Italian Meatballs

I have recently made a few new recipes.  Two of them by Bobby Flay – and both of them outstanding! This one is for Spaghetti and Sauce.  We LOVED the meatballs!  I will be making them again in the future – maybe even in bulk to freeze them for the future.  I did  not use veal as it is sometimes hard to find.  I doubled the recipe because we had more than 4 people eating dinner… Now I wish I had made even more!

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

adapted from Bobby Flay

Serves 8

Meatballs Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 cloves garlic, finely minced and sauteed
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 cup olive oil/canola oil

Homemade Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large sweet onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 (28 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid, pureed in a food processor
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 small bunches fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• basil leaves for topping, optional

Instructions:

For the meatballs:

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, eggs, grated Parmesan, cooked garlic, dry bread crumbs, minced fresh parsley, salt, and pepper.  Use two large serving forks to break up the meat and mix all the ingredients until it is evenly seasoned.  Do not overwork it as it will become tough.  Form 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs with your hands.

Heat a non stick skillet with 1 cup of cooking oil over medium high heat.  Cook the meatballs in batches, turning them over with tongs and continue cooking until golden brown. You do not need to cook them through entirely, as you simmer them in the sauce.  Drain the meatballs on a wire rack for a few minutes while you finish cooking the remaining meatballs.

For the sauce:

In a large stock pot, cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat and cook until softened.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add processed tomatoes, bay leaf, parsley, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the sauce to a boil and add in the browned meatballs.  Reduce the heat to just a simmer and cook the sauce and the meatballs for 45 minutes or longer.

Serve over cooked pasta and top off with basil and additional grated Parmesan cheese.

Printable Recipe

 

Homemade Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This past summer I visited my parents in Southern New Jersey for a few days.  They are just over half an hour from Philadelphia – home of the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.  I did have a great sandwich during my visit.  Upon my return to California I wanted to make it from scratch, not using the frozen minute steak product that I have used in the past.  After a quick search on the internet I discovered that the best meat to use is Rib Eye.  There is no going back!  Delicious.  The first two times I made it I completely forgot to take pictures of my sandwiches, so of course.. I had to make them again (and forgot again) and again.  I prefer them on a good crunchy French roll, but a Kaiser roll will do the job.

In order to slice the steaks paper thin, it really helps to freeze the steaks for 45 minutes before slicing them and having a nicely sharpened chefs knife will make it an easy process as well.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 rib eye steaks, freeze 45 minutes before slicing super thin against the grain
• salt and pepper to taste
• sweet onion (like Maui or Walla Walla or other), sliced thinly
• bell peppers (red, green, yellow as you desire) washed, stem and seeds removed, sliced thinly
• mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
• Provolone Cheese (2 slices per sandwich)
• 4 crunchy French rolls, split in half and toasted

Instructions:

Freeze the steaks for 45 minutes to help the meat become a little stiffer and easier to slice paper thin.  I remove the bone first as well as large pieces of fat before slicing.  Using a nicely sharpened knife begin cutting each steak thinly at across the grain. You want it to be as thin as possible.

Season the steak with salt and pepper.

Slice your French rolls and toast them under the broiler.

In a large non stick skillet saute the thinly sliced onions in about 1 tablespoon of canola oil.  Season the onions with salt and pepper and cook over medium  high heat until the onions have softened and caramelized.  Remove the onions to a bowl and over with foil to keep warm.  Saute the peppers next, using the same skillet.  When the peppers are softened, remove them to a second bowl.  Next, saute the mushrooms in the same skillet until they are golden brown, adding more oil if necessary and seasoning with salt and pepper.  Remove to a bowl and cover with foil.

Heat the same skillet over High- medium high heat and add 1 teaspoon of canola oil.  Add a quarter of the shaved steak to the pan and cook for 1 minute.  Stir.  Cook an additional minute or two as you desire.  Mound the steak in one area of the skillet and top  with two slices of provolone cheese.  Allow the cheese to melt.  With a spatula, carefully lift the cheese topped steak and place on the toasted roll.

Repeat with remaining steak.

I like to have each person top their cheese steak sandwiches with sauteed onions, mushrooms, or peppers as desired.

