Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
18 jumbo pasta shells
1 lb. ground turkey (could substitute ground beef)
4 oz. cream cheese
Approx. 2 cups salsa
Approx. 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
Sour cream, black olives, and chives for topping (optional)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Cook the pasta shells according to package directions. While shells are cooking, brown the ground turkey with the all the seasonings in a frying pan.

2. When the shells are done, drain and lay them out on a cutting board to cool and dry off a little (if you leave them in the pot too long, they begin to stick together and are very difficult to work with!).

3. When the meat is done, add the cream cheese and mix until it melts. Then remove from heat and allow it to cool down.

4. Pour some salsa into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture and arrangement in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining salsa. (I didn't actually measure out the salsa, I just used an amount that looked good)

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove from oven, add the cheese (again, I didn't measure, just estimated a good amount), and bake for another 10-15 minutes without the foil until cheese is nice and melted.

We topped ours with some sour cream, chives and black olives, and served with a box of Zatarain's black beans and rice. It was a great meal!

The inspiration for this dish was found here.

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef roast, fat removed, cut into a few pieces for better flavor penetration
1/2 red onion
2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped up a little, with the sauce
About 1/2 head of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cloves
About 1/4 of a bunch of fresh cilantro
1 can chicken stock
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

Throw everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  When it's done, drain most of the liquid into a bowl and set aside.  Using two forks, shred the beef (this was super easy because it just falls apart!).  Add back in a little bit of the liquid, so it's nice and juicy.

We served our meat in burritos, with some shredded cheese, sour cream, and a very basic homemade salsa (see recipe below), but I'm sure there are lots of ways you could eat it.

The verdict: it was amazing!!!  Mike said it was one of the best meals I've ever made.  He requested we have it regularly. :)  I have to agree, it was absolutely delicious!  If you're really sensitive to spicy foods, cut back on the chipotle peppers - maybe only use a couple.  But I thought the flavor was perfect, and not too spicy at all.

The fresh salsa is really key.  You can make it the night before or just before serving, but I highly recommend making some.  I just threw together 6 roma tomatoes (chopped), the other half of the red onion (diced), 1 jalapeno pepper (diced, with seeds), 4 cloves of garlic (minced), 3/4 bunch of cilantro (chopped), a couple Tablespoons of lime juice, and a little salt.  It's quick and easy but far better than anything you'll find in the store!

Shepherd's Pie

I wanted to make something Irish for dinner on St. Patrick's day, so I decided to try making shepherd's pie.  It was quite a tasty little Irish treat!  My 3/8th Irish husband gave it two thumbs up. :)

INGREDIENTS

4 large potatoes, cubed
2 lbs lean ground beef
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1.5 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
12 oz bag of frozen peas
12 oz bag of frozen carrots
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 packet of beef gravy mix
1/4 cup Worcestershire
2 Tbs ketchup or tomato paste
Milk as needed
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.  Basically, step one is to make mashed potatoes.  So if you have a tried a true method, just do that.  Otherwise, follow my method: bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain as much water as you can (if a little is left in the bottom, it's okay).  Put pot back on the still hot burner (but turn burner off).  Add butter and a little salt and pepper.  Once butter is melted, mash with a potato masher or a hand blender.  Keep adding milk, one splash at a time, until potatoes are nice a fluffy.  Then add 1 cup of the shredded cheese.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Meanwhile, cook ground beef, onion and celery in a large skillet until beef is well browned.

3.  Drain off excess grease, then transfer to a mixing bowl.  Add flour, gravy mix, Worcestershire, and ketchup or tomato paste and mix well.  

4.  Spread ground beef mixture in an even layer on the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Next, layer on frozen peas and carrots.  Finally, spread mashed potatoes over everything and top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

5.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is golden brown and filling is boiling rapidly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions

 

Since discovering this recipe a couple months ago, I've made these for dinner at least half a dozen times.  They are so simple, but SO GOOD!!!  To make prep faster, buy your ground beef in large quantities (it's usually cheaper this way too), make up your patties, wrap them in saran wrap and freeze them in a large plastic bag.  Then throw a couple frozen patties on your Foreman grill (or however you normally cook hamburgers) and dinner's ready in about 10 minutes!  We especially love eating them with sweet potato fries. 

INGREDIENTS

2 hamburgers with buns, prepared as desired

2 slices of mozzarella cheese

1 medium sized onion

1 Tbs oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup water

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat oil in small/medium sized skillet over medium heat. 

