Salisbury Steak Meatballs

Not my photo.


These are delicious. I found the recipe on The Pioneer Woman web site. I made just a few minor changes to suit our taste buds. Easy and great.


2lbs. Ground beef
3/4 C seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup brown mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp. powdered beef base or crumbled beef bouillon cube
1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix together and form into meatballs.

1 stick of butter
1 lg and 1 small onion sliced thin
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup beef broth with 2 Tbl. corn starch mixed into it and set aside
1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. brown mustard
1 tsp. beef base
2 tsp. kitchen bouquet

serve with buttered egg noodles.

In large skillet add half of the butter and brown the meat balls. You wont be cooking them all the way through. Remove to a place. Add 1 Tbl. butter and the sliced onions. Fry till onions are soft. Add the beef broth, beef base, worcestershire sauce, mustard, kitchen bouquet. Stir and heat. Add the beef broth mixed with the corn starch and mix. Add in what is left of the stick of butter and stir till melted.  Add back in the meat balls and simmer for 10 minutes or so. While they are cooking cook your egg noodles. Serve

Beef Guinness Stew

This is a really good stew anytime but perfect for one of those Irish holidays. It is adapted from a few recipes that I researched. Heres what I did: You can half this if you want.


Guinness Beef Stew:
 5 lbs. bonelss beef chuck. Trimmed and cut into chunks. (chuck roast in my opinion makes the best stew meat.)
8 strips of bacon, cut or sliced into small pieces
4 large onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper (the salt and pepper is really to taste)
8 cloves of garlic minced
2 (14oz. Guinness beer. I actually used a little less. I probably used about 20oz.)
1/2 cup tomato paste
8-10 sprigs thyme
6 carrots, cleaned and cut into one inch slices
4 ribs of celery cut into one inch slices
5 Cups of chicken stock (enough to just cover ingredients in cooking pot
1-2 tsp. sugar (to offset the bitterness of the guinness)

In large stew pot add bacon and fry till crisp. remove to a bowl with slotted spoon. Leave bacon grease in pan. Liberally salt and pepper your beef chunks. On med-high brown the beef chunks and remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon (you can add the browned beef to the same bowl with the bacon.) Add chopped onions and saute till they start to get some color. You should have a nice brown glaze stuck to the bottom of the pot. This is where a lot of flavor is and will impart good flavor to the stew. Add the minced garlic to the onions and stir for a minute. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Pour beer into the pot to de-glaze the pot. Stir and scrape all the brown off the bottom. Add the beef and onions and any juice that has collected in the bowl. Add tomato paste,thyme, sliced carrots and celery. Stir. Add enough chicken stock to just cover ingredients. Add 1 tsp sugar and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a mild simmer. Cover and cook one hour. Skim fat and foam off top and give it a good stir. Cover and cook another hour and skim fat and foam again. Cover and continue to cook till beef is very tender. Once meat is tender remove lid and stir and remove thyme stems. Turn heat up and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook till liquid cooks down some and thickens. Stir regularly. Test and adjust for seasoning.
Serve on mashed potatoes, colcannon, or buttered noodles.

Cowboy Spaghetti

This is a take on Rachel Rays cowboy spaghetti. It is pretty wonderful. You can serve it like traditional spaghetti or layer it with cheese and make it a baked spaghetti (which is how I like to do it.)

Cowboy Spaghetti: Serves a ton of Sasquatches. You can easily half it.

2 lbs. spaghetti noodles
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 lb. apple wood smoked bacon (is there any other kind?)
2 med. onions chopped
2 lbs. good ground beef (you know I grind my own. )
1 head (yes a head) of garlic chopped (we love us some garlic)
salt and pepper
4-6 tsp. hot sauce (this is just a personal taste thing. I like lots. You can always add more to your plate of spaghetti to amp it up.)
2 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1 (12oz.) beer
2 (14 oz.) cans crushed or chopped fire roasted tomatoes (I think the fire roasted is important. It imparts a great flavor)
1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

(Use a cast iron skillet if you have one. I just believe there is nothing better than the flavor a cast iron skillet gives food, particularly meat.)
Heat skillet up and add the 2 Tbl. olive oil. Cut the 1 lb. of bacon up into bite size pieces and fry in hot pan with olive oil. When brown remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Drain off some of the bacon fat so that you have a nice standing coating of grease left in the pan. Place hamburger meat in pan and spread out and let it sear before stirring. Add onions and continue to stir around the meat and onions till the meat and onions are almost cooked. Add the garlic and stir this around for 2 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper to taste and add the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and pour in the beer and stir this good. Let this cook for 1 minute and then add the cans of tomatoes. Stir to combine. If it seems too soupy let it cook down a bit. It should resemble this pic when its about right. Add back in the bacon and stir. You can turn off heat at this point and get the spaghetti noodles cooked. If you aren't baking it then you will want the noodles to be close to done when the sauce is. If you are baking it then you can just turn off the burner and get your noodles cooked. Drain spaghetti and pour meat sauce and toss. If your baking it then layer half a  9x13 pan with the spaghetti/meat sauce and top with 8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese and then another layer of spaghetti/meat sauce to fill the pan and top with another 8 ounces of sharp cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees till hot and bubbly and cheese is melted on top. Because everything is usually hot when I put it together it never has to bake more than about 15 minutes. If you are not baking it then just serve it up with cheese on top of the individual servings. You can garnish with green onions if you are so inclined. ENJOY!

