Archive for the ‘BEEF’ Category
Tater Tot Green Bean Casserole
This is an easy to put together casserole and is quite tasty and filling. Versatile recipe, use mini hash browns in place of tater tots, use fresh cooked, frozen, or even canned green beans.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh long beans, or green beans, or frozen and thawed, or 1 can, drained
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g each)
- ¼ cup milk
- 250 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (8 oz)
- 1 kilo bag frozen tater tots, or frozen mini hash browns, (2 lb, you will not use them all)
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- I used fresh long beans, cut them into 1 inch pieces and boiled them until just tender crisp, drain.
- While the beans are cooking, heat a large non stick pan and add the beef and onion, season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook, breaking up the beef, until the beef is browned. Drain any excess fat.Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a 9x13 baking dish.
- To the pan with the drained beef, add the drained long beans, soup, milk, and season with black pepper as desired.
- Mix together until combined.
- Pour mixture into the baking dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the mixture, then add a single layer of frozen tater tots or mini hash browns on top of the cheese.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned and casserole is bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, served and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving.
Meatballs & Gravy V
I made this from a combination of meatball and gravy recipes to narrow down to a low ingredient count yet great on flavor, for a fairly quick meal. This recipe also uses store bought Thai beef & chicken meatballs.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Thai beef meatballs, (1 lb)
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g each)
- 2 cups beef gravy, (I use Bisto)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- hot cooked egg noodles, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil then add your noodles, amount is up to you. Cook until just tender, drain.
- After starting the noodles, add the meatballs to another medium size pot and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and let meatballs cook until they have expanded and float. Remove from heat and drain.
- After starting the meatballs, to another pot, add the soup, gravy, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce, and mix together. Place on low heat, stir sauce occasionally.
- When the meatballs are done, and drained, add to the sauce and mix together. Continue heating on low until the egg noodles are done.
- Serve meatballs and gravy over egg noodles, and with a side of veggies, and you have a nice meal. Enjoy.
Missouri Goulash
This is an easy and tasty goulash, comes together quickly and is a filling meal. I made this on 2 Sep 2023, well liked the Thai family and I.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 750 grams ground pork, or beef, (1½ lb)
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cans cut green beans, drained, or 3 cups fresh, cooked, drained
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and black pepper, as desired
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, for serving, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the macaroni and cook until just tender, drain.
- While the macaroni is cooking, heat a non stick pan, when hot, add the diced onion and ground pork or beef, cook, breaking up the meat and stirring often and seasoning as desired with salt and pepper during cooking, until the meat is cooked through and the onion softened, drain excess fat.
- Using the same pot the macaroni was cooked in, add the cooked pork or beef, beans, and soup to the drained macaroni.
- Stir together.
- Add the sour cream and mix together, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Spoon goulash onto plates, top with shredded Cheddar cheese as desired, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using ground pork.
Meat Ball Stew
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Farm Journal's Country Cookbook, printed in 1972. With me being in Thailand, ready made meatballs are not a problem so the ingredients and instructions will reflect meatballs from scratch, Thai store bought, and US store bought. I made this on 31 May 2023 using Thai store bought meatballs.
Equipment
- Casserole (3 quart)
- Oven
Ingredients
For Meatballs from Scratch
- 750 grams ground beef, (1½ lb)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- ½ cup soft breadcrumbs
For Thai store bought Meatballs
- 750 grams beef meatballs, (1½ lb)
For US store bought Meatballs
- 750 grams frozen beef meatballs, thawed, Walmart or Kroger brands would be perfect, (1½ lb)
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained, (565 g / 20 oz)
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 small carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
Instructions
For Meatballs from Scratch
- In a mixing bowl, add the ground beef, salt, pepper, egg, onion, and breadcrumbs.
- Mix together then form into balls about 3 cm (1 inch) in diameter.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add meatballs, working in batches if needed, and brown the meatballs. Removed browned meatballs to a 3 quart casserole.
For Thai store bought Meatballs
- These are refrigerated and not cooked when bought, follow these steps for preparing these meatballs.