2.  Slice your onion into long strips (I try to do 8ths or smaller).  Add to frying pan, toss in oil and sprinkle with sugar.

3.  Saute in frying pan, stirring frequently, until onion is a nice dark brown.

4.  When onion is finished cooking, remove from heat and carefully add 1/4 cup water and vinegar.  Mix well.

5.  Top burgers with mozzarella cheese.  Depending on the thickness of your cheese, you might want to microwave it for 10-15 seconds so that cheese gets nice and melty.  Then add your onions and you're all set!

Inspiration recipe found here.

My First Meat Loaf!

 

Ok, so I feel a little silly posting this recipe since I got it from the back of the McCormick's meat loaf seasoning packet.  But, it was really really yummy!  I've never been a big meat loaf fan, but I loved this recipe!  And the hubs couldn't quit eating it.  So I guess that's saying something!  Plus I'm proud that I finally made a meat loaf.  I feel all 50's housewife domestic now. :)

INGREDIENTS

1 packet of McCormick meat loaf seasoning

2 lbs. ground beef

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 slices of bread, torn into pieces

Ketchup (drizzled on top as desired)

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat the oven to 375° F.

2)  Mix everything together in a bowl (except the ketchup) until well blended. 

3) Line a cookie sheet with foil, and shape the meat mixture into a loaf.  Drizzle ketchup on top if desired.

4) Cook for about 1 hour or until cooked through.

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

In honor of St. Patricks day, here is a delicious Irish stew recipe!  We had it for dinner last night, and it was a great way to celebrate the holiday.  The Guinness beer really adds a great flavor - it turned out even better than I expected!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs beef roast meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 12oz bottle of Guinness beer
4 cups of fat free beef broth
1-1.5 cups of peeled and chopped turnip
4 large peeled and chopped carrots
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbs parsley flakes (I used dried, but fresh is probably better if you have it)
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs butter, divided
3 Tbs canola oil, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by combining beef broth and beer in a large soup pot.  Begin to heat it over medium-low heat.

2. Next melt 1 Tbs butter and heat 1 Tbs canola oil in a large skillet.  Dredge half the meat in flour and cook in skillet until well browned.  Repeat with the rest of the meat.  Once all the meat is cooked, add it to the broth and beer.

3. Heat the last 1 Tbs canola oil in the skillet and cook the onions over medium heat until they begin to look transparent.  Then add them to the soup pot.

4. Add the vegetables, salt, pepper and parsley to the soup pot.

5. Bring soup to a boil, stirring frequently.  Then cover and simmer for about an hour. Enjoy!!

NOTE: I was lazy and did not make the bread bowl in the picture from scratch.  But if you are interested in how to make the lazy man's bread bowl, here's what you do:

• Buy a little loaf of bread at the store
• Cut off the top
• Scoop out most of the bread inside, leaving about an inch to 1.5 inches of bread on the edges
• Brush olive oil onto the inside of the bowl
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes
• That is all! :)

Steak Fajitas

Mmmmm, steak fajitas!  One of my ALL TIME favorite recipes!  These don't need much of an introduction, I'm sure everyone has had them before.  This recipe is simple, but soooo delicious.  I've tried many more complicated recipes, but I've settled on this one as being the best. 

INGREDIENTS:

A couple of steaks, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 bell peppers, any color, coarsely chopped
Packet of fajita seasoning (I use Meijer brand)
1/3 cup lime juice
About half a bottle of beer (I prefer Corrona, but any kind works)
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Flour tortillas, any size
Sour cream to taste
Shredded Mexican blend cheese to tast

DIRECTIONS:

1. Marinade the steak in the beer and lime juice.  Overnight is best, but an hour will do if you're crunched for time.

2. Drain most of the liquid and then put the steak into a slightly oiled frying pan.  Add the onion, bell peppers, packet of fajita seasoning and fresh cilantro.  Cook over medium-high heat until the meat is well browned.

3.  Serve in flour tortillas with as much cheese and sour cream as you desire.  Que delicia!

A Gourmet Valentine's Day

One Valentine's Day, about three years ago, Mike made this special dinner for me.  I have been requesting it for Valentine's Day ever since. :)  It's a bit of a splurge (price wise), but it tastes AMAZING, and you can have a very nice dinner for two at home for much less than a similar meal at a restaurant.

