Thai beef with basil

From tacos to meatloaf to spaghetti sauce, ground beef is an old favorite of mine. I never considered how one could make an Asian-flavored dish with ground beef (it sounded kind of weird to me), so I was surprised when this one came out to be super delicious! It's also simple to make, especially when you don't bother to keep the "slaw" or rice separate and just mix everything together in the skillet.

Thai Beef with basil from Bon Appétit

   Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp  vegetable oil, divided

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 red chiles, thinly sliced, seeded for less heat if desired, divided

1 lb  ground beef

salt and pepper
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 c fresh basil leaves, divided

2 medium carrots, julienned or coarsely grated

2 scallions, thinly sliced

4 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided

2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)

1 tsp sugar

Steamed rice and lime wedges (for serving)

Directions

   Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and 1 chile and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking up with a spoon and pressing down firmly to help brown, until cooked through and nicely crisped in spots, 8–10 minutes. Add broth and 2 cups basil and cook, stirring, until basil is wilted, about 2 minutes.
[For these final steps I just tossed the ingredients into the skillet rather than mixing them up separately]

   Toss carrots, scallions, 1 tbsp lime juice, and remaining chile, 1 cup basil leaves, and 1 tbsp oil in a small bowl.

   Mix soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and remaining 3 tbsp lime juice in another small bowl until sugar dissolves.

   Top rice with beef and slaw and drizzle with soy dressing. Serve lime wedges alongside for squeezing over.

It's Always Caturday

Naps, naps, and more naps

Asian style beef short ribs with soba noodles

I'm a big fan of slow-cooked beef that is super tender and just falls apart. In the past we've done beef stroganoff and pot roast in the slow cooker, which have always turned out great, but it was really nice to try something pretty different. The Asian sauce for these ribs was delicious, and the salad let us use up some corn and spinach we needed to get rid of. I was skeptical when Whitney added the corn but it blended with the other flavors surprisingly well.

Crockpot Asian style beef short ribs with soba noodles inspiration from Real Simple
   Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 pounds baby-back ribs (2 to 3 racks), cut into 8 pieces
2 bundles soba noodles
2 c fresh corn
1 c spinach
4 scallions, sliced

Directions
   In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Add the ribs and turn to coat. Cover and cook until the ribs are tender, on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
   Twenty minutes before serving, heat broiler. Place the ribs, meaty-side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Strain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a medium bowl. Brush the meaty side of the ribs with half of the cooking liquid and broil, basting twice with the pan juices, until shiny and glazed, 3 to 4 minutes.

   Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Add the noodles to the bowl of remaining cooking liquid from the slow cooker and toss with the corn, spinach, and scallions. Serve the ribs with the soba noodle salad.

23rd month

I think I've mentioned before in one of these intros for our anniversary dinners that Patrick didn't think we'd continue them too consistently after the first year. I agreed with him to some extent but, as we near our 24th month anniversary dinner and celebrating two years, I think as we look back on this second year we'll see we enjoyed a fair amount of anniversary dinners. Here's the 23rd month!

23rd Month Menu

July 10, 2015

entree and sides: fancy filet of beef with marsala sauce, 

roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans with shallots from rachael ray

dessert: mocha pudding cakes    wine: santa barbara landing pinot noir

Rachael Ray's Fancy Filet of Beef with Marsala Sauce, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans 

   Serves 4 (we halved)

Ingredients

   For the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

1 large bulb garlic, end cut off to expose all the cloves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling plus 1 tablespoon

Salt and pepper

1 sprig rosemary

4 medium starchy potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes (we roasted Yukon gold potatoes whole)

3 tbsp butter

1/2 c chicken stock

1/4 c cream or half-and-half

A handful grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

   For the Green Beans with Shallots:

Salt and pepper

1 lb haricots verts (thin green beans)

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tbsp butter

6 to 8 large shallots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 cup chicken stock

   For the Filets with Marsala Mushrooms:

4 filet beef steaks, 1 1/2-inches thick or petite filets, 6-8 ounces each

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

4 tbsp butter

3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1 rounded tbsp flour

1/2 c Marsala wine

1/2 c beef stock

Directions

For the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

   Heat oven to 425F.