Enchilada Casserole

Now I'm not a big casserole person. Not because I don't like them. Casseroles just aren't something I'm super drawn to. I think in my younger years I made a lot of casseroles and as I learned to cook, I just moved on past them. Well they have been back on my mind of late. Now that I'm back in school full time (I have been for the past year.) I think something easy for the Sasquatches is a good thing. So I have a renewed interest in casseroles. I saw this on  Pinterest. Don't ask me how cause I'm not a member. The joys of surfing the endless lanes of the internet I guess. Anyway, after some work I did find the recipe. Now I'm sorry I can't remember the blog. It was "Cook you butt off" or "Get off your butt and cook" I'm sorry I don't remember exactly. But I did give this a try. I thought it was good (better the second day.) My Sasquatches (all of them) loved it. Big hit. Going into the rotation as it was pretty easy to make.

So here it is and any changes I made or will make.

Enchilada Casserole
 (I doubled the recipe and it made two 9x13 size pans. Well actually mine were oval but around that size.)

 This will make one pan full.
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 med/large onion, chopped
2 Cups Salsa (you decide on the heat. We used medium.)
1/4 Cup reduced fat Italian dressing (trust me, would I lie to you)
3-4 Tbl. taco seasoning mix. (I started out using two but thought it needed more.)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 (15oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1small can corn nuggets, drained (I think I just bought a regular size can and used it all. It is all good.)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup minced cilantro
8-8inch round (or so) flour tortillas, you want two layers of tortillas. I put whole ones on and then tore up some to fill in where needed. I also am going to try corn next time.

2-4 Cups mexi cheese blend ( the original recipe called for 2 Cups, but we love us some cheese.)

Serve with: tortilla chips, shredded lettuce and tomatoes.  I also put out a jar of mild jalapenos to add if wanted. They added a great kick.
preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fry beef and onions in pan. Drain off any fat (my meat was pretty lean even though it was 85/15) I had just a small amount of juice. So I didn't drain the beef and onions. I just left it.)
Stir in salsa, Italian dressing, taco seasoning, cumin, drained beans and corn. Stir and simmer to let some of the juice evaporate. About 10 minutes or so. I didn't want to lose all the sauciness just cook it down some. Then add the sour cream and cilantro. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
In your baking pan spoon a thin layer of meat mixture on the bottom and then a little cheese. Lay a layer of tortillas and then meat and cheese and repeat. You will have two layers of tortillas and end with a meat then cheese layer.
You can cover it or not depending on if you want your cheese to brown. Bake till bubbly and heated through ( 15-25 minutes.)

NOTE: next time I am going to try and add a can of chopped green chilli's and see how that is. The opportunities are endless with this.

Pasta with Meatballs

My Sasquatches love it when I make Italian meatballs. I don't do it often enough. It is a little work intensive but worth it. We will have pasta one day and then they make the left over meatballs into meatball subs with mozzarella on top. They are happy. I also freeze bags with 4 meatballs and sauce in each. That way they can just take out one freezer bag and they have all they need for a sub.
This recipe is inspired by a recipe by Wolfgang Puck. I have changed it over time to our liking.

Here's what I do: I double this recipe for us.

Meat balls:
1 1/2 pounds lean eye of round roast
1/2 pound pork loin (I buy center cut boneless pork chops as they are just sliced pork loin. Now not tenderloin, just loin roast.)
1 head garlic roasted (I peel all the garlic cloves and lay on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Wrap up in the foil tight and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes till they are very soft. When done place in bowl with any olive oil from the packet and mush with a fork.)
 2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese ( I grind my fresh parmesan up in the food processor and then mix with a good quality container of Kraft parm from the store. It stretches the good parm out and you still get the great flavor and more for the money.)
1 tbl. minced parsley
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Clean and remove any fat from the meat. Cut into chunks and grind up in a food processor till meat is completely ground up. 

 Place all the meat (beef and pork) in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with your hands till completely mixed together. Using a 2inch stainless steel scoop scoop out some meat and roll into a ball in your hands and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You will then place them in the pasta sauce that should be cooking on the stove while these are baking.

Red Sauce:

1/4 Cup olive oil
1 med. chopped onion
1 head of garlic (whole head not just one clove) minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can of msg. free beef broth
2 (28oz.) cans of good quality canned tomatoes. I like to use Hunts fire roasted or Cento Sam Marzano Italian tomatoes. Chopped if you can find them.
1/2 Cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
Put olive oil in large pot and heat over med-high heat. Saute onion in oil till onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the can of tomato paste and stir constantly till the paste turns a darker shade of red. Pour the beef broth in and the wine. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and using an emmersion blender blend the sauce till most the tomato chunks are gone (this is optional. My Sasquatches don't like chunks of tomato so I blend them up.)
Time it so that after the sauce has cooked for 30 minutes the meatballs are coming out of the oven. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer lightly for another hour or so. Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

Steak bites seared in brown butter

This is a simple dish. This is a divine dish. Easy and beyond good. About a month ago I purchased a whole Filet of beef to cut into filet Mignon for my family. I had a good hunk of meat left at the end and just cut it into bite size pieces and put it in the freezer. Last week I purchased three filet mignons from the store to add the the frozen ones I had cut up earlier. So it made plenty for my large family of Sasquatches.

