Category: beef

Herbed Spaghetti Meatsauce

Spaghetti is one of my easy meals, but sometimes I want to make it just a little bit fancier without adding a lot more work.  We have fresh herbs growing in our garden and I am trying to get them into as many of our meals as possible.  You could add in any Italian herbs, but I added basil and rosemary because that is what I had.  Oregano would go well also.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 jar of Classico spaghetti sauce (I think this was the Fire Roasted Garlic one, but any of the non meat or cheese ones will work)

Handful of basil, chopped

1 stem of rosemary, chopped

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef with pepper and onion.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce along with herbs and cook until hot.  Serve over gluten free noodles.  The noodles shown are HEB’s gluten free spiral noodles.

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This is the meat sauce cooking.  The steam is fogging up my camera lens :-).

 

Hamburgers

I love hamburgers.  There is just something about chargrilled meat that reminds me of summers around a picnic table.  There are many complicated hamburger recipes out there, but personally I like when it is just beef.  That’s all.  It’s so ridiculously simple.  You can spice it up with your toppings.  You can always add more to your meat, but if you want a really simple recipe, this is it.

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

Directions:

Shape meat into round patties.  You can do 4-6 patties with this amount of meat.  Put a small dent in the middle with your thumb.  This helps the center to cook evenly.

Turn on your grill (I used gas).  Get the temperature up to 450 degrees (higher temperature seals in juices and makes a juicy burger).  Place the burgers on the grill being careful not to get licked by the flames if it flares.  Close the lid and cook for about 10 minutes or until the edges are browning and the center no longer looks bright red (should still be a little pink).  Flip burgers over carefully.  There will be a lot of juice on top so it may flare up.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes.  Check one of the larger burgers to make sure it is cooked inside.  Serve on a bun or in a lettuce wrap.  Add whatever toppings you desire.  I enjoy pickles, ketchup, bacon, lettuce and tomato.  Guacamole or avocado adds a nice touch.

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Mexican Lasagna

Sometimes corn tortillas misbehave.  They just don’t want to roll and they keep breaking, especially if they aren’t as fresh as they once were.  Out of the ashes of broken tortillas arose this recipe.  May your tortillas serve you well until the last day of their expiration! (Like many Tex-Mex dishes, this is the same list of ingredients, just in different proportions and repackaged.  This is really enchiladas.  Shhhh!!!)

 

Ingredients:

1 red pepper

1.5 pounds ground beef (omit if vegetarian and use more beans)

1 can enchilada sauce (Old El Paso)

1/2 to 1 can rotel (depending on your spice tolerance)

1/2 lime

3/4 bag spinach

1-2 cans refried beans or use my recipe

1 bag corn tortillas

Salsa, for topping

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef.  Add 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, rotel, and lime.  Grease a 9×13 pan.  Put in one layer of tortillas (6).  Layer in 1/3 of beef, 1/3 of spinach, and 1/3 of beans.  Repeat two more times- tortillas, beef, spinach, beans.  You can add in cheese if you can eat it.  After the last layer of tortillas, top with remaining enchilada sauce and brush on until all the visible tortillas are covered.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Top with salsa and serve with cilantro lime rice.

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Spinach Enchiladas

Sometimes I get so focused on the main dish that I forget to make vegetables, so this time I put the veggies IN our enchiladas.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef, cooked

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce, 10 oz. can

1 can of rotel, 10 oz.

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 bag of spinach

1-2 cans refried beans- or you can follow my recipe listed below

1 bag of corn tortillas

Green onions, chopped

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef and red peppers.  Stir in 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, 1/2 can rotel, and lime juice.

Grease a 9×13 pan.  Scoop a spoonful of beef and a spoonful of beans into the tortilla.  Add in a handful of spinach and roll and place in pan.  Repeat until the pan is full.  Drizzle on the remaining enchilada sauce and use a brush to spread it over all the visible parts of the tortillas.

Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Top with chopped green onions.  If you can have cheese, top with cheddar cheese.  Serve with a side of cilantro rice.

 

Refried bean recipe:

1.5-2 c. mashed beans (1 can of pinto beans)

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 a clove of garlic, minced

1/2 can of rotel with juice

1/2 lime, juiced

Combine all ingredients and mash thoroughly.

 

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My tortillas were near the expiration date, so they didn’t bend quite as easily as fresh ones would have.