   Drizzle garlic with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Set the rosemary sprig over the exposed end then wrap tightly in foil. Roast 45 minutes or until lightly golden and very soft. When the garlic is ready, place potatoes in water, cover and bring to boil. Remove cover when boiling, season water with salt and cook potatoes to tender. Drain and return to hot pot. (We roasted the potatoes whole, wrapped in aluminum foil in the oven with the garlic.)

   Mash potatoes with roasted garlic cloves, butter, stock, cream and cheese; season with salt and pepper to taste.

   To keep warm, place mashed potatoes in a small pot and cover. Set the pot into a larger pan with half an inch of simmering water, adding more water as necessary until ready to serve.

For the Green Beans with Shallots:

   Bring a few inches of water to a boil; salt water and add beans. Cook 3-4 minutes then cold shock and drain; reserve.

   In a large, deep skillet, heat EVOO over medium heat. Melt butter into oil, add shallots and season with salt and pepper. Lightly caramelize the shallots, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. Add stock and stir to combine, turn off heat and add beans. Cook to heat through.

For the Filets with Marsala Mushrooms:

   Bring steaks to room temperature and heat a cast-iron griddle or grill pan to medium-high heat.

   Heat a skillet with a drizzle of EVOO over medium to medium-high heat. Add butter and let foam, add mushrooms and brown 10-12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add shallots, thyme and flour; stir 2 minutes. Add Marsala and reduce by half; add stock and simmer over low heat.

   Drizzle meat with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Cook 8 minutes, turning once, for medium rare; 12 minutes for medium to medium-well. Top with Marsala mushroom sauce and serve.

Mocha pudding cakes for two from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1/4 c all-purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp 2% milk

1-1/2 tsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

   For the topping

2 tbsp brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking cocoa

3 tbsp hot brewed coffee

1 tbsp hot water

Whipped topping, optional

Directions

   In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla until smooth. Spoon into two 4-oz. ramekins coated with cooking spray.

   Combine brown sugar and cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Combine coffee and water; pour over topping. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped topping if desired.

Ginger beef stir fry

Sharing another stir fry today! If a new recipe has some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and calls for some sauteing then chances are we'll probably try it! I can't quite remember where this one came from (either a blog or Pinterest) but it was really good and a bit quicker than our favorite stir fry.  Hope you enjoy!

Ginger beef, mushroom, and kale stir fry from gimme some oven
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
For the Marinade
1/3 cup soy sauce (if making gluten-free, be sure to use GF soy sauce)
1/2 cup vegetable broth (or chicken/beef broth, or water)
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

For the Stir fry
1 lb. thinly sliced flank steak or sirloin, cut diagonally across the grain into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8 ounces baby portobello or button mushrooms, halved
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, halved
3 cups chopped kale
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions
For the Marinade
   Add all marinade ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade into a large bowl or ziplock bag, then add in the steak and gently toss to combine. Cover/seal and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

For the Stir fry
   Once steak has marinated, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving the marinade, and add to saute pan with garlic. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove steak with a slotted spoon and set aside.
   Add mushrooms, kale, and reserved marinade to saute pan, and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the kale is wilted, the sauce has thickened, and the mushrooms have cooked, stirring regularly so that sauce does not burn. Add in the steak, and toss to combine.
   Serve immediately over rice or quinoa, garnished with chopped green onions.
   We served with brown rice and each had leftover servings for lunch the next day.

Roasted Delicata Squash with Onions

In the same vein of branching out with new CSA offerings - like with tomatillos over the summer - we tried delicata squash this fall. We tried it first in this new salad recipe and then ventured out to try it solo as a side. The delicata squash has similar flavors to other winter squash but, in my opinion, it's a bit easier to prep (ie scoop out seeds) so we'll definitely be requesting this throughout the next few months.

