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Beef & Vegetable Stir Fry….

Posted by on June 1, 2010

I add a bit of spice to this dish, but it’s optional.  Make it to your taste, add a bit more spice if you dare!  If I were making this for myself, I would add fresh thin slices of jalapeno peppers, seeds included!

Vegetable Beef Stir Fry

8 oz.  (1/2 lb.) fresh beef sirloin, cut into very thin strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1″ of ginger, (thumb size) peeled and minced

2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 small onion, cut into wedges
6 mushrooms, cut into slices or quartered
1 medium red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 small bunch of broccoli, washed and cut into bite size pieces
2-3 tablespoons canola oil for stir frying

Sauce:

1 cup water or chicken broth (cold or room temp)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons hot chili sauce (optional) can also be used as a condiment when serving for those who would like the heat
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1)  Place the strips of beef, cornstarch, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl, combine and refrigerate while you are prepping the rest of the ingredients.
2)  Prepare garlic and ginger, and place into their own small bowls, set aside.
3)  Prep carrots through broccoli.  I use a small bowl for each and place them on the counter in the order they will go into the pan.
4)  In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, add water or broth, soy sauce and cornstarch, whisk.  Add chili hot sauce, hoisin sauce,  honey, and sesame oil.  Whisk until blended.  Set aside.
5)  We’re ready to go!

Heat your wok or pan over high heat.  Add 2 teaspoons of oil to pan.  Add ginger, cook for about one minute.  Add beef and cook about 3 minutes, stirring often.  Add garlic, cook about one minute.  Place into a large bowl, wipe out pan with paper towel.  Put the pan back on the heat.

Add 1-2 teaspoons of oil and begin the veggies.  Add the carrots and onions, cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often, the sugars in the carrots and onions will burn if you’re not careful.
Add mushrooms and red pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes.
Add broccoli. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
6)  Place all veggies into the bowl with the meat, loosely cover.
7)  Give the sauce another whisk and add all at once to the pan, stir constantly, it will thicken quickly.  Add all stir fry ingredients back to the pan and heat through.  Serve over steamed brown or white rice.  Or serve with brown fried vegetable rice.  Enjoy!

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Tequila Lime Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri, my version….

Posted by on May 5, 2010
This is an incredibly delicious combination of heat, sweet and savory.  The steak is juicy and is very much complimented by the spicy chimichurri sauce.  The cool cucumber simple salad is slightly sweet and the roasted yuca is a very nice understated starchy vegetable.  Enjoy with a salted rimmed margarita on the rocks with fresh lime….mmmmm good!

Marinade:

2 large cloves fresh garlic
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tequila
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or bottled
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 ½ lb. flank steak

Place all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth.  Place flank steak in a large zip bag, pour marinade over steak.  Marinate in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  Discard marinade, preheat grill, cook over medium-high heat medium to medium rare.  For one inch thickness, cook 7-9 minutes per side.  Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.  Slice thinly across the grain or on a diagonal.  Serve with chimichurri.

Chimichurri

3  tablespoons fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
½ medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
½ medium sweet red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 large cloves fresh garlic
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 jalepeno pepper, (or seranno pepper for more heat), seeds included
½ teaspoon cumin

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator, allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.  Serve a generous portion over the grilled flank steak. Delish!

Cool cucumber salad

2-3 cucumbers, washed and thinly sliced
2-3 thin slices of red onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Slice cucumbers and  onion into a serving bowl.  Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl, stir often to dissolve salt and sugar.  Pour over cucumbers just before serving.

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John Flanagan’s Beef Marinade…..

Posted by on April 7, 2010

This is an excellent marinade submitted by John Flanagan.  He recommends using flank steak, which is what I did when I first made the marinade…there was nothing left to photograph!  I made it again, this time with sirloin in the form of kabobs…delish!  I doubled the recipe so that I’d have enough to marinate the mushrooms and onions before grilling.  I skewer like vegetables and meats.  Everything cooks at a different rate, so I don’t like to put say something like tomatoes with onions or beef, they end up falling off before the meat or onions are cooked.  Serve with simple brown rice and grilled asparagus.   Tip-if using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least an hour before skewering meats or vegetables.  This will prevent them from burning too quickly on the grill.  

John Flanagan’s Beef Marinade

¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup lemon juice, fresh or bottled

Put all ingredients into a blender and liquefy, reserve a couple of tablespoons before marinating to spoon over cooked meat.  Double the recipe to marinate vegetables.  (I do not recommend cooking this marinade after marinating over night, it breaks too much of the protiens down and will create a “curdled” sauce.)

For Flank steak:  John recommends marinating in the refrigerator overnight, the longer the better!  I suggest putting the steak into a large zip bag and add marinade.  Squish around several times to distribute marinade.  Grill to your preferred doneness.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil before slicing.  Thinly slice against the grain.  Spoon reserved marinade over meat, enjoy!

For meat kabobs:  You can buy lean stew meat that is already cut up, or sirloin and cut it into cubes yourself.  Skewer the meat onto bamboo skewers before marinating, that way you can avoid the mess.  If you use sirloin, no need to marinade longer than an hour or two.  If using stew meat, marinate over night.  For medium cooked meat, grill on medium high about 10 minutes.