Here's what I did:

good quality steak(filet is what I would recommend) cut into large chunks (about two bites worth.)
salt and pepper
butter
 cast iron skillet

dry the steak bites and salt and pepper. Place cast iron skillet over med-high heat and let it get good and hot. Add 4 Tbl. of butter and stir it around till melted and butter has turned brown. This is a delicate time. You want the butter browned but not burnt. Then add half the steak bites and spread out in pan. Don't touch them for 30-45 seconds to let them sear. Then stir and cook another 45 seconds or so. After this I just stirred the steak bites around till they were good and brown but still nice and rare on the inside. Pour the cooked steak bites along with the butter in the pan into a serving dish. Place pan back on the burner and add another 4 Tbl. butter and repeat the directions above.
This is wonderful.
Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe

Sloppy Joes. What can I say about a Sloppy Joe? It was one of my favorite days of the week at school when we had Sloppy Joes. I also can't say "Sloppy Joe" without thinking of the SNL skit with the cafeteria lady and the sloppy joe song. If you haven't seen it you should look it up on youtube. Hopefully its there somewhere. I have added a video with Sandler on Letterman singing the song. You wont get to see Farley but you get to hear the song. Enjoy

Chris Farley (RIP) was the cafeteria lady and Adam Sandler sang the unforgettable sloppy joe song.
Anyway, it is a quick and easy meal at my house too. My Sasquatches love it with some chips and home made pink lemonade.  If they are really lucky I will whip up a batch chocolate chip cookies.
So here is my "sloppy joe" recipe that was born of many recipes read and put together to create a pretty good sloppy joe.

Here is what I do: You can half it if you like. I am cooking for Sasquatches after all. One thing about it it makes great leftovers.

5 lbs. ground beef (you know I grind my own.)
1 large onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 Cups ketchup
2 Cups water
4 Tbl. brown sugar
5 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dry mustard
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

add butter to fry pan and fry hamburger meat till done and crumbly (I grind my own meat so I need the butter. You may not need it.) Drain off most of the grease (if any, or liquid). Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Stir and fry the hamburger mix together for 3 minutes or so to cook the garlic, onions, and peppers. Then add the water, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, and worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix completely. Simmer for 20 minutes or so stirring often till most of the liquid is gone and it has thickened. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Butter and brown your rolls to serve your sloppy joes on. This makes them so much better. Something about the crispy buttered bun. I dunno its just good.
Enjoy!

You Will Never Make Another "POT ROAST" Again! POT ROAST, POT ROAST!

I'm telling you that this is the best Pot Roast EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I served it over creamy mashed potatoes. I bought a new food mill and ran the potatoes through the food mill and they were so creamy and amazing. Don't know how often I will use the food mill but I have wanted it forever and it made amazing mashed potatoes.

The picture above is the food mill I purchased. They had one that was better but it was $110, so I settled for the second best one. It took a while to get the potatoes through and I will have to play with it some to understand exactly how to use it. It did do everything that they say where the potatoes were concerned. They were absolutely creamy and smooth and delish. I will list the mashed potato recipe another time.

Ok the most amazing pot roast in the world. Here's what I did:

4-5lbs of boneless chuck roast (I purchased mine as Costco and it was actually two roasts.)
2 onions, skins removed and cut into fourths (don't separate the onion layers.)
6-8 med. size carrots cleaned and cut into 2 -3 inch chunks (I cleaned them but did not peel them.)
8 ounces of mushrooms cleaned and cut in half or fourths (optional. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I don't.)
2-4 Tbl. olive oil
1 Cup red wine (I used a good Chianti that we drink often.)
Beef broth (enough to fill the pan 3/4 of the way up the side of the pot roast. I used 1 1/2 boxes of beef broth to do this. But that will change depending on what size pan you use etc..... I used a large roasting pan for this recipe. The picture is a smaller roast.)
3 Sprigs of fresh thyme
3 Sprigs  of fresh rosemary (the first time I used this I almost didn't put this much rosemary in. It ended up being perfect. So dont be afraid to use this much of the fresh herbs.)
Salt and Pepper

 Clean and cut up the veggies, salt and pepper the chuck roast well on both sides. Measure out your wine, and open your boxes of beef broth. Get your herbs ready.
In the pan you intend to put in the oven to  cook your roast in ( if you have to brown in one pan and cook the roast in the oven in another thats ok. I have a huge stainless steal roaster that I just put over the fire on my stove. I also have a few cast iron pots that I use. Use what you have and do what you need to. It will work.) Add in the olive oil to the hot pan. Place the onions in and sear them till they have a good brown color on all sides. Remove the onions form the pan and set aside. Add in the carrots and sear these as well. Get a brown sear on them the best you can. All the brown is flavor. It makes a difference in the final flavor. Remove the carrots and set them on the plate with the onions. Now place the roast in the pan and sear it a nice brown, then turn and sear the other side. Remove and set on top of the veggies on the plate. Now pour the one cup of red wine in the pan to deglaze (you could use beef broth if using wine isn't your thing but it wont be as good) scraping up all the little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. These bits are where the flavor lives. now add in the beef broth and the herbs. Place the roast in the pan and then the onions and carrots. Place the onions and carrots around the side if you can so that they are sitting in the broth.
Cover and place in the oven set (this depends on how long you have. If you have 4-5 hours cook at 300 degrees. If you have less time maybe closer to 3-4 hours set the oven to 350 degrees.)
Bake in the oven till the roast is falling apart tender.
Once its done remove roast and strain the veggies and place on the plate with the roast. I then strain the gravy into a big bowl to serve with the roast and mashed potatoes. Straining it will help remove the sticks left behind from the thyme and rosemary and also the leaves. I then poured some of the juice over the roast. You could at this point thicken the roast gravy or serve it as is. I served it as is and  did not thicken it. It was DIVINE!!!!!