Roasted Delicata Squash + Onions from EatingWell
Ingredients
2 pounds delicata squash (about 2 large)
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Cut squash in half lengthwise, then crosswise; scoop out the seeds. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss with onion, 1 tablespoon oil and salt in a large bowl. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.
Roast, stirring once or twice, until tender and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.
Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, syrup and mustard in a small bowl. Toss the vegetables with the dressing.

Served this roasted delicata squash and onions with filet mignon and a nice side salad.

It's always Caturday here!

Nacho loves belly rubs

Theater Steak

Whenever I go home my mom usually has a small pile of various things in my bedroom. This pile consists of items that she feels need to be brought to my attention. The pile is never the same; sometimes there are small gifts from neighborhood folks (this happened a lot recently with the wedding), items she's uncovered while cleaning the house that are mine and she'd like to see if I want to have it with me here, and there's also some newspaper clippings of sorts to share articles that I'd be interested in. Most recently in this pile was a section of the paper -- specifically the "Life" section from the N&O -- and this recipe caught my eye! She shared it for some other article but I read the whole section and saved it so I could make that recipe. I'm sure I would've tried the recipe had it not had such an interesting write up.

The recipe is called Theater Steak. The premise of the dish is simple: "a one-dish steak dinner that ... ensured a theater-goer made his curtain call on time." I highly recommend reading the article. And then making the dish!! You can read the article here. The author alludes to the simplicity of the dish and how she challenges herself to follow the recipe as is without making substitutions or altering the cooking method and I followed her lead. The dish turns out amazing. When we returned home with my pile of things (newspaper included) my mom also sent back some of her tasty homemade sourdough bread. I used her bread for the "thick slice of good-quality bread" the recipe calls for -- thanks Mom!

You'll see we served the recipe on our china for a fancy meal. This wasn't one of our anniversary meals. This was a celebratory meal for Patrick's recent promotion at work! He is such a hard worker and a devoted employee (he's working from home this evening as I edit/draft this post) who truly loves what he does. I'm glad he was recognized in this way and that his company sees him as an asset!

Theater Steak with Mushrooms, Onions & Grilled Bread Adapted from The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook | published on www.thekitchn.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, such as canola or safflower
2 (8-ounce) beef filets, preferably 1 1/2-inches thick, at room temperature
1/4 cup chicken stock or white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 pound mixed mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 large onion, sliced into half moons
4 thick slices good-quality bread
1 cup spicy greens, such as arugula or watercress
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions
   Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
   Heat two tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high to high heat. Pat the filets very dry and season the side facing up generously with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, place the filets, seasoned side down, in the skillet. Season the top with additional salt and pepper.
   Cook the steaks without disturbing until a deep golden brown crust has formed, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the steaks and allow to cook for another minute or so. Place the steaks on the baking sheet (they should still be on the rare side, about 120°F on an instant read thermometer) and transfer to the oven.
   Return the skillet to high heat. Add the stock or wine and swirl to remove any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons butter. Add the mushrooms and onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the mushroom mixture, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
   Remove steaks from the oven and check their temperature: if they have reached 130°F remove them from the baking sheet and set aside to rest; if not, return them, along with the mushroom mixture, to the oven.
   Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add the bread and cook until toasted and golden brown on each side. Remove the steaks and mushroom mixture from the oven. Place about 1/4 cup greens over each piece of bread, followed by 1/4 of the mushroom mixture. Thinly slice the steaks lengthwise and arrange over the bread; pour any juices from the cutting board over the top.

St Patrick's Day 2014

Top o' the morning to ya, lad! Today we're going back to our Irish meal from last Monday -- St. Patrick's Day! If I could've shared this with you beforehand I would have but this menu was literally planned the day of. Unfortunately I did not continue with making the second annual Perfect St. Patrick's Day cake. I would have if there had been a party but it's somewhat senseless to make a whole cake for just Patrick and myself. I did daydream longingly about that cake all day so it's definitely still in the "could be St. Patrick's Day" tradition box. As for 2014 we entered a Guinness & Beef Stew and Irish Brown Bread into the "could be St. Patrick's Day" tradition box. Maybe in 2015 I'll put them all together!!