- Heat a saucepan of water to boiling, when boiling add the meatballs and cook until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Drain meatballs.
- To give the meatballs a little color, heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add the meatballs, and brown them. Removed browned meatballs to a 3 quart casserole.
For US store bought Meatballs
- Kroger and Walmart Great Value Brands would be perfect for this. These come fully cooked and frozen. Just thaw and heat through in a hot pan with a little oil then drain and place in a 3 quart casserole.
Rest of the Instructions
- While you are browning or cooking the meatballs, go ahead and prep the vegetables. I was out of celery so I just omitted that.
- Once all the meatballs are browned and removed, drain off all but 3 tablespoons of fat, if using the store bought meatballs, just melt in some butter to make the 3 tablespoons of fat. Stir in the flour.
- Add the rest of the Remaining Ingredients, bring mixture to a boil then lower heat to just a simmer and cook 10 minutes, adding additional water as needed. While mixture is simmering, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), place a sheet of foil or a foil lined baking sheet on the bottom rack to catch any spills.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the casserole with the meatballs. Carefully mix the meatballs into the mixture.
- Cover and place on the middle rack in the oven, bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Carefully remove the cover and give the stew a stir.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on the use of beef.
Updated on 31 May 2023.
Cincinnati Chili
This sounds like an authentic Cincinnati Chili recipe, on my to make and taste list very soon.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 750 grams ground beef, lean, (1½ lb)
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1½ tablespoons cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
For Serving
- hot cooked spaghetti
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, optional
- onion, diced, optional
- beans, kidney or chili beans
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot, when hot, add the onion and cook until softened and translucent. While the onion is cooking, get everything else measured out and ready.
- To the pot, add the remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and just simmer on low for 2 hours to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. Remove any fat that floats to the top.
- When the sauce has thickened and you are ready to serve, remove the bay leaf. Cook your spaghetti according to package directions, and if serving with cheese, onion, and or beans, go ahead and get all of those ready.
- To serve, ladle sauce over hot cooked spaghetti, then optionally top with beans, onion, and shredded cheese as you desire. Enjoy.
Notes
Beef would be the most expensive part of this dish, cheese would also add to the per serving cost, but for 6 serving, this is probably a Fair cost per serving.
Ground Beef & Eggs Casserole
This recipe is from a social media friend, and is a simple yet tasty casserole. Feel free to get creative and tailor this to your liking to make it your own.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 eggs
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 225 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (8 oz / 1-1½ cups)
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a 7x11 baking pan.
- Heat a non stick skillet, when hot, add the beef, onion, and garlic. Cook, breaking up the beef with your spatula, until no pink remains, seasoning with salt and black pepper as desired. Drain any fat.
- While the beef is cooking, add the eggs, cream, mustard powder, salt and pepper as desired, whisk together.
- Add cooked and drained beef to the 7x11 baking pan, spread out evenly.
- Top the beef with the cheese evenly.
- Pour whisked eggs over the beef and cheese.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center and golden brown. When eggs are set, remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes.
- Cut into squares, serve with sides of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving depending on how the beef is sourced.
Dad's Hamburger Gravy
This is a friend's Dad's recipe for Hamburger Gravy, and it is excellent! I made this on 7 Oct 2022 and the family absolutely loved this dish. Feel free to serve this over mashed potatoes, toast, or biscuits.
Ingredients
- 750 grams ground beef, (1½ lb)
- 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil, your choice
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- salt and cracked black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a large pan, when hot, add the onion and sauté to just get the onion starting to soften. I am using a marble wok pan, which is a flat bottomed wok, it is deep, and very non stick. I am going to serve the gravy over mashed potatoes so the potatoes are starting to boil on the right.
- When the onion is starting to soften, add the ground beef, season generously with cracked black pepper. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spatula until cooked through. Drain the fat into a measuring cup, reserving ½ cup, discard the rest. Place cooked beef on a plate and set aside.