Cauliflower and Potato Indian Curry

Sometimes I buy produce because it’s a good deal and then I get it home and it just sits there.  Does this ever happen to you?  That’s why I typically buy frozen veggies, but sometimes the sale price is just too good to pass up.  Usually the problem is that I didn’t have a plan when I bought it.  The upside is that this habit has led to me finding several new recipes.  In this case, the cauliflower was a good price as well as the potatoes.  After they sat around for about a week I decided it was time to make something happen with them.  This is the result.  It has been labeled a keeper by my husband and me. 🙂  The best part?  It is naturally everything free!

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 T. coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice, or fresh tomatoes, diced

1 c. water

1 can (14-oz) coconut milk

1 T. molasses

1 cinnamon stick

3 T. curry powder

2 T. ground coriander

 

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

1 large baking potato, unpeeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

1-2 tsp salt or more

1/2 tsp pepper

 

Directions:

Brown the ground beef.  Melt coconut oil in a large skillet (I used a wok).  Add onions and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add 2 cans of tomatoes with their juices and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.  Add 1 c. water and can of coconut milk and stir.  Stir in molasses, cinnamon stick, curry powder, and coriander.  Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add chopped cauliflower and potatoes and cooked ground beef.  Bring to a boil and stir occasionally until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (at least 15-20 minutes).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice.

 

I made the original recipe a long time ago, but this time I adapted it for the ingredients I had on hand.  Here is the original:

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/166485/coconut-curry-lentil-stew-served-over-quinoa

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti is such an easy dish.  One way to make it special is to add meatballs instead of meat sauce.  I thought I would never eat meatballs again since the ones in the store have flour in them usually, but I was inspired by the meatloaf recipe my friend showed me and a very bland version of meatballs found in a recipe book.  This is the new and improved gluten free, dairy free, and egg free meatball that tastes normal.  I like this recipe so much that I doubled it (okay, I also had a lot of ground beef sitting around because the big package was on sale).  I have been experimenting with the spicing and this is what I did this time.  It was my favorite so far, so you get to be privy to it!

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 c. Rice Chex crumbs

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp McCormick’s California Style onion powder with white and green onions and parsley (If you can’t find this, you can use 1/2 tsp onion powder and 1/2 tsp parsley.  It’s cooking- the seasoning doesn’t have to be exact :-)).

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Crush the Rice Chex until they are fine crumbs.  Combine with all the spices.  Put all the meat in a bowl and pour the spices and crumbs on top.  Mix with your hands until completely combined.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and leave at least 1/2 an inch between each.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Cut one in half to make sure.

I served mine over HEB gluten free noodles with a jar of Classico spaghetti sauce with about 4 T. red wine splashed in.  I needed to use it up as it was still left over from my Harvest Stuffed Squash and it added a nice flavor to the sauce.  Allow it to simmer until the alcohol cooks out- about 10 minutes or so.

 

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This is how they looked before going in the oven.
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This is how they looked after being cooked.
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Mmmmmm…

Tachos

This is a taco/nacho mash up.  Apparently it is also a people group in South Sudan, but this post has nothing to do with that.  This is what you get when you make all the ingredients for tacos but all you have sitting around is corn chips.  They’re tacos that you eat like nachos; therefore they are tachos.  The best thing about this “recipe” is that you can totally switch out ingredients according to your preferences.  This is what I used this time:IMG_4939.JPG

This is a great meal to serve if you have people with different allergies/preferences.  They can take what they want and leave the rest.  The most important part is your taco seasoning.  I use Old El Paso’s Original Taco Seasoning.  It has neither gluten nor dairy in it where as many seasonings have one and/or the other.  You could also make seasoning from scratch, but I am making enough things from scratch that this is one of my cheater recipes.

 

Ingredients:

1 package Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning

1-2 pound ground beef (omit for vegetarian)

1/2 onion, chopped

2/3 c. water (you can just fill up the seasoning pouch with water and it’s the right amount)

1 package Wholly Guacamole

1 jar Tostitos Salsa (or Pace or any other- just read the label)

1 bunch green onions, chopped (I put the white parts in with the beef so they could cook down some)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1.5 cups cooked black beans

1 bunch chopped cilantro

4 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 bag chopped spinach, raw

1 bag corn chips (I use Tostitos, Santitas, HEB, etc.)

1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (optional if you are not avoiding dairy)

 

Brown the beef and the chopped onions and white parts of green onions.  Add the seasoning and 2/3 c. water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Chop all of the veggies.

Set everything out buffet style and have people make a bowl of whatever they want in it.  Use the chips to dip the ingredients.