You may have noticed I said this menu was literally planned the day of ... meaning I was putting together my weekly meal plan together Monday morning (St. Patrick's Day). I had one slight hiccup at the grocery store later that afternoon, and you might can guess it. They were sold out of Guinness Stout beer!! I snapped up the last pack of Guinness Extra Stout beer and didn't have any trouble with the recipes (both the stew and bread call for a bottle). Read below for the recipes!

Guinness & Beef Stew from People.com
    Serves 8 > I halved everything (the portions below are still for the full recipe)!

Ingredients
3 tbsp. canola oil, divided
¼ cup flour
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp. salt, divided
5 cups chopped onion (about 3 onions)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1 bottle (11.2 oz.) Guinness Stout
1 tbsp. raisins
1 tsp. caraway seeds
½ tsp. black pepper
1½ cups diagonally sliced carrots (about ½-inch thick)
1½ cups diagonally sliced parsnips (about ½-inch thick)
1 cup cubed, peeled turnips (½-inch cubes)
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
   Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1½ tbsp. oil to pan, swirl to coat.
   Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with ½ tsp. salt; dredge beef in flour.
   Add half of beef to pan and cook 5 minutes, turning beef to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
   Add onion to pan and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
   Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan, then stir in remaining ½ tsp. salt, raisins, caraway seeds and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
   Uncover and bring back to a boil. Cook for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   Add carrot, parsnip and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

We felt that the stew did not need to be returned to boil for 50 minutes after the initial hour of simmering. We added the vegetables after an hour but continued to let the stew simmer for another hour and everything turned out fine.

Irish Brown Bread from Happy Money Saver blog
    Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned oats
2¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup dark brown sugar
2¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. fine sea salt
⅓ cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 11.2 oz. bottle Guinness beer
   (Halved everything here too; recipe still denotes full portion)
Instructions
   Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease loaf pans or bowl.
   Mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.
   In another bowl mix the butter, vanilla, buttermilk and beer.
   Next take the beer mixture and pour it into the dry ingredients. Gently stir until you get a well blended batter. This will not look like a typical bread dough, but more of a batter.
   Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with a handful of additional oats.
   Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Turn the oven off but keep the bread inside. Open the oven and let bread finish cooling on the rack inside for another 30 minutes. Remove and let bread finish cooling. Serve with stews, chili’s, and chowders. Or serve on it’s own with a slather of butter and honey.

We took a somewhat impromptu trip to visit our friends in DC for the holiday weekend. Thanks DC friends for having us! Here we are in our green!

What traditions do you have for St. Patrick's Day?!

Crockpot Italian Pot Roast

I promised more recipes from pinterest. Here's the next one: Crockpot Beef Stew with Herb Dumplings. We have a traditional slow cooker pot roast that we like (originally from Mom) but it's good to switch things up and try new things. I selected this recipe because it looked healthier (no cream of mushroom soup) and had a fun dumpling topping. I thoroughly enjoyed the dish; Patrick wasn't a fan of the dumplings. Next time I make this roast those will be omitted.

Beef Stew with Herb Dumplings (from bestcrockpotrecipes.net)

Serves 8; we cut everything in half
   Ingredients
2 lbs top round steak or lean stew beef, in 1 inch pieces
2 celery ribs, sliced
4 carrots in ½ inch slices
2 onions, sliced
¼ cup water
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup beef broth or dry red wine (we used beef broth)
8 sliced mushrooms
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
   For the Herb Dumplings
½ cup milk
1 ½ cups Bisquick
¼ teaspoon dried sage, crumbled
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
½ teaspoon dried thyme

Preparation
   Combine the beef, celery, carrots, onions, tomatoes, thyme, pepper, mustard, mushrooms, and wine or beef broth. If you are using wine, use all the salt. If you are using beef broth you might not need it depending on the saltiness of the broth so taste it to see.
   Cover and cook on a low heat for 8 to 10 hours or a high heat for 4 or 5 hours. The vegetables and beef will become tender.
   Combine the flour and water and stir this slowly into the beef stew. Combine the Bisquick, thyme, sage and rosemary and stir in the milk until the mixture is just moistened. Drop spoonfuls of the dough on to the hot beef stew, then cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the herb dumplings comes out clean.

