Tag Archives: beef

Beef and Veggies with Blue Cheese Bake

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I’m sure by now you’ve noticed I’m a huge fan of throwing things in a pan and popping that in the oven to make an easy and (almost) quick dinner. Last night it probably took me about ten minutes to prep my ingredients (ie. cutting and mixing), another ten minutes to pan fry, and finally thirty minutes to bake the whole thing. I only had to use one skillet and one baking dish – Jay appreciated that haha.

Anyway, on to the recipe. This dish is a mixture of beef and vegetables and it turned out to be high on the comfort food list even though it did not have pasta or rice in it but the cheese and cream gave it that warm and comforting feeling. It’s perfect for dark, winter nights when you get home from work and you want dinner to be ready “now”.

Beef and Veggies with Blue Cheese Bake

Serves 2 (with second helpings)

approx 1 tbsp butter

1/2 bell pepper, chopped – I used yellow and red peppers

1/2 zucchini, quartered length-wise and then sliced

1/2 onion chopped

2 small potatoes, cubed

320g stir fry beef, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups broccoli

3/4 cup half and half cream

1/4 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a large skillet heat the first amount of butter on medium heat and then add the bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and potatoes. Cook for about ten minutes and then remove from the skillet and – here’s where I avoided dirtying more dishes – put the vegetables in the baking dish you’ll be using later (I used a loaf pan). Next, to the same skillet, add the beef and fry it until it’s brown. Add the broccoli and return the vegetables back into the skillet and mix well. Add the half and half, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and continue to stir until it starts to boil. Put everything into the baking dish and set aside. In a small bowl (okay I did use more dishes) mix together the flour and baking powder. Add the cold butter and blend it with a fork or knife until it looks crumbly. Add the blue cheese and rolled oats and then sprinkle over the beef and veggies. Place in the oven and bake uncovered for about thirty minutes and enjoy!

 

Time to Clean Out the Fridge Beef and Bean Stew

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You know when you look in the fridge and all you see are miscellaneous things like half an onion or a quarter of a zucchini and you don’t know what you should do with them? That’s what happened last night so I decided to throw together a beef and bean stew with leftovers from the fridge. Dishes like stews and stir frys are awesome for this reason!

Here’s what I used (I hope I can remember now):

approx a pound of beef (best to use stewing beef)

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped because I like biting into whole bits of garlic but if you’re not a fan of that you can finely dice the garlic.

1 onion, diced

1 28oz can of diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 cup of water – depending on how thick you want the stew add more or don’t add any at all

approx 1 tsp of oregano

approx 1 tsp of cumin

1 can of kidney beans

1/2 cup of red wine, if you have it

half a  jalapeno pepper, which I had completely forgotten about being in the fridge so that worked out great

salt and pepper to taste

And the rest of the ingredients were leftovers like:

3/4 of a zucchini, sliced into small pieces

1 carrot, sliced

2 mushrooms, roughly chopped – of course if you have more than 2 mushrooms by all means use more – for some reason we only had 2 haha.

I think any vegetable could work with this mix.

In a large pot brown the beef in some olive oil at medium-high heat. Lower to medium heat. Throw in the garlic and onion and sautee until soft. Add the can of tomatoes, bay leaves, and cook for 10 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, jalapeno pepper, and 1 cup of water, if needed, and let it cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, covered. This would be a good time to dice all your veggies, if you haven’t done so already. Turn heat to low.  Add the  veggies and other leftovers you want to use, and red wine, if it’s handy. Let that simmer, stirring every so often, for about 30 minutes or longer if your stomach can wait. I think we made it to 30 minutes before we dove in – the spicy aroma was too tempting.

 

 

Two fantastic soups

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These days, when I think of Weight Watchers I don’t think about the points – I’m not really counting points or following the diet, I just like to think I’m eating a little healthier. Instead I think about how yummy my dinner is going to be. Of course, there are some Weight Watchers meals that leave a lot to be desired but for the most part they are tasty and quick and easy to make. This past week, from the Turn Around Program Cookbook I’ve made two incredible, filling, delicious soups. When I was flipping through the book I first saw the Beef and Potatoes soup and I bookmarked the page right away because how could I say no to beef? And the fact that the meat is cooked in a mild spicy tomato mixture makes it even better. The next soup that caught my eye was Shrimp Bisque. I have heard of fish soup before but I’d never imagined eating pureed shrimp. I was dubious about this one but the end result was delicious and smile-inducing.