Beef and Bean Enchiladas

This is the last lonely enchilada.  I made several pans of them and remembered to take a picture right before I ate the last one!  I served these enchiladas to my family on Christmas Eve.  I did most of the prep ahead of time and just rolled them while the oven was heating up.  The beans make them creamy so you don’t really notice the absence of cheese.  However, if people want cheese but not everyone can have it, I suggest putting some shredded cheese on the table that they can add at their leisure.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (omit if vegetarian)

1-2 cups cooked and mashed pinto or white beans or 1-2 cans of refried beans

several dashes of salt if you make your own beans

juice of 1 lime

1 can rotel

2 cans of mild Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (last time I checked it was gluten free.  Please always take personal responsibility and check the ingredients.  Sometimes manufacturers change things without much of an announcement.)

1 package of corn tortillas

 

Directions for beans: If you are making your own beans, soak them overnight, drain in the morning, and put them in a crockpot all day on low.  They are finished when they are easily squishable.  I drained the liquid into a bowl and then added just enough in to be able to mash them with my immersion blender.  Make sure to add some salt if you made your own beans.  If that sounds too complicated, just get a can or two of refried beans. 🙂

Directions: Brown the ground beef until thoroughly cooked.  Add in the lime, rotel, and one can of enchilada sauce.

Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish.  Open the second can of enchilada sauce and put a very thin layer on the bottom of the pan, but reserve most of it.  Grab a tortilla and put a spoonful of the beef and bean mixtures into the tortilla.  Roll it and place it in the pan.  Continue until the pan is full and/or all ingredients are used.  Top with remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with rice and guacamole if desired.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is one of my favorite fall recipes.  It looks beautiful and appears to be labor intensive, but it isn’t.  When it’s all said and done, it takes about an hour from beginning of prep to the time it arrives on the table.  The original recipe is from a newspaper clipping.  I have made a few changes, but it is still delicious!

 

Ingredients:

2 medium acorn squash

1 pound ground beef or deer

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tart apple, chopped (I use Granny Smith)

1 glove garlic, minced

2 T. brown rice flour

3 T. gluten free soy sauce (I use Kikkoman’s- just make sure it says gluten free on it)

salt to taste

3 T. dry red wine (I used merlot)

optional if not dairy free: 1/2 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or Parmesan)

 

Directions:

Cut squash in half from stem to tip and throw away seeds.  Fill baking dish to 1/2 inch depth with hot water (I just microwave the water).  Place squash, cut side down, in a baking dish.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

While the squash is cooking, brown the ground beef with the chopped onion, apple, and garlic until meat is cooked.  Sprinkle in flour and stir well. Add soy sauce and wine and stir.  Bring mixture to a boil and stir until it thickens.  Remove from heat.

Remove squash pan from oven and carefully turn each half over (leave the water in the pan) and fill each half with the meat concoction.  I press it down into the squash halves to try to make it all fit :-).  Cook the filled squash in the pan with the water still in the pan for another 15 minutes until meat begins to brown on top slightly.  If you are not dairy free, you may top with cheese and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

To serve, remove the squash from the pan and place on a plate.  To eat, scoop out one bite at a time, no knife needed.  I usually serve this by itself- it has veggies and meat included and is way more filling than you’d think.

 

Original recipe from “Harvest Stuffed Squash” The Eagle [Bryan], 13 September 2009. Taste of Home Cooking School p. 22.

Easy Meatloaf

Meatloaf?  How do you make meatloaf without bread crumbs?  It’s really quite easy.  Rice Chex are the answer.  One of my friends shared this trick with me and it has made breadcrumbs an easy ingredient once again!

 

Easy Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground meat (I used all ground beef this time, but I have used 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound ground sausage in the past)

1 Ener-G egg (or a real egg.  1 Ener-G egg is 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 T water.  Allow it to sit for a few minutes before using.)

1 cup Rice Chex, crushed

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning if using sausage (use 2 Tablespoons if using all ground beef)

Salt and pepper to taste (I probably used 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper but I am not sure.)

 

Directions:  Mix the Ener-G Egg Replacer with water and allow to sit.  Crush Rice Chex.  Combine all ingredients including Chex and egg replacer and mix thoroughly (I did it by hand).  Place in a bread pan and push it in the pan to get out any air pockets.  If you have too much meat, you can spread into another pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Test the inside with a meat thermometer to make sure it has reached 160 degrees.  Serve with ketchup if desired.

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Topped with ketchup