When we do a crockpot recipe I typically try to have all the vegetables cut the night before so everything can be assembled quickly. We cooked this on low throughout the day. Patrick was able to do the last few steps of preparing the dumplings once he got home from work.

BBQ Cheeseburgers and Baked Onion Rings

How was your Memorial Day weekend? Did you have a cookout? Patrick and I visited all of our DC friends. Both of us have college friends that relocated to the area after graduation and it makes a wonderful weekend trip to visit them.

Special thanks to Jake and Drew, who were our hosts in the city.
On our way up Saturday we made a pitstop at Drew's lakehouse and had lots of funs with his family.
On Sunday we had a nice afternoon brunch with Patrick's Chicago childhood friend, Patrick, and dinner with Jake and Will.
On Sunday we spent the day with Christine, Holly, Kasper, and Zach. We had lots to celebrate! Congratulations to Christine & Kasper on their engagement! And to Holly and Zach for each securing new fancy jobs!
Then on our way home Tuesday we were able to have dinner with Granny, Poppa, and my parents at the lake!
Our holiday weekend was filled with lots of friends and family, good times, and of course food.

Anyway back to the cookout part. Patrick and I had this meal last month but I thought it was appropriate for the kick-off of summer since the side was onion rings! I loosely followed this Martha Stewart Baked Onion Rings recipe but Patrick thought a quick pan fry would be just as efficient as the baking.

Onion Rings from Martha Stewart
   Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cornflakes (we omitted this)
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
   Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper. We added in some fresh chives to both mixtures.

   Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in breadcrumb mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.**
**This was from the baked recipe procedure. We warmed a small amount of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet and cooked the onion rings until they had browned on each side.

Special thanks to Santa (aka Mom) for our mini spatula. This was perfect for turning onion rings.

The onion rings were obviously the star of this meal. But the burger was pretty good too!
We mixed lean ground beef with a chopped onion, squirt of bbq sauce, and some seasonings.

We pattied them out and then grilled them on our grill pan. Look at these nice grill lines.

Finally we topped the burgers we sauteed mushrooms.

Happy cookouts! What's one of your favorite sides?

Mom's Pot Roast

I've put this recipe on the blog before; it was included in a fall pot luck post. And I've found since then when I want to make this I have a hard time finding it on the blog because I forget it's with the pot luck! So this is to make it more convenient for me to find this recipe when I need something super easy to make. It's one of my mom's recipe. The first time I made it I emailed her for the recipe and this is what she told me:

"I don't really have a recipe. I get a chuck roast, potato, onion, carrots, can of cream of mushroom soup, and Lipton's powdered onion packet soup and dip mix.  I put about 1/3 of can of soup on the bottom of the crock pot, then add meat, and coarsely chopped veggies.  Mix the rest of the soup and 1/2 of one onion packet and pour over everything. Cook on medium for about 4-5 hrs. 

Use maybe 2-3 potatoes and 2 onions.  Most of the time I use a bag of small carrots and add about half way through.  You could use regular carrots and I would probably put those in at the same time as other veggies."

Everything is in the crockpot here. A small layer of cream of mushroom soup on the bottom (1/3 can) followed by the vegetables, the meat, and then the mixed soup and onion dip packet.

Since I put this on before I leave for work I cook the roast on low all day (6-8 hours).

Then once you come home from work take a fork and break up the roast into small pieces and then mix together with the veggies. Then I just serve it like this with a salad or some fruit.

Balsamic Beef Stew

I love balsamic vinegar and hearty stews, so I was pleased with Whitney's choice of this balsamic beef stew from our Simple Suppers cookbook. I thought the flavors were great. My only complaint is that the beef didn't quite get tender enough; perhaps the braise should have been over medium-low rather than low heat, or maybe it could use another hour.