Surf and Turf - Lobster Tail and Porter House Steak with Wine Sauce


FOR THE SURF:

2 Lobster tails

4 tbs butter 

6 cloves of garlic, minced

This part is really easy.  Using a large knife, crack the lobster shell in half, length wise, so you can lay the meat flat.  Put it on your George Foreman grill (you know you all have one...) and cook until the tail turns nice and red.  That's it!
To make a nice little butter dipping sauce, just saute your minced garlic in butter in a small skillet.  The garlic flavor is pretty strong, so when it's done cooking, I'd suggest straining out the garlic so you're left with just garlic-flavored butter.  

FOR THE TURF:

I'm going to let Mike write this recipe, since I've never actually made it (hehe - I'm spoiled, I know). :)

My wine sauce is based on this one from myrecipes.com, with a little modification.  It is a thick, savory sauce created with heavily reduced red wine and nice beef stock or demi-glace.  Sauteed mushrooms and shallots also absorb those tasty juices during the reduction and taste wonderful on the steak.  Now, your ingredients!

• Steak, cut of your choice (porterhouse is very nice)
• 3 cups (about 1 750 mL bottle) dry red wine, divided
• ? tbsp Williams-Sonoma beef demi-glace
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
• 2/3 cup shallots, finely chopped
• 1 lb chopped mushrooms
• optional: corn starch, soy sauce, thyme

A few notes on the ingredients:

• Williams-Sonoma demi-glace is pricey – about $30 for a 10.5 oz jar.  The original recipe calls for consomme, which I can’t imagine anyone ever going to the trouble to make.  On the cheap, I have also made this sauce using Kroger or Swanson beef broth, and found that a full bottle of wine to about 16 oz. broth works well, but factor in at least an hour to let all that liquid simmer and reduce!
• Save money and use cheap wine.  A $5 bottle or wine from a box will taste wonderful in this sauce; save the nice stuff for drinking with dinner.  
• Most grocery stores have shallots if you look for them, even if you haven’t heard of them before.  This recipe is where I first discovered shallots!  They’re a bit milder than regular onions; I think if you had to use onion I’d use red onions.  But try shallots if you can!
• I used regular white mushrooms because shiitake are expensive.  But if you try them, let us know!

Directions:


Beforehand, have ready: one large pan for reducing the sauce, one medium pan for browning and searing the steaks, and either a Foreman-type grill and an oven pan and aluminum foil.

1. Saute the chopped shallot and mushroom on medium heat in the butter.  Also, preheat oven to 350 degrees and get out an oven pan and a large sheet of foil for each steak. 
2. Once the shallots turn a nice semi-translucent golden color, add bottle of wine and 4 tbsp. demi-glace.  (if your pan isn't big enough, just add more liquid in as the sauce reduces).  Bring everything back to a simmer and stir frequently, as a film will form on the edge of the pan and you want to keep that flavor in the sauce.
3. Remove the mushrooms and shallots with a slotted spoon, then raise heat to speed reduction.
4. Once reduced by half, dump wine mixture into bowl with mushrooms and shallots.
5. In now empty pan, add the steaks with a little olive oil or butter on medium heat for no more than 3 min / side.  Go to med/low heat and continue to cook for 1-2 min/side until done as desired.
6. Add remaining 1/3 bottle of wine and 1 tbsp demi-glace to pan, scrape loose browned bits from steak and bring to simmer.  Simmer 1 min.  Add soy, corn starch and first half of sauce from other bowl.  Add thyme if desired.
7. Reduce to desired thickness and enjoy.

This sauce will keep pretty well in the refrigerator for several days (we actually think it tastes even better on day two!), and we've even frozen it and reheated it with no problems.  While we used porterhouse steaks for our Valentines day, this sauce will make even poor cut of meat taste fantastic.

Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast

I've been a bad blogger and haven't posted in nearly a month!  I'll try to make this blog more interesting in 2010, starting with this classic favorite.

Beef pot roast is one of my go-to dinners during the cold winter months.  The best part: I make it in a slow cooker, so you get it started in the morning, then when you come home at the end of the day, it's ready to eat - no waiting around for dinner to cook!  You can even wash and cut up the veggies the night before to save you some time in the morning (however, I don't recommend doing this with the potatoes - they turn kind of gray in the fridge over night).  Let me tell you, there is nothing better than coming home to a house that smells like delicious pot roast, and all you have to do is serve and eat!  You don't even need to heat it up!!  Plus it's so filling, it will make at least 4 meals, so you get at least a couple nights off from cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

1 beef roast
1 large or 2 small onions, coarsely chopped
Potatoes, scrubbed or pealed and coarsely chopped
Carrots, scrubbed or pealed and coarsely chopped

1 packet of dry onion soup mix
Water

Ok, so you see I didn't list quantities.  That's because it really depends on the size of your crock pot and your personal preferences.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Generally speaking, I like to find a cut of meat that will cover the bottom of my crock pot.  I prefer to trim the fat off before cooking, but you don't have to.   