Don't forget to serve with a side of good mashed potatoes. I don't cook potatoes in the gravy as I don't think it adds anything to the flavor and I don't care for the taste/texture of potatoes cooked in roast gravy. I prefer good mashed potatoes.

Patty Melt!!!!!!

I was on one of the food blogs I like to read and they made a patty melt. Oh my goodness. I must do this. Take the idea and make it my own. So here is my own. Enjoy!

Makes 8 Patty melts

1 stick of butter
2 large onions sliced thin
3 pounds good quality ground beef (although I usually grind my own I bought mine this time. It was Nolan Ryans 97% lean. Was pretty good quality.)
Salt
Pepper
Montreal Steak seasoning
8 dashes Worcestershire sauce
16 slices baby swiss cheese (you can use American too)
16 slices Rye bread (or a good sour dough works well)
Mezzetta tamed slice jalapenos (not traditional but oh so yummy)
bottle of thousand island dressing

Slice your onions very thin and put a couple tbl. butter in a pan and cook them on med-low heat till they are golden brown. Remove to a bowl.

In a bowl place the hamburger meat and add plenty of salt, pepper, the dashes of Worcestershire, and a good shake of the Montreal steak seasoning. Mix completely and divide into 8 burgers and shape in the shape of the bread you are using. Make them large enough to fit the bread size.
Place a few Tbl. of butter in a cast iron skiller (if you have one if not use the pan you fried the onions in. I just think cast iron gives the meat a great flavor.) Fry the burgers till they are done flipping half way through.
Butter the bread you are using for frying. Place a piece of bread butter side down in another hot skillet. Place a slice of cheese on the bread, then the patty, then onions and a few slices of the jalapeno peppers if using, then another piece of cheese and add some thousand island dressing to the last piece of bread on the side that will touch the cheese then place bread(butter side up) on top of patty and cheese. Grill till the bread is golden and toasty and turn. Grill
 the last side till golden. Remove and slice patty melt in half. Serve with extra thousand island dressing if desired.
Pretty tasty.

Lasagna Bolognese

I am almost speechless about this lasagna. It is hands down the best lasagna I have ever ever.....EVER had. It is also very different than what I'm use to.. YUM.
This recipe came from The Homesick Texan (I think. It's been a while since I found it.)
All I can tell you is that it was hands down the best lasagna I have ever had and my husband said the same thing. He just kept repeating all through our meal how wonderful it was. This is now my go to lasagna. I had intended to really be energetic and make home made lasagna sheets but I got to busy and decided to just cheat and use the store bought noodles.
So here it is. Enjoy!
Now the bolognese sauce is a long cooking sauce. I ended up only cooking mine about 1 1/2 hours. I started to late to let it go the 3 to 4 hours they say it should. It was still perfectly wonderful.
Start with the bolonese sauce first.

You will also need
 a large box of lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (now here is my cheat on Parmesan cheese. I buy a good huge block of parm at Costco. I then buy the Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago shredded cheese. I grind up the good Parm I purchased at Costco and blend it with the store bought parm. It makes the expensive stuff go further and still gives the great flavor of the better cheese. I know its horrible. I should have my kitchen apron taken from me. But when you feed a house of Sasquatches you got to cut those corners where you can. If you can afford the good stuff exclusively then go for it and I love you.)

2 Cups or so of good Mozzarella cheese shredded



 Bolognese
In a food processor add
 one onion cut into fourths
2 carrots (if they are small thin carrots add 4) cut into chunks
2-3 ribs of celery cut into chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
chop the veggues fine in the food processor.
4 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper (you will use a lot of this for seasoning)
2-3 pounds good quality ground beef (chuck, sirloin. I grind my own as I have ground beef issues. I used a 2.8 pound eye of round roast that I ground up in my food processor.)
2 6oz. cans good quality tomato paste
2 Cups red wine ( we used a good quality Chianti. You should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.)
water (I will tell you how much in the instructions.)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sprigs of thyme

