Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches

I've been receiving the BHG daily recipe emails for a few years now but I rarely pay attention to them. The other day though I was procrastinating (what's new, right?) and my phone buzzed with a new email. It was from BHG. I decided to look at the featured recipes and saw quite a few that looked good. One in particular that caught my eye was Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches.

You make the beef in the crockpot and then throw it in a saucepan with a few other ingredients right before serving. The meat had this awesome spicy flavor to it. I'm usually not a big shredded beef fan, but this was so good. I even had the leftovers for dinner the next night. This meal was perfect for my crazy life because the bulk of the cooking is in the crockpot. We threw it in at 5 when we went to the gym and by the time we left for work at 7:45 the house was already full of the wonderful aroma of our dinner in the crockpot. I was also happy because the nutritional value of the sandwiches wasn't too shabby. I am positive we'll be making this again.

Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Better Homes and Gardens


Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 sliced red pepper, orange pepper, and yellow pepper
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 cups Shredded Beef Master Recipe (see recipe below)
1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles I used the Hot/Spicy Rotel
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro I used 1/4 Cup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)
4 rolls, split and toasted, if desired
1 cup shredded lettuce

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in hot oil over medium heat about 4 minutes or until tender. Add shredded beef, undrained tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through and desired consistency. Stir in cilantro.

2. To serve, sprinkle some of the cheese over bottoms of onion rolls. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture over cheese on each bun. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and the shredded lettuce. Add roll tops.

Makes 4 servings.

Shredded Beef Master Recipe: Trim fat from a 3 to 3-1/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast. If necessary, cut beef to fit a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. Place 2 large onions, cut into thin wedges, sliced peppers and 2 cloves garlic, minced in the cooker. Top with beef.

In a medium bowl, combine 1, 14-ounce can beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Pour over beef in cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 11 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5-1/2 to 6 hours.

Remove beef and onion from cooker, reserving juices. Using two forks, shred beef, discarding any fat. Skim fat from juices. Add onion to beef; add enough juices to beef to moisten. Place 2-cup portions of beef in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 6 cups.

** Nutrition Facts: Calories 114, Total Fat (g) 4, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 1, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 16, Sodium (mg) 230, Carbohydrate (g) 10, Total Sugar (g) 1, Fiber (g) 1, Protein (g) 9, Vitamin C (DV%) 7, Calcium (DV%) 5, Iron (DV%) 7, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet**

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Tonight we were looking for an easy and delicious meal. I decided to make spaghetti and use the wonderful homemade marinara I froze the other week. For some reason I wanted to give meatballs a whirl. This is odd for a couple reasons:

1) I'm not a big fan of beef
2) Raw meat grosses me out, I've never touched it in my life. My husband is the one that handles the raw stuff.

I've never paid much attention to recipes for meatballs, so I decided to search my handy dandy google reader. I stumbled across a recipe for Meatball Sandwiches and decided to just use the part for the meatballs themselves.

The recipe was very simple and very tasty. I even forgot to add the garlic and it still tasted great. I think when I make these again I'll use ground turkey, the meatballs didn't taste greasy, but the grease left on the baking sheet isn't very appetizing. So tonight's dinner was a success....Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara and Meatballs and I got over my fear of preparing raw meat.

Meatballs
Source: Feed the Moose



Do you know how hard it is to get a good pic of meatballs on spaghetti? It's near impossible for a novice like myself. The picture above is the best I could do.


1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish. (I lined my baking dish with parchment paper to make for easier cleanup)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through.

Restaurant Style

I'm typically not a fan of red meat. I'll eat it occasionally, but I'd much rather have a plate of raw veggies in front of me. For some reason last night I was craving steak - totally unlike me. I was also craving some asparagus on the grill. Since I was home by myself I was going to ignore my craving, but then thought, what the hell, grill some meat just for you.

So I went to the store and had no idea what kind of meat to buy. I looked at all the choices and had(have) no clue what all the cuts of beef were(are). I ended up with some boneless rib meat b/c the pieces were small. (I sound like such a girl saying that) and it was extra lean. I turned to All Recipes for a marinade that turned out AWESOME!!! My meal seriously tasted like it came from a restaurant. So, so, so good! I can't wait to make this for Matt, he'll be super impressed!

Marinade for Steak
From: All Recipes



The amounts below are just for my one little piece of meat. Go here and it will take you to the original recipe and the serving calculator. My adaptions in italics

1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons vegetable oil
2-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar I used balsamic vinegar
1-1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/8 onion, sliced
1/4 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp brown sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, mustard, onion, and garlic. Mix together well, and use to marinate your favorite meat. (I let my meat marinate for about 3 hours)

Remember Me?

