My Bacon and Bleu Burgers

These guys were originally on the menu for Memorial Day but we ended up going out so I didn't actually get around to making them until Tuesday.  We've eaten and loved these burgers before but, as usual these days, I made a vegetarian version using a good quality meat substitute, vegan Worcestershire, and fake bacon.  It was a very tasty, almost-summertime dinner.

1lb. ground beef

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP Dijon mustard, creamy

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

salt and pepper, to taste

Bleu cheese, crumbled, to taste 

 

1.  In a large bowl, combine the meat, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, bacon, salt, and pepper. 

 

2.  Form mixture into patties and cook/grill over medium heat until cooked through.  Mine were done in about 8-10 min. per side. 

Smeared guacamole on both sides of the bun and added

with Bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. 

Served with garlic fries.

Sloppy Joes

When I think, "Man Food", sloppy joes are definitely on the list.  Every time I make them, they are practically inhaled by my guys and they always go back for more!  I've been making these sandwiches like this for years and finally remembered to snap a photo before they were devoured at dinner recently:

1lb. ground beef substitute

1/4c onion, chopped

1/4c green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. yellow mustard

3/4c ketchup

1 TBSP brown sugar

salt and pepper, to taste

 

1.  In a large skillet over Medium heat, brown the meat, adding the onions and peppers toward the end so they don't get too soft.

 

2.  Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

 

3.  Reduce heat to Low and allow to simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Served with the easiest green beans ever.  I threw some cooked beans in a skillet with a little butter, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper - done.



Shepherd's Pie

Whenever I make mashed potatoes, I always make way more than we can actually eat in one meal.  I don't know why.  Seems like I would learn to scale back a bit but I haven't done that.  Instead, I've just accepted the fact that there will be leftovers, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Last night, I decided to use the mashed potatoes leftover from the Thanksgiving feast for this super yummy, surprisingly easy shepherd's pie.  You'll need your potatoes already prepared as this recipe is just for the meaty filling part of the pie:

 

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1/2c onion, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 ground beef

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 TBSP all-purpose flour

1 tsp. tomato paste

1/2c chicken broth

1/2 Worchestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/3 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1/4c frozen corn

1/4c frozen peas

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400*

 

2.  In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high.  Add the onions and carrot slices; saute 3-4 minutes.

 

3.  Add the garlic and continue cooking another minute or so.

 

4.  Add the meat, salt, and pepper.  Cook and stir until nicely browned and cooked through.

 

5.  Sprinkle flour over the top.  Toss to evenly coat the mixture.

 

6.  Add the tomato paste, Worchestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme.  Cover, reduce heat, and allow to simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

7.  Add the corn and peas, stirring to combine.

 

8.  Spoon everything into a prepared 8x8 baking dish.

 

9.  Top with your mashed potatoes and spread to completely cover the meat filling.

 

10.  Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

 

*I made my shepherd's pie vegetarian by using good quality substitutes for the meat, broth, and Worchestershire sauce.  This could be made even healthier by using vegan mashed potatoes.

I totally forgot to snap a photo of the shepherd's pie so you'll just have to take my word that it looked amazing.  I'll remember next time.  For now here's a photo of the mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving:

Served with rosemary biscuits on the side.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

I think of lettuce wraps as little Asian tacos.  And rather than serve them as an appetizer like they do in restaurants, I like to serve them up as the main course.  We have had these several times over the years and they are always so very good! 

1lb. ground beef

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2c onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBSP soy sauce

1/4c hoisin sauce

2tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 TBSP rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. Asian chili sauce

1/4c green onions, chopped

1-2 tsp. dark sesame oil

whole lettuce leaves

 

1.  In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef in olive oil.  Remove from skillet, drain if necessary, and set aside.

 

2.  To the skillet, add the onion and cook for a about a minute or so, stirring frequently.

 

3.  Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chili sauce and stir to combine.

 

4.  Add the  green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef and heat through.

 

5.  Serve with the lettuce leaves.

I like to just put it out on the table like this so

 everyone can make their own.

(Also, once again, I used Match ground beef.)