Place a 5 or 6 quart pot on the stove. Let is become hot and add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot add all the veggies you ground up in the food processor. You are going to want to get a good carmelization on these veggies as this brings out a lot of flavor. So you are going to cook them till they kinda brown and  there is a little brown stuff on the bottom of the pan. This my friends is where the flavor is. Now you will add a good amount of salt to the veggies as they are cooking. I'm sorry I didn't measure the salt. I just eyeballed it. Not helpful I know but if you under salt the dish it will not have the flavor you want. So season generously with salt and pepper.
After you have a nice browned veggie mess add in the ground meat and again season generously with salt and pepper. You want to sear this off as best you can (again the flavor is in the browned bits.) Stir and cook till the meat is cooked through and then add both cans of tomato paste. Stir this around and brown. This will take about 5 minutes. It will become a rust color. Just let it cook for a sec and then stir and let it cook for a second and then turn etc....Once it has browned for a few minutes add the red wine and stir to blend everything. Cook a couple minutes scraping up any brown bits that are on the bottom of your pan. Cook for a few minutes till it really starts to thicken and then this is where the water comes in. You are going to add enough water to raise the level two to three inches (normally what would happen is you would add the initial water and cook it down and then add two more cups of water and cook it down and so on for 3 to 4 hours. But since I didn't have time for that whole game this is what I did.) You should have a good size pot of sauce. Turn it down to a simmer add in the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme. Cook stirring frequently for about an hour to hour and a half.
Now when the sauce is done remove the bay leaves the the thyme stems. Check for seasoning. You should not have to add anymore water. If you do you are cooking it at too high a heat. Just add a tiny amount of water if you have to if it cooks down too much during the hour of cooking.
Now onto the noodles and bechamel sauce.
Now that the meat sauce is done put a pot of water on to boil your noodles. Cook the noodles in good salty water. While the water is heating up and coming to a boil make the bachamel sauce. Here is how you do it.

Bechamel Sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic minced
fresh ground nutmeg (use dried if you don't have fresh. You will use a couple good pinches of nutmeg)
fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk together. Cook for a minute to cook off the flour taste and then pour in a little of the milk. Stir as it thickens and then add a little more milk and stir as it thickens. Repeat the process till all the milk is used up. Season with salt/pepper/nutmeg/garlic. Stir till it thickens up and is like a gravy consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning. Again we want it flavorful so be generous with your salt/pepper. You want the nutmeg to be a back note. Kinda like when you exhale after tasting the sauce you get the nutmeg but not over powered by it when the sauce hits your tongue. Sorry kids this is the best I have for helpful directions. Now set it aside and stir often so it doesn't get a film on top while the noodles are cooking. Hopefully by now they are in the pot of hot water cooking according to package directions. Drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and then drain them again and lets start the assembly.

In a lasagna pan (I have a pan that is a little long than the standard cake pan that I make my lasagna in but a cake pan size will work 9x13. I also use glass pans. Use what you got.)

Place a couple ladles of meat sauce in bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Lay a layer of noodles on top making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Ladle another couple 2 or 3 ladles of meat sauce over the the noodles and spread out evenly. Then ladle a couple ladles of the bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and spread the best you can. Sprinkle with some of the parm and mozzarella and then another layer of noodles. Do this till you have your pan full ending with noodles and then topping with one last layer of meat sauce and then parm cheese. I had 4 layers (your shooting for 4 to 5 layers if you can) of noodles counting the bottom and the top layer. You may have extra sauce left over of both the sauces. Thats ok. The meat sauce can be used over spaghetti. I just got rid of the left over bechamel sauce. There wasn't much of either left.
Bake  at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. I ended up covering the lasagna up with foil for the last 20 minutes or so as it had got a browned as I wanted it to be.
Take out of the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes (longer if you can.) Then cut and enjoy. This was supremely wonderful.

Grandma Doris's Goulash

Here is another wonderful and easy recipe from Grandma Doris. Of course its yummy and pretty simple.

Goulash

2 lbs. ground beef

1 1/2 Cups chopped onion

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 - 2 tsp. paprika (In her original recipe she called for 1/2 tsp. paprika. I like more. So add as much as you like.)

a good sprinkling of garlic powder

1 lb. elbo macaroni, cooked 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (add more or less to your taste at the end.)

2 Tbl. butter

salt and pepper

Brown beef and drain. In same pan add butter and chopped onion and fry till onion is tender. Add meat back in. Add stewed tomatoes, beef broth, paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Heat up and add cooked macaroni and then cheese and stir. Taste for seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve with lots of crusty bread. If its too wet add more macaroni. If its too dry add in more broth and adjust seasoning.

Steakhouse Pizza

Thank you Pioneer Woman

Once again the Pioneer Woman never lets me down. This is unbelievable. 

Steakhouse Pizza

1 pizza crust

flank steak (slightly frozen and sliced super thin against the grain) or left whole and grilled and then sliced.

salt and pepper

1 whole red onion, sliced thin

3 Tbl. butter

4 Tbl. Balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Cups marinara

12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

parm. cheese

1/2 Cup good steak sauce (see recipe on Tried and True) or Smith and Wollesnky Steak Sauce

Pre-heat oven 475. Place rack on lowest position in oven.

Saute red onions in butter and 2 Tbl. balsamic, a little salt and pepper over med-low heat till dark and carmalized, about 10-15 minutes or so. Remove and set aside.

Combine marinara with 2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar and worcestershire sauce. set aside. 

 Salt and pepper steak. You can either grill the steak whole on a grill  (rest and then slice thin) or slice it thin and saute it lightly till rare and still tender. Set aside.

Now everything from here on out is to your personal taste. More or less sauce. More or less onions etc...

Roll out dough until thin. Top with marinara sauce and spread to coat. Lay onions on and then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes till crust is golder and cheese bubbly. While baking slice beef if needed.

Remove pizza and drape with steak. and parm. cheese. Return to oven to warm meat and melt parm slightly. No more than a couple of minutes. Remove and drizzle pizza with steak sauce.