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Shaking Beef

My husband had a dish called Shaking Beef at PF Chang’s and gave me a taste of his dish.  I loved the flavors instantly.  Months have passed since then and it still was a dish I wanted to make at home.  I found this recipe by Mark Bittman at the NY Times. It is not quite like the one at Chang’s, which has roasted potatoes and broccolini in the dish as well. Perhaps next time I will make it using roasted potatoes and broccoli.  I did use watercress and lettuce (half and half each) this time, but next time will just stick with the lettuce as it is cheaper and in my opinion tastier.  I did use beef tenderloin like the recipe called for, but next time will change that to something like flat iron steak and cut it thinly to save on costs there!  That said, it was a really tasty dish and I look forward to making it again.  Here is the recipe:

Shaking Beef

adapted from Mark Bittman (NY Times) | Serves 4 | approx

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs beef tenderloin, trim of excess fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• salt and pepper
• 5 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup rice-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup white wine (or rice wine)
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 bunch watercress and half a head of red leaf lettuce, washed and dried
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions:

In a zip top bag, combine the garlic, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the canola oil and add the steak cubes.  Refrigerate for about two hours.

For the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the remaining tablespoon of sugar, rice-wine vinegar, white white, soy sauce, fish sauce and stir.

In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. (This is for additional seasoning at the table if you desire)

Cut the lime into wedges (also for seasoning just before eating).

Thinly slice the red onion and cut the scallions into pieces.

Heat a wok over medium high heat and add 3 tablespoons of canola oil.  When the oil is shimmering add half the beef cubes at a time.  Sear for 4 minutes, turn the steak cubes over and repeat to brown.  Add half the red onion slices and scallions and cook for half a minute longer. Add half the sauce to the beef mixture and cook for a minute longer.  Melt half the butter into the sauce and remove the beef onion mixture to a large bowl.  Repeat with remaining oil and beef following the same process. Finishing with the sauce and butter. Add to the bowl of cooked beef and onions.

Place the watercress and lettuce on a large platter and arrange the beef and onions on the bed of lettuce. Pour the sauce over the beef and onion mixture.

Serve.  Season with additional salt and pepper mixture if desired and squeeze lime juice over the beef.

Enjoy!

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Moroccan Stew over Couscous

Growing up as a missionary kid, I had plenty of opportunities to try International foods.  One such occasion, a family friend, who had served in Morocco as a missionary, made a wonderful stew with chicken and chickpeas served over couscous. Our friend Lena has since passed away, but my parents were able to ask for an authentic recipe for Moroccan Couscous from another missionary family that they know.  This family had served in Rabat, Morocco for over 20 years.  It had been on my bucket list to make this recipe for a few years now, and this week, I finally had the time to make it.  It has a long list of ingredients and several steps to make the stew.  It serves 10 – I did not think this through with only 3 of us home at the moment to enjoy it- I have a feeling I will be freezing some of this.  You do need to start the night before, by soaking the  dry chickpeas.  The stew takes about 3- 4 hours prep time to finish. I cooked mine longer, because I wanted to get my Sunday nap! It made the meat ever so tender.  This recipe is broken down into 3 stages because there are so many ingredients.

Moroccan Couscous

Serves 10  – McCrostie Family recipe for Authentic Moroccan Couscous

Ingredients (Stage 1):

• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas), covered in water and soaked overnight
• 6 bone in skin on chicken thighs
• 1 lb lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 lb meaty soup bones
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb chopped onion
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 1/4 tsp dried ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3-4 quarts low sodium chicken broth

Stage 1 Instructions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Brown the meat in batches on both sides.  Remove the meat to a large platter.  Cook the onions in the drippings for about 4 minutes.  Add the meat back into the pot.  Add soaked and drained garbanzo beans (chickpeas), chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, saffron, ginger and turmeric to the pot and stir to combine.  Cover the meat in 3-4 quarts of low sodium chicken broth.  Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook coverd for 1 hour (or longer).

Stage 2 Ingredients:

• 1 lb peeled carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 tsp dried ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 lbs turnips, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 lb pumpkin, peeled and diced (I used about 1/3 of a sugar pumpkin)
• 1/2 lb zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 small Asian eggplants (long pink eggplants- use a small regular one if you can’t find the Asian type)
• 1 leek, dark leaves removed, sliced lengthwise and washed thoroughly, diced
• cabbage, chopped (optional – I did not use)

Stage 2 Instructions:

Add carrots, turnips, parsley and cilantro to the stew. Continue cooking the stew at a low boil uncovered for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes add the remaining ingredients listed in stage 2 and cook an additional 30 minutes.

At this point I removed the chicken thighs from the stew and removed the skin and bones and added the meat back into the stew.