- Return the reserved fat and the butter to the same pan, place on medium high heat. When hot, sprinkle in the flour and whisk in until starting to just brown.
- Whisk in the milk and season generously with cracked black pepper. Taste and season with salt as desired. Continue whisking until gravy is bubbly and thickened.
- Return the cooked beef to the pan and stir in, reduce heat to medium and cook to heat the beef through.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, toast, or biscuits with a side of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Updated on 7 October 2022.
Tofu & Beef Meatball Soup
This recipe was inspired from a friend in Sichuan, China and this version uses store bought beef meatballs. These are not meatballs you can buy in Walmart or Kroger, you need to get these from an Asian market, different consistency.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, white parts sliced, green parts cut ½ inch long
- 500 grams beef meatballs, In Thailand I use MR Meatballs brand, frozen - thawed, from Makro, these are not pre-cooked,, (1 lb)
- 1 slice fresh ginger
- 800 grams firm tofu, cut into cubes, (28 oz)
- 20 grams nori seaweed, or less as desired, (¾ oz)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the the water, light soy sauce, and spring onion to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
- Add the meatballs and ginger. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes to cook the meatballs through.
- Add the tofu and nori, simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the sesame oil, taste and season with salt and or additional sesame oil as desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Beef Chow Mein
Chow mein is a stir-fried noodle dish and is one of the most popular dishes in China. The most common noodles used in various chow mein dishes is egg noodles. This recipe comes from a friend in Sichuan, China. I made this on 27 Sep 2022, and it is delicious, family loved this! I doubled the recipe so the photos will show more of all the ingredients than what is stated.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flank steak, cut into 2 inch long strips
- 3 bell peppers, 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 250 grams egg noodles, can be fresh or dry, (8 oz)
For the Beef Marinade
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- dash black pepper
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the Stir-fry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- pinch sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the Beef Marinade Ingredients and stir together, then add the beef strips. Stir in one direction until they become slightly sticky. Set this aside.
- In another small bowl, add all the Stir-fry Ingredients, mix together, then set this aside.
- For the bell peppers, you are only going to use half of each. Cut each pepper from stem end to the bottom. Set one half of each color aside, and wrap the other halves in plastic wrap and place back in the fridge. Remove the seeds.
- Cut each pepper half into strips, set these aside. Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, thinly slice each half and separate the pieces. Mince the garlic.
- In a saucepan, add enough water to cover the noodles, bring to a boil, then add the noodles, fresh noodles takes about 3-4 minutes, for dry noodles, cook until just tender. For fresh, just drain, for dry, drain and rinse under cold water.
- In a wok, wok pan, or large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil on medium high heat, add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Increase heat to high then add the beef mixture and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds. Remove beef to a bowl, leaving the liquid in the pan.
- Add the peppers and onions, stir-fry until until just softened but crisp.
- Add the noodles, beef, and Stir-fry Sauce to the pan. Mix together well, remove from heat.
- Serve hot, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
My Spaghetti Sauce
I make this often and finally decided to write a recipe for it. This is a basic sauce but is well liked by myself and my Thai family. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork, or beef, (1 lb), I typically use pork
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 2 cans tomato paste, (170 g / 6 oz cans)
- 4 cans water
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt, as desired
- hot cooked spaghetti , for serving
Instructions
- In a non stick pan, add the onion and ground pork, breaking up the meat with your spatula, and sprinkle with the ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Cook, turning often until no pink remains and the meat is cooked through.
- While the pork is cooking, in a large saucepan, add the tomato paste, water, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, place on low heat and whisk together. Simmer until hot, stirring often. When hot, add the butter and stir in. Taste and adjust as needed for salt or sugar.
- When the pork is done, if any excess fat in the pan, drain that off, then add the cooked pork to the sauce and mix together. Taste, and adjust as needed with salt and or sugar. Continue to simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until tender, drain.
- Serve sauce over spaghetti, enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning, Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs.
Variants: 1. Add some hard boiled eggs to the sauce while it does the final simmer so the eggs can heat through. 2. Add sautéed mushrooms.