3 tbsp flour

2 lb boneless beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1.5 inch pieces

Canola oil

1 large red onion

2 bay leaves

1 cup red wine

2 cups beef broth

1 lb red or yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1.5-inch chunks

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Combine flour with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Add beef and shake to coat. Brown beef on all sides in canola oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat, 6-8 minutes total. Transfer meat to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add onion to drippings and saute over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in bay leaves, wine, and broth. Return the meat and any juices to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and braise until meat is nearly fork-tender, 1.5-2 hours. Add potatoes and carrots, re-cover, and continue to braise until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Season the stew with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves. Stir in vinegar and serve.

Browning the beef

Ready to braise

We have the perfect bowls for this!

New Grill Pan! (steak, asparagus, and potatoes)

Whitney's Christmas gift for me this year was a Le Creuset cast-iron grill pan! Of course, we had to try it out as soon as possible, so she picked up some filet mignon to grill, with sides of asparagus and red potatoes. The asparagus was roasted and topped with balsamic glaze and parmesan shavings, and the potatoes were roasted with rosemary and garlic. Everything turned out perfectly!

For the steak:

I'm always terrified of cooking steak, as I hate wasting a great cut of meat by overcooking it, and there seems to be some voodoo magic involved in cooking it to your liking. We lucked out this time and ended up with some perfectly done medium-rare juicy filets. I let them sit out for about 40 minutes to warm up, patted them dry, and coated them with oil, salt, and pepper. I heated the grill pan very hot and seared each side 2-3 minutes (flipping with my new silicone tongs - thanks Charlene!), and then threw the pan in the 400 degree oven for about 2 minutes, then transferred them to a plate. (For reference, these filets were between 3/4" and 1").

Prepping the steaks

Mmmm...can you smell them?

For the Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus (by Whitney):

I'm not sure it's been well documented on the blog but Patrick is not a huge fan of mashed potatoes. With this being known I had to figure out a way to make yummy potatoes without mashing them. We roast so much other stuff that I thought we'd do this to the potatoes. I allowed 30 minutes for potato roasting and with 10 minutes left I added the asparagus to the same pan. Read on for more a more detailed recipe.

Roasted Potatoes serves 2

2 small red potatoes

3 cloves garlic

crushed rosemary

extra virgin olive oil

Wash the potatoes and cut the potatoes into a small dice. I chose to keep the peeling on the potato for a little extra nutritional value and crunch but you may peel them. Also I chose a small dice so that the potatoes would not need a long roasting time in the oven. In a small mixing bowl toss the potatoes with olive oil, crushed or minced garlic, and rosemary. I used rosemary I had frozen a few months ago and chopped to store. Feel free to skip the mixing bowl and toss the potatoes on the pan but I always make a mess and the potatoes get tossed everywhere. Place the potatoes on an aluminum-foil lined pan and top with a little more olive oil. Bake in a 400F for 30 minutes or until tender. Check the potatoes every 10 minutes or so and stir them around so they won't stick to the foil. 

Roasted Asparagus adapted from New Best Recipe

asparagus, washed and trimmed of hard stems

3/4c balsamic vinegar

evoo, salt and pepper

parmesan shavings

Place the asparagus spears in a 400F for 10 minutes (conveniently with the potatoes). Drizzle a little evoo on top and other seasonings. Meanwhile bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan, then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until it reduces to 1/4 c and is syrup-y. Serve the reduced balsamic glaze over the asparagus and top with shaved parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

The other day I was browsing around to find a slow cooker recipe I could make in the morning and come home to after work. I didn't quite want a beef stew, wasn't really in the mood for putting a whole chicken in there, and then didn't want to have a large prep step before going in the cooker. Finally I decided Martha Stewart's Beef Stroganoff was exactly what I wanted!

Ingredients
2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into thin slices (about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches long)

    I purchased the beef chuck already trimmed and sliced for pot roasting
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and halved (or quartered, if large)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Cooked thin egg noodles, for serving
Chopped fresh dill, for garnish (optional)

Directions
In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, toss beef, onion, and mushrooms with 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt and teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook on low until meat is tender, about 8 hours (or on high for 6 hours).
In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, whisk cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Ladle 1 cup cooking liquid into measuring cup; whisk to combine. Pour into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil; cook until thickened, about 1 minute. With slow cooker turned off, stir in cornstarch mixture, then sour cream and mustard. Serve beef over noodles; sprinkle with dill, if desired.