Stage 3 Ingredients:

• 2 jalapenos (divided use)
• 2 lbs thinly sliced onions
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup raisins (soak in water for 10 minutes, then drain)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup honey (or you can use sugar)

Stage 3 Instructions:

In a small sauce pan, ladle 2 cups of the broth from the stew.  Split a jalapeno about 1 inch from the tip and put into the broth.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. Saute the onions in the butter until they are golden brown, stirring occasionally.

While the onions are caramelizing, spit the remaining jalapeno and remove the seeds.  Mince the jalapeno finely. Add the jalapenos to the onions along with cinnamon, black pepper and saute for a minute or two.  Add the raisins and honey to the onions and stir to combine.  Discard the jalapeno from the small saute pan and add the broth to the onion mixture.

Add this onion mixture to the stew. Stir to combine.

Cook couscous according to package directions.

To Serve: Mound the cooked couscous on a large platter.  Ladle the Moroccan stew over the couscous and allow each person to eat a wedge from the common plate (this is how it is traditionally served and enjoyed) if you prefer however you can place couscous in a small  individual bowls and serve the stew over it.

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“Thai” Beef Salad Wraps

So I joined the April Health Challenge (www.meltdownchallenge.com), and in an effort to find new low calorie meals I hit one of my cookbooks in my expansive cookbook collection.  This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light.  Don’t let the “Thai” scare you off – this recipe is pretty mild in my opinion.  If you do not like much spice, leave out the red pepper flakes.  I sweetened the sauce a little, but the wrap was delicious! I cooked twice as much flank steak as the recipe called for, so I have enough to add some protein to some other salads this week. Win win!  If you want to eliminate gluten, eat it as a lettuce wrap or a steak salad!

Thai Beef Salad Wrap (really not very spicy.. not sure how Thai it is)

Yield: 6 wraps approximately 399 calories per serving

adapted from All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook (2006 Oxmoor House) p 444

• 1 lb flank steak, trimmed of fat
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Cooking spray

Vegetable Filling:

• 1 cup peeled cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Sauce:

• 2 (or 3) Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or lemon juice works fine too)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Additional ingredients:

• 12 leaves red leaf lettuce
• 6 (10 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas

Instructions:

Season your flank steak with salt and pepper on both sides.  Prepare the grill with cooking spray. Grill the flank steak on high for 4 minutes each side.  Remove from grill.  Allow to rest 5 minutes, while you prep the remaining ingredients.

Combine the diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shallots, mint, basil and fresh cilantro in a medium sized bowl (you will add the steak to this mixture)

Prepare the sauce: Combine the 2 Tbsp of brown sugar, soy sauce, lime (or lemon) juice, crushed red pepper flakes, and mix to combine.  Taste the sauce and adjust the sugar if you desire a little sweeter sauce (I added about 1 Tbsp of additional brown sugar).

Slice the rested flank steak into thin strips, cutting against the grain.  Add the steak to the cucumber mixture. Drizzle the sauce over the steak and cucumber mixture.

In the microwave, heat up the flour tortillas between pieces of damp paper towels for about 20 seconds.

Line each tortilla with 2 leaves of lettuce.  Spoon 2/3 cup of steak mixture down the center of the tortilla and wrap like a burrito (start at the bottom folding up, then fold the sides over and secure with a toothpick if you like (or eat it immediately)

Notes: if you wish to eliminate gluten you could easily serve this on lettuce as a salad.

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Beef Bourguignon Revisited

When I first watched the Movie “Julie and Julia”, I knew I had to make Julia Child’s recipe for Beef Bourguignon.  I did make it and several times since (and blogged it in 2010), but I wanted to update the recipe and streamline the steps to make it even easier for myself (and others) to follow.  Today, I made this recipe for my husband’s birthday.  His birthday is not until Tuesday, however this recipe is not one to put together on a busy day – it demands 2 1/2 to 3 hours of cooking and about an hour in prep time.  There are a lot of steps to this dish, but it is well worth the effort.

Notes:  There are two sub recipes that go into this recipe that can be made ahead.  They are listed first. Baby onions are NOT the pearl onions (the size of marbles), I made this mistake they are about 1 inch in diameter.  I peeled double the amount and they are quite tedious when you use the pearl onions – save yourself!  If you have a large enameled cast iron pot (6 1/2 quart Le Creuset works great for me) it would be ideal, but you can use a heavy bottomed oven safe pot with a tight fitting lid instead.  It is important to dry the meat before you sear it, and important to not over-crowd the pot while browning the meat (and mushrooms).  I usually cook about 7 to 10 pieces at a time.

Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon

Serves 6 adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking p 315

Sub-recipe: Braised Baby Onions

• (18-24) 1 inch white onions, peeled
• 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• sprigs of fresh parsley
• sprigs of fresh thyme

Instructions for Braised Baby Onions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Heat butter and canola oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat until the butter is melted and bubbles a bit.  Add the peeled onions and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring them gently, so as not to break up the onion skin, until they are lightly browned.  Transfer the onions to a small baking dish and add the beef broth and sprigs of parsley and thyme.  Roast the onions in the oven for 40-50 minutes, turning them once.  Remove herbs.  Set aside until needed (after cooking the Beef Bourguignon)

Sub-recipe: Sauteed Mushrooms

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, clean and dry, quartered
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp oil

Instructions for Sauteed Mushrooms

Place skillet (same one you used for onions) over high heat and heat butter and oil.  Once the foam from the butter subsides, saute the mushrooms in small batches about 4 to 5 minutes per batch.  Remove the cooked mushrooms to a bowl and set aside until needed.  Repeat with mushrooms until all are browned.

Beef Bourguignon

• 8 oz thick cut bacon, diced
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 to 4 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of large pieces of fat and cut into 2 inch pieces, blotted dry with paper towels
• 6 large carrots, peeled, and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 3 cups red wine (Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Chianti work nicely)
• 4 cups beef broth (or more if needed)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• and sub-recipes for onions and mushrooms (as prepared above)

Instructions for Beef Bourguignon:

In a large heavy bottomed pot, over medium-high heat, saute the bacon in 1 tablespoon of canola oil, until it is browned and crispy.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon.

Turn the heat up to high and brown your pieces of meat, in batches, in the rendered bacon fat, turning them over to brown other sides until you have a nice crust.  Remember not to crowd the meat, or it will not brown properly. Repeat until all your meat is nicely browned.  Remove the meat to a medium bowl.

Brown the onion slices and chunks of carrot in the same bacon drippings.  Pour off any excess bacon fat (though I rarely have any).

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Add the bacon and beef to the carrots and sliced onions you just browned.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper and combine.  Sprinkle the flour mixture over the beef and toss to coat the mixture.  Place the pot (uncovered) in the preheated oven and cook for 4 minutes.  Remove from oven, toss again and return to oven for an additional 4 minutes.  Remove the pot from the oven and place back on the burner, over medium heat.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.

Add the red wine into your beef and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits.  Add 4 cups of beef broth (or as much as you need to cover the beef completely). Add tomato paste, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf and stir to combine.  Bring the stew to a near boil.  Turn off your burner.  Place a lid on your pot and transfer to the oven.  Allow to braise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring once half way through.

Remove the beef and carrots to a large bowl.  Pour your broth through a colander into a 4 cup capacity gravy separator.  Allow the gravy to separate and skim off the excess fat. Adjust the seasoning of the broth (add salt if necessary) – I rarely need to do so.

Clean your pot and return the beef and carrots back to the pot.  Add your baby onions and mushrooms and stir to combine (if you made them ahead and refrigerated them, reheat them in the microwave before adding).

Serve with cooked baby potatoes,  egg noodle pasta, or steamed rice and green veggies.  Pour the gravy over the Beef Bourguignon and enjoy!

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Pressure Cooker Chili

Every year a group of our friends gets together for their Annual Chili Cook-Off.  I love going to them, not just to try to win, but to enjoy the fellowship of our long time friends.  We do not see them very often, as we live in another county, but when we do it is a treat to pick up where we left off!

This year I tried a few new recipes and found a new secret weapon: the pressure cooker!  I know a lot of you are now backing away from your computer right now because you see it exploding!  The modern pressure cookers have valves that prevent that from happening. My parents gave me a nice German made Fissler pressure cooker about 12 years ago, it has been a great tool in the kitchen.  I just never made chili in it before!  What the pressure cooker does to the meat (cheap chuck roast, trimmed of its fat) is amazing.  The downfall of cooking it in the crock pot for hours is that the meat tends to get stringy – but it is very tender.  In the pressure cooker, the meat becomes tender and juicy but still holds its consistency.

I have a chili recipe that I really have liked for a long time.  This year I decided to tweak it just a little and to cook it in the pressure cooker.  I did the prep work in my trusty cast iron skillet, because I like how well it retains the heat and it holds a lot.  Then I finished it in the pressure cooker.  I could have just used my pressure cooker rather than dirty another pot, but I find it  a little more cumbersome to cook bacon and brown the meat in it.