Long time, no blog. Lately I don't have time for anything but work and school. It really sucks. Last week I actually made 2 meals, both from the April 2008 Cooking Light. I was a little nervous about this dish, but it turned out very well.

Asian Beef and Noodle-Filled Lettuce Cups
I forgot to take a picture

Ingredients
3 ounces uncooked rice vermicelli
12 ounces ground sirloin
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup prechopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (Omitted)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 Boston lettuce leaves
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef to pan, and cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Stir in garlic, and cook for 2 minutes or until browned. Stir in noodles, carrots, and the next 4 ingredients (through mint). Combine juice, sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add juice mixture to beef mixture; tossing gently to coat. Arrange 1 lettuce leaf on each of 4 plates; spoon 1 1/4 cups beef mixture into each leaf. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon peanuts.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed lettuce leaf)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 270(29% from fat); FAT 8.6g (sat 2.2g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 21.2g; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 37mg; SODIUM 234mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 2.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 27.8g

Pasta

I found this recipe a while ago on ... and a cookie for dessert. I finally got around to making it on Tuesday. This meal is perfect for when you want something good and filling that is friendly on the budget. In order to save myself some money I just substituted a few of the ingredients with things I had in my cabinets. This makes a ton of food, the leftovers are quite tasty too.

Beef Penne Pasta Casserole
...and a cookie for desert
originally from meals.com

1 pound dried penne pasta, prepared according to package directions (I used rotini)
8 ounces lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 cans (6 ounces each) Italian tomato paste (I used some spaghetti sauce I had on hand)
1/3 cup red wine or water (I used more than that... maybe 3/4 - 1 cup) :)
1 tablespoon beef flavored bouillon (omitted)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I used an Italian cheese blend)

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COOK beef and onion in large saucepan, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink. (I seasoned the turkey with parsley, oregano, salt and pepper) Add water, tomato paste, wine and bouillon; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes or until flavors are blended.

LAYER ingredients as follows in ungreased13 x 9-inch baking dish: 1/2 pasta, 1/2 sauce and 1/2 cheese. Repeat layers; cover.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Season with salt.

FOR FREEZE AHEAD:PREPARE as above; do not bake. Cover; freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. PREHEAT oven to 350° F. BAKE for 45 to 55 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Season with salt.
Serving Size: 6

Not quite my mom's

This is one of my favorite things my mom makes. I haven't made it yet because it seems like when I try to make her recipes, they just aren't as good. This was no exception. I think part of the reason this wasn't as good was because M used too many noodles so the sauce wasn't as thick. Oh well, there's always next time.... or next time I visit home!

Hamburger Stroganoff


1/2lb wide egg noodles
1lb ground round (mom always made this with ground turkey, as did I)
2 tsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 med. onion - chopped
2 tsp AP flour
1/2lb sliced mushrooms (omitted)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 1/4 cup beef stock
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook and drain noodles as package directs (next time I will do this as I'm cooking the hamburger mixture)

Melt butter in heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and mushrooms 5-7 minutes. Add meat and cook until brown. Stir often. Add Worcestershire sauce and S&P to taste.

Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in stock and simmer until thickened. Stir in sour cream until heated.

Serve immediately over hot noodles.

Ahhhhmazing

I have never been a fan of beef vegetable soups until I went to Jamaica on my honeymoon. Actually, I wasn't a fan of a lot of things until then. Thanks to Jamaica I now love stir fry, Japanese steakhouses, pineapple, and Thai food. (kind of random, I know). I found this recipe in my favorite BHG cook book. I marked back in July as one I wanted to try. Well, with school starting back up I wanted something easy for dinner for the week. I made this Sunday night and now have it for the rest of the week. It is so, so, so good. M and I both LOVE it. Not quite Jamaica, but certainly delicious. It is perfect for this cold weather we've been having.

Vegetable-Beef Soup
Prep: 25 minutes Cook: 85 minutes Low Fat



Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cubed, or beef stew meat
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 14-ounce cans beef broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped, peeled tomato or one 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (omitted)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1-1/2 cups cubed, peeled potatoes
1 cup frozen cut green beans
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion

Directions

1. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven (I used a large stock pot) brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil; drain fat. Return all meat to Dutch oven. Stir in beef broth, oregano, marjoram, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. If necessary, skim fat .

2. Stir in tomato, corn, potato, green beans, carrot, celery, and onion. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes more or until vegetables are tender. (I forgot mine was on the stove and let it simmer for about 90 min...oops!)

3. Makes 8 servings ( about 12 cups)

Nutritional Info: 235 Cal, 7 g total fat (2g saturated), 40 mg chol. 921 mg sodium, 20 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 24 g protein.