For vegetables-Into a large plastic zip bag, add cleaned whole mushrooms and onions cut into wedges.  Pour about 1/2 cup marinade into bag and refrigerate until you’re ready to grill. Give the bag a toss a couple of times to evenly coat veggies.  I use metal skewers for these as they take a bit longer to cook and the bamboo skewers often burn up.  You can marinate these anywhere from an hour to several hours.  To grill asparagus, no need to marinate, simply coat with a small amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill on medium high heat about 6 minutes, rolling occasionally.

Cook the vegetables first, as they are excellent served at room temperature alongside the grilled meat.  

Thank you John, this one’s a keeper!

Angie

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Gyros, my version…..

Posted by on March 8, 2010

Don’t you love gyros?   This is my low fat version.   Sometimes lamb has a strong “game” taste, so I use a blend of lean ground beef, lamb, and turkey.  You can actually process your own lamb if you wish.  Simply buy some lean boneless leg meat, cut into 1″ chunks and process until it is evenly ground up.  Serve with couscous and a delicious Greek salad and you’ve got a quick and healthy dinner your family and friends will love!

1 lb. lean ground lamb
½ lb. lean ground beef
½ lb. lean ground turkey
6 large garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons dried oregano
½ cup fresh lemon juice, or bottled
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Whole wheat flat bread
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Tzaziki, recipe below

1) Preheat oven to 375’. Foil line a cookie sheet with sides.
2) Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Using meticulously clean hands or gloves, mix meat mixture with your hands thoroughly. Shape into two tubular shaped logs on a cookie sheet.
3) Bake for 40 minutes. Internal temperature should read 165’.
4) Remove from oven and tent with foil, let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. While meat is resting, heat a skillet over medium heat and warm flat breads, keep warm in a clean kitchen towel until you’re ready to serve.
5) When ready to serve, using a meat carving knife or a serrated knife, slice into ¼” slices. Serve with cool cucumber tzaiki, warm flat bread, and red onion.

Tzaziki

1 cup non fat yogurt
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh or bottled
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Mix ingredients well in a small mixing bowl. Refrigerate immediately after using in an air tight container.

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Magnificent Mini Meat Loaves….

Posted by on March 2, 2010

I especially like these mini meat loaves because of the time savings during baking.  When you bake a large meat loaf in a bread pan or free form on a cookie sheet, cooking time tends to be an hour plus.  Plus, these are perfectly portioned servings.  I love the energy and time savings.  In any case, mini anything tends to be extremely appealing to kids.  The added fiber is a plus as well.    Don’t worry that the horseradish will be too hot, it is very mild with the other ingredients. 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup quick oats
1 cup leftover brown or white rice
2 large eggs
1 cup water
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup horseradish, homemade or prepared (recipe below)
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce:
¾ cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons horseradish

1)  Line a cookie sheet (with sides) with Reynolds non stick foil. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375’.
2)  Add olive oil to a medium size sauté pan and heat over medium high heat. Add celery, carrot, and onion. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, cook one minute. Remove from pan and add to a small bowl to cool. If you have vegetable “fobes” in your house, process the vegetables in a food processor to eliminate “chunks.”
3)  In a large mixing bowl, add ground beef through black pepper and cooled vegetable mixture. With impeccably clean hands, mix well. Shape into 6, 8 oz mini loaves and place on prepared cookie sheet. Place in preheated oven and set your timer for 30 minutes.
4)  While meat loaves are baking, make sauce. Mix ingredients well in a small mixing bowl.
5)  After 30 minutes of baking, top with sauce. (You will have extra to serve with dinner.) Bake another 10 minutes.

*food sanitation tip* disposable gloves area available at any pharmacy. I use them when mixing meat loaf, no messy hands and no bare hand contact with raw meat.

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Hungarian Goulash

Posted by on January 18, 2010

I acquired this recipe from my neighbor Mary, who acquired the recipe from her sister Kate.  Thanks for sharing!  This is soooooo delicious and incredibly simple to put together.  I suggest you double or triple the recipe and put into the freezer for later use.  The meat is incredibly tender and if you have “onion-phobes” in your family, not to worry, they disintegrate into the delicious sauce.  You could also serve this over spaghetti squash as well for an alternative.   In addition, you have the beautiful smells wafting through your house….it’s the ultimate comfort food, enjoy!

¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ lbs. onions, coarsely chopped
1 ½ lbs. stew meat
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 6 oz. cans of water
1 12-16 oz. package large noodles

1)  Preheat oven to 325’.

2)  Heat 2-3 quart dutch oven over medium heat add oil and onions, cook for about 5 minutes.  Add stew meat and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.

3)  Add salt, paprika, and tomato paste, mix until well blended.   Add water and mix well.

4)  Cover pot and allow to cook in low oven for 2 ½ – 3 hours.  Stir once between, add additional water if necessary.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

5)  Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Serve goulash over hot noodles.

Enjoy!

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