Add chopped mushrooms, onions, and beef. Toss everything around and add a few springs of thyme.

Some comments from the website mentioned there needed to be a little liquid in the first step. Even though the mushrooms do have a lot of moisture we decided to try this. I added about 1/3 cup of beef stock before putting the lid on and cooking. This meal turned out to be real teamwork. I prepped the first part of the recipe and then Patrick finished the sauce and boiled the egg noodles. 

{Spicy} Ranch Burgers

I've been wanting to make some Ranch burgers for awhile now. My first memory of these burgers, I believe, is from Granny. I was just so amazed at how that one little dry Ranch packet could be transformed into something so delicious. Back in the spring I was going to fix them for Patrick. Before I introduced the idea of a Ranch burger I simply asked him if he wanted hamburgers for supper. Well his eyes lit up and he was so excited to make Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions that I had to forego my Ranch burgers. So finally I've been able to make Ranch burgers and with some tasty ideas from Patrick they were better than I anticipated.

Mix together
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 ranch seasoning packet
dash of cayenne pepper
Form patties and cook. We grilled these on the George Foreman. Serve on a toasted cheese bun with tomatoes and avocados.
For all you spicy lovers, add a condiment for the burger by mixing some mayonnaise and a squirt of Sriracha together! This, of course, was a Patrick idea.

We made a small bowl of Granny's Tomatoes and Cucumbers as our side for the hamburger. This meal was also made in less than 30 minutes!

Steak Piperade

Mixed colored peppers sounded yummy on our CSA list so I found this recipe to utilize those. The recipe is from my Williams-Sonoma Simple Suppers cookbook (in the Food Made Fast series). These cookbooks are great; they've been featured in this post, this post, and this post!

1 1/2 lb skirt or flank steak
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
114.5-oz can diced tomatoes

Brown the steak. Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over high heat, warm 1 tbsp each of the butter and oil. Add the steak and cook, turning once, for 4-6 minutes total for medium-rare, or until done to your liking. Transfer the meat to a carving board and tent with aluminum foil.

Make the sauce. Warm the remaining 1 tbsp each butter and oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, garlic, and thyme and saute until the onion is barely softened, 3-4 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom, and boil for about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice and simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the meat. Slice the meat thinly across the grain on a diagonal. Arrange the sliced on dinner plates or on a serving platter, spoon the sauce over the slices, and serve.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joe time!! Patrick loves these and so do I. Until now sloppy joes had always come out of the can but we saw a quick cooking segment on the local news (straight from Time Warner Cable's News 14 Carolina) featuring homemade sloppy joes and then away I went to the kitchen. I didn't write the recipe down and changed a few things around so my notes are in red.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced pepper (of any color)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp ground cayenne (or more to taste)--replaced this with a squirt of Sriracha sauce
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin--did not use this
1/4 tsp dried thyme--replaced with fresh!
1/2 tsp ground chili powder--did not use this since the Sriracha is so hot!
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 15-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes--replaced with peeled, seeded, & chopped fresh tomatoes!
2-3 tsp Worcestershire
2 large or 4 small rolls, halved
Sliced tomatoes as needed
Sliced cheddar cheese as needed





Directions
--Add a splash of olive oil to a large skillet or heavy bottomed pan on the stove top and saute 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced celery, 1/2 cup diced pepper and 2 minced cloves of garlic to soften.
--At that point, add 1 pound ground beef. Break that up, stir it around and cook it until it is browned and cooked all the way through.
--Cook that on high heat so the meat has a chance to brown up.....and then, at that point, add a little sprinkling of cayenne pepper, a little ground cumin, a shake of dried thyme, a sprinkle of chili powder, 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes and stir to combine. I added the fresh tomatoes first and let them break down a little bit for a few minutes. Then added the barbeque sauce, ketchup, fresh thyme, and sriracha sauce.
--Turn the heat way down on that and add a little shake of Worcestershire and then let it simmer along like that for 10 minutes or so.
--Count on half of a large roll, or one whole small roll, per serving and, while the sloppy joe mix is cooking along on the stove top, top each half with sliced tomato and thinly sliced cheddar cheese and place the tray underneath the broiler to melt the cheese.