Mini Meatloaves

Last night's dinner was vegan meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas.  I was in the mood for some good old fashioned comfort food and this was perfect!  Obviously, you could substitute ground beef for the vegan meat, but, really, why would you want to?

While I'm on the subject of vegan meat, let me just say that, like alot of foods, there are good brands and there are not-so-good brands.  For substituting ground beef in recipes, I like Match Meats much better than anything else I've tried so far.  Gardein is winning in the chicken department though.  Anyway, on to the recipe:

1lb. ground "beef"

1/4c ketchup

1 1/8c Italian breadcrumbs

1 TBSP vegetable base (I like Better Than Bouillon)

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. dried parsley

1/8 tsp. celery salt

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350*

2.  In a large bowl, add all ingredients (except the olive oil) and mix well.  I just use my hands to really get in there and blend it all together.

3.  Divide into four loaves.

4.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high.  Place loaves in skillet and cook until nicely browned, about 2 minutes or so on each side.

5.  Remove from skillet and place in a prepared 8 1/2 x 11 baking dish.

6.  Bake 20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160*.

7.  Top with a little extra ketchup and put back in the oven for another five minutes.

8.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

 

This is also very good reheated.

 I just devoured the leftovers for lunch today!

Slow Cooker Carne Guisada

 We've had this easy Mexican stewed meat over rice and I've also served it taco-style in flour tortillas.

It's good both ways:

2 TBSP olive oil

1lb. beef stew meat

3 oz. tomato paste

1 1/4c beef broth

1/2c water

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Serrano chili pepper, seeded and chopped

1. In a medium bowl, toss beef to coat with flour, salt, and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Cook beef until evenly brown. Set aside.
4. In the slow cooker, combine tomato paste, beef broth, and water. Season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt and serrano peppers.

5.  Add stew meat and cook on Low heat for about 8 hours, or until meat is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork.

Sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes on the side.

Beef Stroganoff Over Buttered Noodles

You know the beef stroganoff alot of us grew up with?  The noodles with a big gloppy mess of sour cream sauce.  Hard to tell exactly what was in there.  Anyone else have this experience?  Maybe it was just me.

Anyway, this is so not like that!!  This beef stroganoff is seriously awesome!!  And it hardly has any sour cream in it at all (couple of tablespoons, that's it).  The Dijon mustard is the secret ingredient that just takes it over the top for me.  Takes awhile to make but it is so worth it!

This is a Tyler Florence recipe I got here.  He says to let everything simmer partially covered but I ended up keeping the lid on and I'm glad I did as I think the sauce would have cooked away otherwise.  Follow the instructions on keeping it over a very low flame though.  I think this was the trick that resulted in the amazingly fork tender beef. 

My husband devoured this and requested I double the sauce next time, keeping the beef amount the same.  He likes the idea of having extra to sop up with his bread.  Good idea.

Served with a side of sweet peas and French bread.



Traditional Mexican Tacos

There was a time in my life when Taco Night meant frying some ground beef with the pre-packaged seasoning and spooning it into shells or tortillas with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. 

Nothing wrong with that but there is a better way.

It involves the grill, steak, jalapenos.....who's with me?

These are some seriously good tacos:

2 pounds top sirloin steak

salt and pepper, to taste

2 TBSP vegetable oil

18 (6 inch) corn tortillas

1 medium onion, diced

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

4 limes

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

2c. crumbled cojito cheese

1.  Season steaks with salt, pepper, and lime juice. 

Allow to marinate for 15-20 minutes.

2.  Place steaks on pre-heated grill and cook until desired doneness.

3.  Remove from heat and allow to rest approximately 10 minutes

before slicing into thin strips.

4.  Meanwhile, heal oil in skillet and saute onions and jalapenos. 

5.  Heat tortillas.  (I just wrapped them in a wet paper towel and
popped them in the microwave.)

6.  Place tortillas on a plate, and top with steak strips, onion,
jalapeno, cilantro, and tomato guacamole to taste.

7. Top with cojito cheese for authentic Mexican flavor!

So good!