Becky’s Pressure Cooker Chili

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

• 1 package thick cut bacon, cooked til crisp (reserving the drippings for browning the meat)
• 3 lbs beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• salt and pepper to season the meat
• garlic powder to season the meat
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped
• 1 orange (or yellow, or green) bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped
• 1/2 cup minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
• 2 Tbsp Chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 (14-15 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14-15 oz) can tomato sauce
•  3/4 cup water
• 1 (14-15 oz) can of chili beans, kidney beans, or navy beans (your choice)

Instructions:

I heated my cast iron skillet up about 10 minutes over medium high heat, before I cooked the bacon, rendering out the fat.  I drained the crisp bacon on paper towels and poured off the bacon fat to a small bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat in my skillet.

I had removed most of the fat from my beef chuck roast and cut into bite sized pieces.  Seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before browning the meat cubes in the skillet over medium high heat in the bacon fat.  I did this in smaller batches so that the meat had a chance to brown.  I stirred a few times and removed the meat to a bowl.  Repeated the process with the remaining meat until the meat cubes were also browned.  I added a tablespoon of bacon fat to each batch to aid the browning. I once again removed all the meat from the skillet.

Added 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings to the skillet and cooked the onions and peppers for about 5 minutes until the onions were beginning to turn opaque.  I added the minced garlic and cooked for another minute until it was fragrant.  I added the Ancho powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes to the onion mixture and cooked it for another 30 seconds.  I added the tomato paste and meat cubes back into the skillet and stirred to combine.  Then I added the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and water to the skillet and stirred to combine.  I decided to add the beans in after cooking the meat in the pressure cooker because they were already cooked and there was not much room left in my pressure cooker…

I ladled the chili into my pressure cooker, secured the lid, cranked the heat to high and watched carefully to make sure it had reached high pressure before turning my burner down and setting the timer for 15 minutes.  I do keep a careful watch to maintain the pressure on high (mine has an indicator for high and low pressure – the low is intended for veggies and such).  After the timer went off, I turned off the heat and allowed the pot to sit until the pressure released itself on its own and the valves released steam.  This took another 15 minutes or so.

After the lid released, I stirred in the beans.  Forced my husband to taste it with me (it did not take much persuasion) and allowed it to cool before putting it in the fridge.. that’s right.. the chili is really better the second day..

Serve with crisp bacon bits, sour cream if desired, and grated cheddar cheese.  My children insist that when I make chili I also make  Corn Bread Pudding .

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Korean Beef

Nearing dinner, I looked in my refrigerator and found a pound of ground beef.  I did not want to make the same old same old and turned to Pinterest for inspiration.  I came across the recipe for Korean Beef at the website of Elizabeth Bryant (link).  It looked simple enough, and I had the basic ingredients needed in my refrigerator right? Well, actually, I had to send my husband to the store to get my green onions (my hero!).  The Korean Beef came together quickly and was delicious with steamed rice and steamed broccoli (which hubby also picked up because he was going to the store already!).  Korean Beef is usually made with flank steak, but this ground beef option was very good.  This dish is simple enough, my 11 year old son could cook with supervision.  It is easy and delicious.  I will be making this again and again.  Thank you Elizabeth Bryant for posting this to Pinterest.

Korean Beef (Ground Beef)

adapted from http://elizabethbryant.blogspot.com/2010/05/korean-beef.html

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (just the green part)

Serve with:

• steamed rice
• steamed broccoli

Instructions:

Brown the ground beef in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat, breaking up and stirring the beef with a wooden spoon.  When the beef is mostly cooked, drain off any fat and stir in the chopped garlic and grated ginger.  Cook stirring for about 1 or two minutes or until the beef is completely cooked through.  Remove any additional fat if needed and add the sugar, soy sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and stir.  Just before serving stir in the green onions and serve over hot steamed rice and broccoli on the side.

Serves 5

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Veal Parmesan

My husband requested Veal Parmesan for his birthday celebration.  I love veal, but it is hard to find.  I have a wonderful little market nearby though that believes in good customer service, and have fantastic quality foods available (Baron’s Market).  They were kind enough to special order it for me.  It made my entire family happy!