Three way chili, Frito chili pie!!!! Either way its a great pot of Chili

I love chili. I love Cincinnati Chili or 3 way chili or Frito chili pie. Its all good. This is my fairly new and staple chili recipe. I use it for frito chili pie. I use it over spaghetti (if you have never done this you must. You will thank me.0 We have Pioneer Woman to thank for the inspiration. I have ate my chili on spaghetti noodles for years and years. Try it you wont be sorry. Add some cheddar cheese and onions if you like on top. Very good. I promise.
Before we go on lets tackle the "to bean or not to bean" issue. I don't care if it means I'm not a true Texan, or Southerner, or human being. I like beans. I like beans in my chili. So I put them in my chili. Feel free to leave them out if it insults your chili sensibilities. I'm ok with that. I want everyone to just get along and eat this good chili.
Chili

• 2 pounds Ground Chuck
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced (optional)
• 1 can (12 To 14 Ounce) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (10 Ounce) Ro-tel tomatoes (as spicy as suits your buds)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 can (14-ounce) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can (14-ounce) Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1/4 cup Masa (corn Flour) This is a very important flavor component. 
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
• package cooked spaghetti noodles
• Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Diced Red Onion (Optional)

How do I cook the chili Kathy?

Brown ground chuck with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or so.
Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
Mix masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for a final 5 minutes or so. 
To serve place a mound of pasta on plate and top with chili and cheese and anything else your using. YUM YUM!

Best ever Bacon/jalapeno/cheese/bbq sliders

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. These are delish, delish, delish. Did I tell you these are delish? For my large family these are great. Because you bake them in the oven you can cook a bunch at once. Made it really easy to feed my huge family of men. They are delish. Did I tell you that? I also found cute little slider buns at the grocery store. If you can't find those little gems then just buy the little dinner rolls. They work great too.

Sliders: Makes 8

2 lbs ground beef (use good quality)

1 tsp. seasoned salt 

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. lemon pepper

1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce

8 strips bacon, cut in half

1/4 cup good BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

16 pickled jalapenos ( those jarred jalapenos you use for nachos. We use Mezzetta Tamed Deli sliced Jalapeno peppers. These are delish. They are not as hot as the other brands but still have a nice bite to the heat level.)

8 thinish slices of cheddar cheese from a block of cheddar. 

8 slider buns or rolls

Combine beef with seasoned salt, lemon pepper, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 8 small  patties (I made them just slightly bigger than the buns. As they will shrink down some when cooked). Place two jalapenos on each pattie. Wrap bacon around criss cross with the ends wrapped and tucked under the bottom of the patties. Place patties on baking sheet with the cut ends of the bacon side down. You could use a drip pan style pan if you have it. I didn't and it worked just fine. Just use super lean meat. Gently push down on the patties to squeeze meat out of bacon a little. Refridgerate 20 minutes to firm up. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, half way through brush with BBQ sauce and continue to bake till bacon is cooked to your liking. Remove from oven and add cheese to each and put back in oven for a minute to melt the cheese and serve on rolls with extra BBQ sauce or mustard. Whatever your condiment choice is.

You of course can make these without the jalapenos but I can't tell you the wonderful flavor the jalapenos give these. My men loved, loved, loved them. I was able to feed everyone at once as well. That rarely happens when making burgers etc....... 

Enjoy!

Corn Dogs

Last night was the only time my grown kids could get together to hang out for Halloween. The older they get the harder it is to find time to be together. So we decided to have "Fair" food and carve pumpkins for Halloween last night. Of course we did watch some spooky movies but our beloved Rangers were playing game 6 of the World Series and we had to watch that. So I made corn dogs, home made lemonade (recipe here on Tried and True), and  funnel cakes (recipe here on Tried and True.) We couldn't have been happier.
The corn dogs were a recipe that my hero Pioneer Woman posted last week. They were pretty wonderful and everyone agreed rivaled the ones you buy at the fair. Here they are kids. Give them a try. You wont be sorry.

(Getting the batter for the corn dogs right is the real secret. I would say that the batter should be the consistency of cake batter. Too thin and enough batter will not stay on the hot dog. To thick and goopy and your corn dog will be thick and tough. What I did for this and for the funnel cakes is went to Youtube and watched videos. You can see the batter consistency if you watch a few videos of them cooking them. I wasn't looking for a recipe just how thick the batter was. It helped a lot. )

 This batter made almost twice what I needed. But I would rather have too much than not enough.

Corn dogs

• 6 cups Krusteaz Pancake Mix
• 2 cups Yellow Corn Meal
• 2 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
• 6 cups Water, More If Needed To Thin Batter
• Hot Dogs
• Chopsticks, skewers (we found these great thick sticks for corn on the cob that worked great.)
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• Mustand or Ketchup. Whatever your dipping pleasure is.

In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cornmeal, mix. Add eggs and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 4 cups, then work your way up to 6 cups or more. I ended up having to add extra pancake batter to the mix as I got to much water. It was an easy fix.
Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready: the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.
Insert sticks into hot dogs so that they're 2/3 of the way through. I put the batter into a tall glass that I dip the hot dog all the way into the batter. It worked great.
Dip the hot dogs into the batter and allow excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Taco Seasoning

I'm trying very hard to quit having to use anything in a packet. Unfortunately when you have the convenience of packets you also have the problem with the ingredients in the packet mix that might not be the best for you. So little by little I am finding home made alternatives to the occasional packet I would buy. Here is the latest. I adapted this from one I found on line. The great thing about taco seasoning is that you can adjust it very easily to suit you tastes. I have mentioned before that I grind my own beef rather than buy hamburger meat. What I do is mix the seasoning in with the ground meat/beef and add some onions and fry it with a little oil in the bottom of the pan (it can be dry because it is super lean being that I grind up lean roasts.) So if you want you might add a little water or beef broth to your meat once it is done and let it simmer till it is absorbed.
I use about 3TBL. per pound of ground meat.