Top the tomato cheddar melt with the sloppy joe mix to serve.
 So yummy; the tomato and cheddar really adds a lot. This again was something I'd never tried with a sloppy joe.

Hamburgers and Tuna Sandwiches

One night we decided to just have burgers with some of my favorite toppings - mushrooms and caramelized onions. We also roasted some sweet potato wedges in spices and olive oil to make fries. Things went ok; the burger could have been cooked less, and the fries were a bit charred, but the biggest success for me was my first time making caramelized onions.

Requires patience, but worth it!

Mushrooms and onions and cheddar!

Whitney bought four buns, so on a subsequent night we used the leftover buns to make these tuna hoagies. They were delicious!

Hot Tuna Hoagies (BH&G Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners)
1 1/2 cups packaged shredded cabbage with carrot (coleslaw mix)
1-9 1/4 oz can tuna (water pack), drained and broken into chunks
2 tbsp mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tbsp buttermilk ranch, creamy cucumber, or creamy Parmesan salad dressing
2 hoagie buns, split and toasted
2 oz cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

1. In a medium mixing bowl toss together shredded cabbage with carrot and tuna. In a small mixing bowl stir together mayonnaise or salad dressing and ranch, cucumber, or Parmesan salad dressing. Toss salad dressing mixture with tuna mixture.
2. Spread tuna mixture evenly on the 4 bun halves. Place on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 minutes from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese. Broil 30 to 60 seconds more or until cheese is melted.

A wholesome meal.

Special Dinner Date Night: Filet Mignon & Asparagus-Goat Cheese Souffles

Patrick and I had a nice relaxing Saturday a couple weekends back. We ran some errands around town, went to a friend's birthday party, and watched some basketball! With our free time we couldn't help but plan a nice, quiet dinner together. Here's what we came up with!

Asparagus-Goat Cheese Souffle & Filet Mignon!

Pan-Seared Filet Mignons
From The New Best Recipe


Heat oven to 450 degrees with rimmed baking sheet on lower-middle rack. Pat filets dry, and rub each side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in hot skillet and cook without moving until well browned, about 3 minutes. Turn steaks and do the same on the other side. Transfer to heated baking sheet and roast 2-4 min for very rare, 4-6 min for rare, 6-8 min for medium-rare, 8-10 min for medium. Transfer to large plate and tent loosely with foil for about 5 minutes.

Asparagus-Goat Cheese Souffles
From our April 2011 Eating Well magazine

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons truffle oil (optional)
8 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup crumbled or diced aged goat cheese or Manchego cheese

1. Fill a large skillet with 1 inch of hot water and bring to a boil. Add asparagus, partially cover and cook the asparagus until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain; refresh under cold water. Blot the asparagus dry with a clean kitchen towel, then cut into 1/2-inch slices.

2. Position the rack on lowest level of oven; preheat to 375F. Coat six 10-oz ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. (I used 4 16-oz dishes.) Place ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet.
3. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking often, for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and slowly whisk in hot milk. Return the heat and slowly whisk in hot milk. Return the heat to medium-low and continue whisking until the mixture is thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and whisk in 4 egg yolks, one at a time, and truffle oil, if using. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the asparagus and cheese.

4. Place 8 egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer, slowly increasing the speed until they begin to foam. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and continue to beat until the whites hold their shape; do not overheat.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir one-third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites just until blended. Divide the souffle mixture among the prepared ramekins, filling them almost to the top.

6. Bake the souffles on the bottom rack until puffy and golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 145F, 20 to 25 minutes. Do not overcook--centers will look soft.

Don't let the post and the pretty pictures fool you about this dish; it is hard to make. And we're on amateurs. The souffle dish was a fun adventure for us and it didn't turn out quite perfect but it was still delicious.