Archive for the 'Beef' Category
I thought I would share my lasagna “recipe”. Steve and the kids absolutely love it. It is simple and easy to make which makes me love it. Most of the ingredients are ready-made and don’t require any prep work. I indicated the brands that I use (for Steph) but you can use any brand you like. It takes about an hour for this to cook though, so not something you’d want to make after getting home late from work.
Lasagna
1 box (9 oz) No-Boil Barilla Lasagna Noodles
1 lb Ground Pork
1/2 lb Ground Beef
1 jar (36 oz) Newman’s Own Marinara or Prego Spaghetti Sauce
2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) Ricotta Cheese (any brand)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (don’t use the shaker stuff - get the Frigo from the cheese case)
1 lb Mozzarella cheese, shredded (I use the bags of already shredded cheese most of the time)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large skillet, brown the pork and beef. You can do them both at the same time, in the same pan. Drain the fat and crumble the meat in to small uniform pieces. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the 2 eggs lightly. Add the ricotta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Mix to combine and set aside.
Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/2 of the jar of sauce on the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. Place a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, covering completely. It’s okay if the noodles overlap slightly. Top with half of the browned meat and then half of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese.
Pour the other half of the jar of sauce on top and place another layer of noodles on top,covering completely. Top with the remaining browned meat, then the remaining ricotta mixture and finally the remainder of the mozzarella cheese.
Bake, covered with foil, for 50 minutes. It should be nice and bubbly. Uncover and continue baking until the cheese on top is melted and slightly browned - about 5 or so more minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before cutting.
The only sloppy joes my kids like to eat.
Sloppy Joes
Marge Englebert
1 1/2 lbs Ground Chuck
1/2 cup Celery, chopped fine
1 medium Onion, chopped fine
8 oz Tomato Paste
1/2 cup Ketchup
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
2 T White Vinegar
2 T Brown Sugar
Salt & Pepper
Brown ground chuck, celery, onions. Add other ingredients. Simmer 30 minutes. Serve on buns.
Even though this recipe comes from a cookbook called “Quick and Easy Cooking” the quick part is misleading. This dish takes 50 minutes to prepare and cook but it is worth it. Everyone loved the beef. I’ve made similar dishes before but the sauce in this dish is delicious.
The recipe calls for Port, a type of sweet red wine that I don’t keep on hand. Whenever a recipe calls for a type of liquor you don’t normally drink, you can stop at the liquor store and pick up a miniature bottle. That way you don’t waste an entire bottle of liquor. Another option is to just substitute any kind of sweet red wine that you do have on hand. This recipe already calls for a red wine, so the Port is intended to provide a slightly different flavor. I didn’t want to open 2 different bottles of wine just to get 1 tablespoon, so another substitution is concord grape juice (with a dash of lime juice) or cranberry juice (with a dash of lemon juice). I used the cranberry juice substitution for the port in this recipe.
This dish goes very well with boiled & buttered potatoes and a green vegetable like broccoli.
Beef Strips in Red Wine
Creative Cuisine Quick & Easy Cooking
3 T Butter
1 T Vegetable Oil
4 oz Mushrooms, sliced
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 T All-Purpose Flour
Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 lb Beef Round Steak, cut into thin strips
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 T Port
1/2 cup Beef Stock
1/2 cup Red Wine
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms; saute 2 miutes. Remove cooked mushrooms with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add onion to skillet; saute 4 minutes, stiring once or twice. Remove cooked onion with a slotted spoon; set aside.
In a plastic bag, combine flour, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Add beef, shake to coat. Shake excess flour from beef; add to fat remaining in skillet. Saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in cooked mushrooms, cooked onions, garlic, port, stock and wine; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Cover pan; simmer 25 minutes.
Makes 4 servings
I thought this meal was destined to fail before I even started cooking it. I couldn’t find any vermicelli nests at any of my local markets. They also don’t carry fresh fennel.
I decided to use regular vermicelli noodles and to use small individual casserole dishes to simulate the “nests”. A little online research revealed that fennel seed (crushed) and celery could be substituted for the fresh fennel. Unfortunately I didn’t pick up any celery at the store. A little more research led to the discovery that yellow squash goes well with fennel. So I substituted 1 tsp fennel seed and 1 cup of finely diced yellow squash for the fennel called for in this recipe. You could also substitute cucumber or zucchini and it would be very tasty.
Pretty much everyone liked this meal. Steve thought the noodles needed more butter or oil and Violet wasn’t thrilled with the vegetable topping but she did like the noodles and meatballs. It has a very interesting (but tasty) flavor. I wouldn’t make this every week but I think it will be an occasional addition to our menu.
Meatballs in Pasta Nests
Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
1 lb ground Veal or Lean Beef
1 slightly beaten Egg
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
1 tsp dried sage, crushed
3 large cloves Garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
6 dried Vermicelli Nests*
2 T snipped Fennel tops*
1 cup Fennel Bulbs, finely diced*
2 T finely shredded Lemon Peel
1 cup Onion, finely diced
1 cup Carrots, finely diced
1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf Parsely, snipped
For the meatballs, in a large bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, sage, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add ground meat; mix well. Form the mixture into 36 meatballs about 1 inch in size.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add meatballs, cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, turning to brown all sides. Remove meatballs, reserving drippings in skillet. Cover meatballs and keep warm.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the vermicelli nests according to the package directions. Add 2 tablespoons of Fennel tops and 1 tablespoon of Lemon peel to the cooking water. Carefully remove nests to a colander to drain. Cover pasta and keep warm.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to drippings in skillet used for meatballs. Add chopped onion, fennel bulb, carrots and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon peel.
To serve, place pasta nests on serving plates. Spoon meatballs into nests. Spoon vegetable topping over meatballs and pasta.
*I made substitutions for these ingredients
I had never cooked a beef tenderloin before but I really like this cut of meat. It’s straightforward to prepare and easy to portion and carve since it’s boneless. Your dinner guests will love it because it’s tender and delicious.
I purchased a 4 lb beef tenderloin at the butcher shop. It cost me about $11 per pound. That’s kind of pricey (tenderloin is the cut filet mignon comes from), so you probably won’t be making this every week but it’s a great special occasion treat.
If you buy an untrimmed tenderloin, you’ll need to trim off any excess fat and remove the silverskin. You’ll also want to trim off the very thin tail pieces. Save those tail pieces and the meat from the fat-covered “chain” that runs along the cut for stir-fries and stews. If you buy a trimmed tenderloin, you’ll still want to check it over and remove any excess fat or silverskin that may remain.
Since the size of the tenderloin depends on the size of the cow it came from you may have a very large tenderloin. If so, you can cut it into 2 roasts and freeze one for later.
Tie the roast at two-inch intervals with kitchen string. Tying the roast is important because once the silverskin has been removed, the meat tends to flatten and lose its shape. Also, as meat cooks, it tends to twist and curl. Tying results in a more uniformly shaped roast, which will cook more evenly. Tie the string so that it presses firmly but not tightly against the meat.
Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 450°F.
Pat the meat dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Then, sear the meat on all sides in a heavy skillet on the stove. When searing, give each side of the roast —since it’s round, there are three to four “sides”—a few minutes of undisturbed cooking.
Place the seared roast in a 9×13-inch roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Lightly cover with foil - the foil should be kind of like a tent so that steam can escape.
Roast the beef until an instant-read thermometer registers 120°F to 125°F for rare, about 25 minutes; 125°F to 130°F for medium rare, about 30 minutes. The temperature of the beef will rise 5°F as it rests. Do Not overcook!
Wrap the beef in the foil that lines the pan and let rest on a carving board for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice into portions and serve.