2. Then I throw in the whole onion, and as many potatoes and carrots as I can fit. 

3. Dissolve the dry onion soup mix in at least 1.5 cups of warm water, and add that to the pot too.  I personally prefer to add a lot of water because I think it cooks better that way.  But if you do this, it will turn out more like a stew, so if that's not your thing stick with just the 1.5 cups of water.  Just be careful to leave at least an inch between your water level and the top of the crock pot (a little more if you're cooking it on high), otherwise it will spill over and make a mess. 

4. Turn your crock pot on.  If you set your crock pot to high, it should be ready in 4-5 hours.  If you put it on low, it will take 6-8 hours.  There's no real harm in over cooking it, so if you're in between times, I say go high just to be safe.  Then just put the lid on and walk away!  No need to stir or do anything until dinner time. :)

Best Lasagna Ever!

I kid you not, this is by far the best lasagna I have EVER tasted!  Everyone I have made it for agrees.  I'm not gonna lie, it's a lot of work and it takes a long time.  But WOW, is it worth it!  Besides, lasagna is so filling, you can make it on Sunday and it will feed you for the better part of that week.

When you make this recipe, depending on the size and depth of your lasagna pan, you will probably end up with left over meat sauce.  No worries - it freezes just fine!  Then just thaw it in the microwave some night when you're in a hurry for dinner and use it to make spaghetti!  I occasionally double the sauce recipe on purpose so that I have extra sauce for later, it is soooo incredibly yummy.  :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage (I usually buy a package of Jeanie-O Italian turkey sausages and then slice them open and remove that skin -- I have no idea if it's 1 lb or not, but it works perfectly) [alternatively, you could buy regular pork sausage but it tastes the same and cuts down on the fat]
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped pretty small
  
• 10 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 6oz cans of tomato paste
• 2 6.5oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tabelspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 package of lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces of ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by dumping all the cans of tomatoes into a large pot.  Add water.  Just a tip: instead of measuring out the water, I just estimate and use the water to rinse out the tomato cans.  It's close enough, and less of the tomato goodness gets wasted!
2. Add half of the parsley (or 2 Tbs), the basil, fennel, pepper and Italian seasoning to the pot.  Stir it all up.  Put the lid on and begin to simmer over low heat.
   
3. In a large frying pan, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage with the onion and garlic over medium-high heat until well browned.  If you're like me and you own a wimpy frying pan that can't hold everything at once, just cook the beef and sausage separately.  When it's done (i.e., well browned), throw the meat into the pot too.
4. Now, how long you simmer the meat sauce is entirely up to you.  A lot of people say that the longer you simmer it, the better it tastes.  The recommended time is 1.5 hours, but many people say they let it simmer away for many hours.  I personally do not have the kind of patience, and I think it still tastes great even if it only simmers for 30 minutes or so.  But it's up to you.  However long you decide to cook it for, just make sure you keep it covered and stir it ever once in awhile.  
5. While you're waiting for your sauce, you can get your ricotta cheese mixture ready.  Mix together the ricotta cheese with one egg, the remaining 2 Tbs of Parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 
   
6. When you have decided your sauce is done, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, get out your 9x13 inch baking dish, and begin assembling your lasagna!  Here is the order of the layers:
1.  Meat sauce.  I don't measure it out or anything, just make sure the bottom of the pan is well covered.
2. Arrange noodles over the meat sauce.  NOTE: You do NOT have to boil the noodles first!  I know a lot of recipes tell you to, but trust me, it will be fine.  If you're really worried about it, you can soak them in some hot tap water while your sauce is cooking, but I never do and it always turns out great.
3. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles
4. Top with half of your mozzarella cheese
5. Spoon some more meat sauce over the mozzarella
6. Noddles again
7. The rest of the ricotta cheese mixture
8. Top with remaining mozzarella
9. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top 
7. Cover the lasagna with foil.  To prevent your foil from sticking to the melted cheese and making a mess, spray it with some cooking spray.  
8. Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil, and bake for another 25 minutes.  Let it cool for about 15 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!