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!

The Pumpkin Saga continues...

The Kale

(steamed with garlic and ginger)

The Pork Chop

(cooked in pumpkin cider, sage, and ginger)

The Linguine

(tossed with a pumpkin/apple cider/sage/ginger cream sauce)

Pumpkin Ravioli

It's been awhile since I made pasta from scratch!  But I've been wanting to make pumpkin ravioli and I had some time this evening (for once I wasn't too hungry to wait for dinner to cook), so I made them.

Pasta Dough

1 egg

1/4 c wheat flour

3/4 c + white flour

2 tbsp olive oil

garlic powder

ginger powder

salt

Filling

big scoop of pumpkin

big handful of shredded colby jack cheese

Pumpkin Ravioli, 

with a Pumpkin Cream Sauce*, 

on a bed of Kale, 

with some Pumpkin Chicken** on the side.

And don't forget the Pumpkin Porter!

*Pumpkin, Heavy Cream, Sage, Ginger

**Boiled in pumpkin and Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat Beer

Yes, I love pumpkin!

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.

Pesto Avocado Pasta

Slather some chicken thighs with mustard and pesto.  Make sure to get some underneath the skin too!  

Bake at 425 for 50 minutes. 

Mix up some olive oil, pesto, and half an avocado.

Toss it with some angel hair pasta.

Saute some garlic in olive oil, then add bok choy and steam til done.

Eat up. 

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!

Peachy Perfect Pasta

Ingredients

1/2 - 1 cups chopped onion

2 carrots, chopped

1-2 cups chopped cabbage

2 peaches, chopped

fresh basil, chopped

Boil water for pasta. When it boils, add the pasta, then:

Saute the onions in some olive oil.  When they are lightly browned, add the cabbage, carrots, some more olive oil, and 1/4 c water.  Put a lid on the pan and let it steam for awhile.  

While the veggies steam, chop up the peaches into bite-sized pieces.  When the veggies are done, remove the lid, turn the heat to very low, and add the peaches. Chop up some fresh basil and add it as well.  

Drain the pasta and toss it with olive oil and just a little bit of mustard and pesto.  

Put some pasta in a bowl, dump some fruit/veggie mix on top, and stir it up.

Eat, enjoy.

Pantry Raid Tuna Casserole

I found a show on Netflix once called Pantry Raid.  A chef showed up at people's houses and showed them how they could make a meal out of whatever they happened to have in the fridge and pantry.  It was fun to see what he would come up with.  When I returned home from my trip to RI, I didn't have a whole lot of food in the house, and I certainly didn't feel like grocery shopping after being in the car all day.  So I raided the pantry.  The fridge was pretty bare, since I always try to empty it out before I leave if I'm going to be gone for much more than 3-4 days.  So, my only choice for meat was tuna fish, since I always keep a couple cans of that in stock.  And I always have pasta as well, so I figured I could make some sort of a tuna casserole.  But of course, there was no milk or cream in my fridge.  (Well actually, there was, as it seems I forgot to dump them out before I left.  Neither was even remotely edible though.)  But it occurred to me that I probably had a can of cream of mushroom soup somewhere in my cupboards, so I searched until I found it.

Tuna Casserole, Pantry-Raid Style

3/4 box of elbow macaroni

1 large can of tuna

1/2 bag of frozen peas

shredded cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

water

1 tbsp butter

1/4 c flour

Cook the pasta.  While it is cooking, put the soup in a pot, and then add one can-ful of water.  Add the butter and flour.  When it is hot, add the cheese, stir well.  Add the peas to the pasta when you think it has a few minutes left to cook.  Add the tuna to the sauce.  Drain the pasta, then mix everything together.  Put it in a baking dish, sprinkle some more cheese on top, and bake at 375 until the top is browned (about 30 min).

Cream Cheese Mac

I try to eat healthy as often as possible.  But sometimes, I just crave mac n cheese.  And sometimes, I remember that I just happened to buy cream cheese the other day and haven't done anything with it.  And think that maybe I should add cream cheese to the mac n cheese.  And darn it, I just remembered that I also have sour cream in my fridge that I should have thrown in because it needs to get used.  Oh well.  I missed out on using the sour cream, but I did use some cream cheese!

By the way, I'm currently eating my second helping.  This stuff is too good.  Maybe I'll run it off in my race on Saturday...It will only be the 2nd 10k course I have ever run.  I've done a 10k in Lewisburg for the past 5 years, but it's the only 10k I've ever done, and while my times for the past 2 years have been decent, I really really want to break 40 minutes. I'm hoping to achieve that this weekend.  New course, flatter course, and hopefully some better competition to help carry me to a PR! 

Anyway.  Cream Cheese Mac.  Deliciousness.

Boil some water and throw in about half a box of elbow macaroni.  In a smaller saucepan, combine 3 tbsp butter, 3-4 tbsp cream cheese, a bunch of heavy cream, 1/4 c wheat flour, and a big handful of shredded cheese. Once everything is all melty and delicious, and the macaroni is cooked, combine in an oven-safe dish.  Oh and by the way, grate a carrot and mix it in with all that.  Then you can pretend it's healthy.  Mix well, sprinkle more cheese over the top, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  

I enjoyed my mac and cheese on a bed of arugula, topped with a crabby beef burger and some shaved & sauteed parsnips.  And then I drizzled ranch dressing over the whole thing because...I thought it might be too dry without it?  And...go big or go home? 

It was delicious.  

Eating super healthy all the time is overrated. 

and here's a picture of the shaved parsnips before I cooked them

just because

they're awesome