Easy Enough

I found this recipe through Cooking Light the other day. It seemed simple enough and we've never made brisket so this was a good opportunity. We prepared it all the night before and stuck it (it = stoneware from crock pot) in the fridge. In the morning the hubs just popped the stoneware back in the crock pot. I served this with veggies and speedy twice baked potatoes. (Instead of baking the potato in its skin the 2nd time, I put the potato mixture in a dish, sprinkled cheese on top, and baked about 15min. I was too impatient to wait for the potatoes to cool.)

Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer


Photo by Randy Mayor

1 (3-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 cup water
2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)
1 1/2 cups chopped parsnip (about 2)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 (12-ounce) bottle light beer

Rub brisket with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add brisket to pan; cook 10 minutes, browning on all sides.

Remove brisket from the pan. Add 1/4 cup water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add onion and parsnip; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place onion mixture, vinegar, bay leaf, and beer in a large electric slow cooker. Place brisket on top of onion mixture. (M added water so the meat was almost completely covered) Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Discard bay leaf. Cut brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with sauce


M and I were nervous that the brisket wouldn't taste good and be too beery (is there such a thing.... ha!) We were wrong and pleasantly surprised. It was very good. If you're not a beer person you will not like this.


Nutritional Information
CALORIES 160(28% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 1.9g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 20.5g; CHOLESTEROL 49mg; CALCIUM 20mg; SODIUM 232mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.6g

Simply Delicious!

M and I made this meal last Tuesday night and it was delicious. The whole night was great. We cooked together and polished off a couple bottles of wine. It was so much fun. I really wish I could have taken better pictures that expressed how great the food tasted.

Peppered Beef Filets with

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes

Low Cholesterol and Low Calorie

Mashed Potatoes
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 tsp 70% vegetable oil spread
1 tsp sugar
1 pond unpeeled red or russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (I used dried)
¾ tsp prepared horseradish ½ tsp salt

Beef Filets
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 inch think (5 oz each)
1 tsp coarsely ground tri-colored peppercorns or black pepper corns
¼ tsp salt

1. For mashed potatoes, coarsely chop onion. Melt vegetable oil spread in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sure; cook and stir 8 – 10 minutes or until onion is tender and deep golden brown. Remove from skillet; set aside.

2. Place potatoes and enough water to cover in a small saucepan. Cover; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cook 8 – 10 min or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes in small colander; return to saucepan. Using a masher, mash until no lumps remain. Add evaporated milk; stir until well-blended Add cooked onion, parsley, horseradish ands alt; mix well. Cover; keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, for beef filets, press garlic into small bowl. Spread garlic evenly over both sides of steaks. Sprinkle tri-colored pepper and salt evenly over both sides of steaks.

4. Heat same skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until hot. Place steaks in skillet. Cook 10 – 13 min for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Serve with mashed potatoes

Yield: 4 Servings
Calories: 360, Total Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Carbohydrate 28g, Protein 34g, Sodium, 580mg, Fiber 3g

Doesn't this look good

It was my dinner Friday night (before the ginger soy sauce).

OK, that is all... carry on.

The Compromised Stir Fry

Tonight was very laid back. 5:00 mass, grocery store, and dinner. Ever since Sarah mentioned stir fry, I've really been wanting it. If you know me, you know that I'm an extremely picky person. I hated stir fry up until our honeymoon in Jamaica. Since then though, I've been a convert. Before we left for Church, we did an inventory of our food. M really wanted to use a bag of frozen veggies that we've had for a while. I really wanted to use fresh veggies. Well, we all know marriage is about compromise so, we decided to use the frozen veggies and throw some fresh ones in there too.


S&M Compromise Stir Fry


-1 green bell pepper
-1 red bell pepper
-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
-1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup baby carrots
-1 bag frozen mixed veggies (ours had red potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans, and some unidentified yellowish looking veggie!?)
-1 can water chestnuts
-Soy Sauce
-Ginger flavored Soy Sauce
-1 tsp of oil
- 1lb of Beef Stew Meat

1) Saute onions in oil. Add beef and frozen veggies. Cook until veggies are no longer frozen.
2) Add fresh veggies and water chestnuts to mixture. Cook Through
3) Add a Soy Sauce to taste (we used a few "splashes")
4)Add Ginger Flavored Soy Sauce to taste (we used 9 or 10 "splashes')

Serve with rice or noodles. (I didn't feel like dealing with rice tonight so I just had the stir fry on its own). M decided he wanted some fresh corn on the cob with his. (Weird, I know)




A couple notes:
*This goes great with red wine. I had MonteVina Zinfandel. OHMYGOSH. Amazing.
*The type of Ginger Flavored Soy Sauce I used.... House of Tsang.
*Next time I'm adding baby corn. I'm so mad I forgot to buy it!