Okay, on to the Veal Parmesan.  I looked for a recipe online and the recipe by Emeril Lagasse had one of the highest ratings.  I read the reviews and adjusted the seasonings to be less spicy as some reviewers said it was too spicy.  Here is what I did, I left the seasoning in the sauce the same, but breaded it in the classic European way, salt and pepper on the Veal, pounded thin – dredged in flour, then egg and milk, and plain breadcrumbs, frying them in hot canola oil on both sides.  I served this over cooked angel hair pasta, the sauce, the cutlets, a little more sauce and fresh mozzarella finished off in the oven to melt the mozzarella.  It was not a cheap meal to make, but it was for a special occasion and the 22 dollars spent of the veal was spread over a family of 5- and 7 servings once you take into consideration that you would easily pay 20-25 dollars per serving in a nice restaurant for a single serving it was almost a bargain!  For the budget conscious out there, you can make the same dish using chicken cutlets. If you are sensitive to spice, feel free to reduce the red pepper flakes by half.  It does have a nice kick to it still.

Veal Parmesan

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Source: (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/veal-parmesan-recipe/index.html)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 8 thin veal cutlets, about 2 1/2 ounces each
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs (add more as needed)
• Vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 1/4 lb pancetta bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic, about 3-4 cloves
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28-oz) can Italian-style tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Instructions:

For the sauce (can also make ahead of time):

In a large sauce pan cook the pancetta bacon in 1 Tbsp of oil.  When it is cooked to a golden brown, remove the bacon from the pan.  Add the chopped onions to the pan and cook until it is translucent for about 6 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute.  Add the wine and deglaze the pan stirring bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, parsley, oregano, and dried pepper flakes to the saucepan.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the cooked pancetta back to the sauce.  Keep the sauce over low heat while you are making the veal cutlets.

For the cutlets:

Pound the cutlets out with a meat mallet between two layers of plastic until they are 1/8″ thick. Season the cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.

Prepare three bowls: 1 with all purpose flour (seasoned with 1 tsp salt if desired), 1 with egg and milk whisked together with a fork, and the last bowl with dried breadcrumbs.

Dredge the seasoned cutlets first in the flour, then in the egg mixture and lastly in the breadcrumbs, coating both sides in each before moving to the next.

Heat a large non stick skillet that has about 1/4 inch of oil in it over medium high heat.  I like to drop a breadcrumb in the oil to test if it is ready to fry the veal- if it sizzles it is ready.  Then fry 3-4 cutlets at a time in the skillet, turning after 2 or 3 minutes (when the breading is golden brown on the bottom) and fry other side until golden brown.  Remove the cutlets to a wire rack over a baking dish and place in a warm oven to keep warm while you cook remaining cutlets.

Cook your choice of pasta, according to package directions.  I used angel hair, but Emeril used herbed egg noodles.

Top each cutlet with a spoon full of sauce and place a slice of fresh mozzarella on each cutlet.  Place the veal cutlets that are now topped with mozzarella under a broiler to allow the cheese to melt, watching carefully.  To serve: arrange the pasta on the dinner plate.  Ladle some sauce on the pasta.  Top the pasta with the veal cutlet.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and a little fresh basil, cut in ribbons.

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Stuffed Peppers

Pinterest strikes again.  That site is dangerous I tell you.  My husband especially loves stuffed peppers.  I came across a recipe that used ground beef as well as sausage.  It sounded good.  And I made them with a few adaptations. The original recipe can be found here.

Sad story, the first time I started to make them, I discovered that the store had sold me some sausage that had expired last month!   The meat smelled “off” – as I started cooking it – my family appreciates that I quickly changed my menu for that day!!  The store were kind enough to give me my money back on that item, but made not apologies for selling it in the first place, nor did I feel that they cared if I ever bought another thing at their store, so I will not be buying my meat there again (EVER). Why is customer service so hard to find nowadays? I find plenty of customer dis-service.  Thanks for letting me rant!

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 6 adapted from http://www.dearcrissy.com

Ingredients:

• 1 package mild Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 large bell peppers (I like to use red or orange or yellow ones)
• olive oil, to drizzle over the peppers before cooking

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 375 F.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage, ground beef, 1 teaspoon of salt, and onion over medium high heat.  Add the garlic the last few minutes of cooking.  Drain off any excess fat. Turn off the heat.

Add the cooked rice, 1/2 cup cheddar, diced tomatoes, parsley, remaining salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Wash the peppers and split them lengthwise.  Remove the stem, seed and white ribs from the peppers.  Place the peppers in a casserole.  Fill the peppers with the meat filling until full.  Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheese.  Drizzle the peppers with a little olive oil.  Cover the casserole with foil.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 F.  Remove the foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This would also be great with heated up Queso if you wish.

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