Taco Seasoning
5 Tbl. chili powder
8 tsp. cumin
8 tsp. paprika
5 tsp. oregano
5 tsp. salt
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. onion powder
4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix and store in air tight container. Use 3Tbl. per pound of ground meat (or more or less based on your tastes.)

Bow-tie-Lasagna

Pic. from Pioneer Woman's blog site. I keep forgetting to take pictures myself. UGH

I made this last night for my family. Pioneer Woman has it listed as a 16 minute meal. I usually don't pay any attention to claims of how quick something is but in this case its true. This was so fast and easy. It did take me longer than 16 minutes but only because I grind my own meat. You see I hate, hate, HATE store bought ground beef of any kind. All it takes is one piece of gristle or bone and its over for me. I finally started buying super lean roasts and just grinding my own in my food processor. Works great and I don't have to worry about what I'm biting into. Anyone who knows me knows I rarely ever eat a hamburger bought out. I rarely make them at home unless I grind my own beef up. I just can't hardly stomach it. So now that I have vented my disgust with store bough ground beef I feel better now. I think I can move on to the point of this post. Woo, maybe I can even do without my meds today. Got that one off my chest. 

Ok, Bow-tie-Lasagna.......This was a HUGE hit with my family. Everyone loved it. I loved it as well. It was tasty and easy. I made Bow-tie-Lasagna, wedge salad with ranch dressing (I'm really into the ease of wedge salad right now. And anyone reading my posts knows I'm having an obsession with Ranch dressing as well), and this great cracked pepper/Parmesan bread we get at our local store. I also made chocolate cupcakes with Italian butter cream frosting. Didn't like either (cupcake or frosting)  recipe so those wont be going up this morning. 

Anyway, give this a try. It is very good. Oh, and don't let the sour cream scare you. It was great.

I doubled the recipe below for my large family. They had plenty to eat but very little leftovers.

Bow-tie-Lasagna
 1 pound ground beef
5 Cups Bow tie pasta (this is about 12 ounces, I think my box was actually 16oz. I used it all)
3 Cups spaghetti sauce (now I usually never buy anything store bought. I make my own sauces. But Pioneer Woman used 1 whole jar of  Bertolli Marinara with Burgandy wine sauce. So I thought if its good enough for her its good enough for me. It was a little sweet for my tastes right out of the jar. But! Once its was mixed with everything else its was SMACK YOUR MOMMA GOOD! Mom, I need to come see you today. I didn't get to do that part yet.)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. salt (I was a little afraid of this but it worked out great. Don't be afraid of the salt.)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry Italian seasonings
1/2 Cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (I used twice the cheese it called for)
1/2 Cup sour cream (I probably used a little less than 1/2 cup, but I did use it and was glad I did. I have read that some use cottage cheese or ricotta. I had the sour cream. It called for sour cream. And it was yummy.)

Place your ground beef in a pan and fry it till done (drain if necessary.) Start your pasta water with salt while your frying your beef. When the beef is done drain , add the spaghetti sauce, salt, garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Let this simmer on low while your pasta cooks.
When your pasta is done drain (I have one of those huge colander looking things with a handle and I just scoop mine out of the water instead of pouring the whole thing into a colander in the sink. I know you really needed to know that.) and turn it into a large bowl and and add 1 Tbl. olive oil. Mix it together. Than pour the pan of sauce over the pasta and add the sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Stir to blend and melt the cheese. Serve.

You'll love it! I promise. My kids gave it a 9 out of 10 stars if that tells you anything.

French Onion and Beef Strudel

First I forgot the picture till I had nothing but left overs. I'm a dork. But this will give you the general idea. I have a love for those little paperback cookbooks at the checkout stand at the grocery store. My favorites are the bake off cook books. They always have the most awesome recipes. This is one of my favorites that I have made over and over again for over ten years. 

This is adapted from the 1994 Pillbury Bake Off Cookbook.   Serves 4

French Onion Beef Strudel

3 oz. (3/4 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter

3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced vidalia onion or other white onion

6 oz. flank steak (tenderloin is always good) Place in freezer till firm but not frozen and slice super thin against the grain.

1 tsp. flour

1 tsp. brown sugar (I use more like 1 1/2 tsp. I like it a little sweeter.)

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup beef broth

1 (8oz.) can Pillbury crescent dinner rolls

2 Tbl. grated parmesan cheese.

Toppings

sour cream, or lowfat plain yogurt

Au Jus (if your so inclined.)

In small bowl combine mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan, set aside. Melt butter in large heavy skillet over med-high heat. Add onions, cook and stir till caramelized (15-20 minutes. Watch them close and stir often so they caramelize and don't burn.) With a slotted spoon remove the onions to a bowl. Add beef to very hot skillet and cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Let the beef sear before you start stirring it. You want the beef to just get done so it is still tender and not over cooked. Searing gives it a wonderful taste. Return onions to skillet after meat is browned and cooked. Add flour, brown sugar, cumin, salt, pepper and beef broth. Stir and cook till liquid is absorbed. 

