min.  When they were almost done, I added 5 mushrooms to the beef and veggies.  When the pasta was done, I added the solid contents of the skillet.  I added a tbsp of cornstarch to the remaining liquid and cooked it til thick, then added the gravy to the pot with everything else.

It turned out to be a pretty good stroganoff.  The beer made it a little bit bitter though.  Funny how I never notice the bitterness of the beer when I drink it, but it definitely came out in the food.

On a side note, blogger doesn't recognize "stroganoff" as a word, and wants me to change it to "strongman."

Um...seriously?

Crabby Beef Burger

1 lb ground beef (93/7 lean)

1 can of shredded crab meat

1 egg

2 tbsp of ranch

tbsp of bbq sauce

1/4 c breadcrumbs

mix it all up, shape into patties, cook 'em up

I put some into ziploc bags and put them in the freezer for later.

1/2 whole wheat bun

arugula

1/2 avocado

 Don't forget the home-made fries!

I love home-made fries...this is the 3rd night in a row I've had them for dinner!

Meatballs

Look at that big pot of tastiness.  They simmered for about 2 hours while I did some odds and ends and spent some time with my horse.  Since Thursday is my long day at school, and I needed to go for a run after that, I didn't get to start the meatballs til 6.  By the time they were done, I was pretty hungry!  They certainly did not disappoint...I had to go back for seconds!

For the sauce, I used about 1 jar of Prego HeartSmart Mushroom and about 1/2 jar of Kroger Alfredo.  It filled a 2 qt saucepan about half way.  For the meatballs, I mixed together a little bit of mustard, 1 egg, some breadcrumbs, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric.  I used 1 lb 93% lean ground beef.  

I let the sauce heat up while I was mixing and rolling the meatballs.  Then I dropped the meatballs in the sauce.  When it started bubbling, I lowered the heat and propped a lid on top to contain the splashing.  

Simmer for about 2 hours and then eat up!

Tonight's dinner was rigatoni, meatballs, and a glass of merlot.

A wonderful trio.

Pot Roast Sandwich

For the Pot Roast:

Sprinkle whole wheat flour and brown sugar across the bottom of a crockpot.  Roll a 2.5 lb roast around in the flour and sugar.  Mix together 1/2 c pumpkin, 1/2 c orange juice, and 1 c cranberry juice, then pour the mixture over the roast.  Cook on high for 6 hours, then shred the roast.  

For the Sandwich:

Toast a whole wheat bun.  Put a handful of arugula on the bottom half of the bun.  Cover with pot roast.  Add some tomato slices and avocado. Add the top bun.  

Eat. Devour.

Cranberry-Beef Stew

2 lb pot roast

(coat with wheat flour, cinnamon, and cocoa powder)

5 carrots

(chopped)

1/2 onion, 4 cloves garlic, big chunk of ginger

(chopped and sauteed)

1/2 c cranberries

1/2 c pumpkin, 1/2 c beef broth, 1 c cranberry juice

(blended)

5 large mushrooms, chopped

Place the coated pot roast in the bottom of a crockpot.  Put the sauteed stuff on top.  Dump the carrots on top, then the cranberries.  Pour the liquids over the contents of the pot, then scatter the mushrooms on top.  If you have a bunch of extra flour/cinnamon/cocoa coating like I did, sprinkle some on top.

 Cook on low for 7.5 hours. 

(My pot roast was pretty thin.  If yours is thicker it may take more time.)

When the meat is cooked through, remove it from the pot.  Shred the meat, discard the fat.

Return the shredded meat to the pot and stir well.

I ate mine with some barley.  Delicious.