I’ve made a few modifications to the soups:

Shrimp Bisque

serves 4, 3 points per 1 cup serving

3/4 lb medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined (reserve the shells)

1 bouillon cube dissolved in 3 cups of water (chicken or vegetable would work, I used mushroom flavour) or 3 cups of broth

2 1/2 cups water

2 tsp unsalted butter

2 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup long grain rice

1 tbsp tomato paste

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

Place the shrimp shells in a large pot and cover with the broth and water. Cook and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend. Strain the broth and discard the shells. Set aside the broth. Melt the butter over medium heat and then add the shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth, the rice, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in the shrimp, salt, and cayenne pepper and cook until shrimp are ready, about 3 minutes. Scoop out 8 shrimp or so from the pot and place on a cutting board, chop and set aside. Let the soup cool about 5 minutes and then puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Return to heat and simmer until heated through. Serve with chopped shrimp on top and a dollop of home made salsa for an added kick.
Check out this other recipe too:
Shrimp Bisque on Foodista

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Shredded Beef and Potato Soup with Chimichurri

serves 6, 5 points per 1 cup serving

1 pound boneless bottom round steak, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

Salt

3 cups beef broth or 1 beef flavoured bouillon cube dissolved in 3 cups water

14oz diced canned tomatoes

3 or 4 pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped.

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of half a lime

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cups diced potato

Heat a bit of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add the beef and salt. Cook and turn the beef until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, and jalapeño peppers. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for one hour. Scoop out the beef to a cutting board and let it cool. Set aside the broth and tomato liquid. Shred the beef with two forks or do what I did and use your fingers. To make the chimichurri, combine the cilantro, lime juice, garlic, a dash of salt, and the crushed red pepper and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the onions, stirring until softened. Add the potatoes and the broth-tomato liquid and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add the beef and simmer for another 2 minutes. Serve with chimichurri on top.

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Beef Teriyaki Stir-Fry

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I picked up a package of stir-fry beef at the store only because it had a sticker on it that said it was two dollars off. Jay looked dubious and all I could think was, “Score!”

Last night, I was supposed to have served the stir-fry with our wilting bok choy but I completely forgot and I’m very sad about that because steamed bok choy with a hint of salt and garlic is absolutely fabulous. But no matter, the beef stir-fry was yummy and super sweet. Maybe even a tad too sweet near the end but delicious nonetheless. I served it over top of soft, sticky white rice. It only came out sticky because I got impatient and I didn’t let all the water get absorbed before I stirred the rice in the pot.

For the teriyaki sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup white wine or dry sherry or sake

Approx 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Approx 1 tsp garlic powder

Beef cut into strips

Approx 2 or 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (I used No Name brand “Oriental Mix”)

I was too lazy to mince fresh garlic and ginger, hence why I used powder. Mix all those ingredients together in a bowl and add the beef. Let it soak for at least an hour. I used about 400g of beef but I think the marinade should be enough for 800g. Yes, my little beef strips were swimming in the sauce. Once the beef is ready, heat some canola or sunflower oil in a pot/pan/wok. I also added a small splash of sesame oil because I love the smell and the faint flavour it gives to food. Dump the beef and marinade into the pot/pan/wok and cook on high until beef is almost cooked through, then add the frozen vegetables. Continue to cook until everything is heated. I wanted a thick sauce to pour over everything so I removed the beef and vegetables from the pot and I boiled the sauce to reduce it. It wasn’t looking very thick so I sprinkled some cornstarch straight from the box. Big mistake. What I should have done was to mix the cornstarch in a bit of water first and then pour that into the sauce and maybe then I wouldn’t have ended up with a bunch of little white balls floating in the sauce. I whisked and whisked hoping the cornstarch would disintegrate but it didn’t. When the sauce eventually thickened I poured it through a strainer to remove the balls of cornstarch. I put the beef and vegetables back in the pot with the sauce to coat before serving.

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Pita Burgers

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I was craving a nice healthy custom made burger last night. In my opinion, these are the best kinds of burgers because you can add whatever the hell you feel like adding to a mound of ground beef (or pork or chicken). Unfortunately, when it came time to dress my burger I realized I didn’t have bread, let alone burger buns. I felt instantly crushed and I was already mentally preparing myself to eat a bun-less patty when I saw a bag of pita bread on the counter. Could I make this work? Yeah!

Recipe for 4 burger patties

1 tbsp oil or butter

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/2 small zucchini, shredded

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 or 3 chopped pickled jalapeño peppers

1 egg

¼  cup rolled oats

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp ground pepper

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Large pita bread cut into 4 sections

In a pan or skillet sauté the onion in oil over medium heat. Remove the onions, set aside, and put the mushrooms in the pan to cook until they release their water. Put the onions back in the pan along with the zucchini until it’s just tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium size bowl, mix the ground beef, garlic, jalapeño peppers, egg, rolled oats, paprika, ground pepper, Worcestershire sauce and the sautéed onions, mushrooms and zucchini. Shape into four patties and fry over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Place in a quarter piece of pita bread and dress however you like.

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