Heat oven to 375. grease cookie sheet. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Slightly over lap long side of two trianges to make a larger triangle and pinch to seal. Repeat with remaining triangles to make 4 large triangles. Place triangles in a row on cookie sheet overlapping tips of triangle on base of other triangle. Evenly spoon meat mixture down center of dough trying to keep it about 1 1/2 inches wide or so. Begin and end 1 inch from ends. Sprinkle with mozzarella/parm mixture over beef. Bring side points over filling crossing over other point to give a braided appearance. Seal ends. Sprinkle top with 2 Tbl. parmesan. Bake 15-20 minutes till deep golden brown. Serve hot with dollop of sour cream and or au jus. I serve this with a nice crisp salad with a good vinaigrette. It is easy and looks impressive.

Rosemary and Garlic Beef Tenderloin

This is for when you want to feel rich and not have the money to eat the rest of the week. The truth is this cut is very expensive. We don't eat out. It would cost my family more to eat out than what it cost me to cook this meal. So although this was a high cost meal for us, it was a splurge that I can justify once in a while. You would be surprised what you can afford if you skip that meal out once in a while.  Wonderful and yummy. Cooks perfect every time. We had twice baked potatoes, simple corn, and ice berg wedge salad with Ranch Dressing, and Mississippi Mud Sheet Cake.
Now this recipe is for a two pound tenderloin. I cooked an almost 6 pound for my family. Any size works as long as you cook based on meat temperature.



Beef Tenderloin
2 pounds beef tenderloin

3 Tbl. oil
4 Tbl. melted butter
2 Tbl. fine chopped rosemary
3 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper
apple wood smoked bacon (enough to wrap the tenderloin)

Heat oven 425
Clean and dry tenderloin. If you have a real thin end and a real thick end (usually there always is in a tenderloin), turn the thin end under to make it as close in thickness to the thicker end of the loin. You can wrap with twine if you want. I didn't. I just wrapped with bacon and it stayed in place with cooking. Mince garlic and rosemary and mix together. Mix melted butter and oil together. Rub bottom of tenderloin  with half oil/butter and put half the garlic/rosemary on and salt and pepper. Turn tenderloin over and oil the top and sides. Rub with the rest of the garlic/rosemary and salt and pepper. Wrap with bacon every couple inches. Let rest till tenderloin is room temp.
Bake middle of oven till thick part of tenderloin is 125 degrees. You don't want it to cook past that or the thin part of the tenderloin will be overcooked. This will give you a beautiful med-rare loin. Cover with foil and let sit for 15 minutes or so. Slice into 1/2 thick slices  and drizzle with pan drippings (your pan drippings will look pretty red. Don't worry it is a beautiful broth that will enhance you tenderloin.
Serve with sauteed mushrooms for a great accompaniment.

Pioneer Woman's Beef with Snow Peas

Picture from Ree Drummond blog "Pioneer Woman"

As much as I would love to take credit for this divine creation, I can't. I am a follower and devotee to "The Pioneer Woman" and her blog. This recipe came off of her blog and we had it for dinner last night. All I can tell you is we were in heaven. My whole family loved it. I doubled the recipe for my family (5) and it fed everyone but not like we would have liked (which translates to eating like we are going to the chair. Thats a Danny Devito line about his family. We have always found that it suited our family as well.) The only other thing I can say is "YUM". I served it on Jasmine rice that I added some chopped green onions and a little lemon juice to when it was done.

Serves 8 (I don't even think so. Not in my family anyway.)


Instructions:
1 1/2 lbs. flank steak, trimmed and sliced very very thin against the grain. ( I put mine in the freezer for just a bit and it sliced up nicely.)
1/2 Cup low sodium soy sauce  (we always use Tamari when we cook.)
3 Tbl. sherry
2 Tbl. brown sugar (I doubled the brown sugar. Just a personal taste thing.)
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1 Tbl. minced fresh ginger
8 ounces fresh snow peas ends trimmed and the string thingy (I'm so verbal) removed
5 whole scallions cut diagonally  into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tbl. evoo
crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
Jasmine rice (or whatever makes you happy) to serve the stir fry on

Place meat on platter and put in freezer to firmn up for cutting. While meat is in the freezer make the sauce. In a bowl large enough to hold the meat after cutting mix soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Whisk together. Take meat out and slice it against the grain very thin. Place meat in the sauce you just put together in the bowl. Mix to coat and set aside to marinate for a few minutes. I left if for about 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a cast iron skillet (or wok. I used my huge cast iron skillet and it worked great.) When skillet is super hot add oil and the snow peas. Cook and stir till they are crisp tender (a couple minutes should do it.) Remove to a bowl. Allow pan to heat back up and (now I added a little oil each time I cooked the ingredients. So I broke the oil up into 1 Tbl. additions each time. Add half the meat leaving the marinade in the bowl and spread it out and let it sit and sear for a minute before you start stirring it around. I let it sear then did my first stir and then added half the scallions and a light sprinkling of the red pepper flakes which is optional. Stir around till meat is just done. Remove to a bowl. Add the last Tbl. of oil let it get hot and add the last of the meat and repeat the process. Once this batch is done add the already cooked meat and the snow peas along with the remaining marinade/sauce. Stir around to let everything heat up and the sauce to thicken. You can check for seasoning but we didn't find it needed anything. Enjoy!
Serve on rice.