Archive for the ‘BEEF’ Category
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.
Basic Tacos
Simple recipe and you can change the toppings to suit your taste. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 packet taco seasoning, Shortcut
- water, as stated on seasoning packet or on Shortcut
- 16 corn tortillas, estimate 3-4 per serving, or as desired
- cooking oil, as needed
- tomatoes, diced
- lettuce, chopped
- cheese, shredded, Cheddar or a cheese blend
Additional Toppings - as desired
- onion, diced
- avocado, diced
- sour cream, Shortcut
Instructions
- Brown the beef in a non stick pan, when browned and no pink is visible, drain fat.
- Stir in the seasoning packet and water stated on packet or on the Shortcut. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the beef is simmering, heat another non stick pan with a little oil, when the oil is hot, add a 1-2 tortilla and cook for about 30 seconds then turn over and cook. Goal for this step is to make the tortillas flexible. Remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Set out the tortillas, beef, tomato, lettuce, and cheese to let everyone make their own tacos.
- For the basic taco, place beef along the center of a tortilla, add lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. Fold in half, enjoy. Feel free to use toppings as desired or even additional toppings.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on where the beef, tortillas, and cheese is sourced from.
Shortcuts: Taco Seasoning, Sour Cream.
Italian Meatballs
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list.
Ingredients
- 4 slices dry bread
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup Romano cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for browning
Instructions
- Soak the bread in water for 2 or 3 minute, then squeeze out moisture.
- Add the bread and all remaining ingredients, except the oil, to a mixing bowl. Mix together well.
- Shape into about 20 meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a non stick pan, when hot brown the meatballs.
- Cook meatballs in sauce in recipes that call for them. Enjoy.
Notes
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
Hungarian Gulyás
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2¼ kilo pork, or veal or beef, (2½ lb), cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3½ cups canned tomatoes
- 1 cup sour cream, Shortcut
- 1 recipe Spätzle, Link in Notes
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot, add the pork, and brown, stirring often to get most of the cubes browned.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened.
- Stir in the flour and seasonings.
- Add the tomatoes and stir together. Cover and simmer on low heat until the pork is tender and the sauce thickened, about 1 to 1¼ hours. Stir occasionally.
- When the meat is tender and sauce thickened, stir in the sour cream and remove from heat.
- Serve with spätzle, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using pork, beef or veal may be a bit higher cost.
Additional Recipe: Spätzle.
Shortcut: Sour Cream.
Swedish Cabbage Rolls
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup onion, finely diced
- ⅔ cup milk
- 250 grams ground beef, (8 oz / ½ lb)
- 250 grams ground pork, (8 oz / ½ lb)
- ¾ cup cooked rice
- 6 large cabbage leaves
- 1 can condensed tomato soup, (10½ oz / 298 g), Shortcut
- 1 soup can water, (1¼ cups)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- boiled potatoes, for serving.
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the first 6 ingredients and mix well.
- Add the beef, pork, and rice, and mix together.
- Steam cabbage leaves for for 3 minutes or just until wilted and flexible.
- Slit the heavy vein in each leaf about 2½ inches, to make them easier to fold.
- Place ½ cup meat mixture on a leaf, fold in sides, and roll ends over meat. Place roll in an ungreased 7x11 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining leaves.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F).
- In a mixing bowl, add the soup, water, and brown sugar. Mix together.
- Pour soup mixture over the cabbage rolls.
- Bake for 1¼ hours or until meat is cooked through.
- Serve with boiled potatoes, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Tomato Soup.
Turkish Zucchini Dolmas
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list. If nothing else, these sound interesting.
Equipment
- Apple Corer
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ⅓ cup cooked rice
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried mint, or 1 teaspoon fresh chopped mint
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed, or 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
- 8 medium zucchini squash
- 2 cups seasoned tomato sauce
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the first 8 ingredients, mix together well.
- Cut each end off the zucchinis, use an apple corer and scoop out the centers of each zucchini.
- Fill the center of each squash with the meat mixture. Leftover meat mixture, roll into small meatballs. Chop the centers of the squash.
- Heat the tomato sauce in a large non stick pan, place the zucchinis in the pan and add the chopped centers and any meatballs you made. Cover and simmer 30-40 minutes or until the squash are tender.
- Serve with sauce from the pan. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Use green bell peppers in place of zucchini and steam or bake them.
Hash Peppers
I prepared these on a suggestion from my Dad, and that idea was tasty! The bell pepper and hash go together very well, excellent flavor.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers, any color you want
- 2 cans corned beef hash, (14 oz / 397 g cans / about 2 cups)
Instructions
- Keep in mind the sizes of bell peppers can vary so you may need more than 2 cans of hash for 3 large peppers. I used 3 medium or smaller peppers.
- Cut the tops off the bell peppers, remove the seeds and membranes from the insides. (I dice the tops for use in other recipes.)
- Place the peppers in a saucepan and fill with water just to the tops of the peppers. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat, time for 5-6 minutes once the water boils. Drain the peppers and place in a baking dish.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Scoop out hash from the cans and pack into the peppers, round the tops. For extra hash left over, just pack into the pan next to the peppers.
- Bake for 45 minutes. During this time you can prepare side dishes of your choice, I fried up some yellow zucchini.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
I will say Low cost per serving as this can be a leftover dish made with homemade hash.
Classic Beef Stroganoff
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 500 grams beef, cut into ¼ inch strips, (1 lb)
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1¼ cups beef stock
- 1 cup sour cream, Shortcut
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- hot buttered noodles, for serving
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour and the salt, mix together. Coat the beef strips with the flour.
- In a large non stick pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, when hot, add the beef strips and brown on each side.
- Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until onion is just barely tender. Remove beef, mushrooms, and onion from pan to a plate.
- Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the pan, when melted, stir in 3 tablespoons until smooth. Stir in tomato paste. Slowly stir in beef stock, stir until mixture thickens.
- Return the beef, mushrooms, and onion to the pan.
- Stir in the sour cream and wine. Heat through for just a few minutes or until hot.
- Serve over hot buttered noodles. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Sour Cream.
Speedy Stroganoff with Noodles
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Casserole Cook Book by Better Homes & Gardens, printed in 1961. This recipe sounds very good, on my to make and taste list. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 170 grams dry medium egg noodles, (6 oz)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 3 minute steaks, cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g), Shortcut
- 1 cup sour cream, Shortcut
- ⅔ cup mushrooms, sliced, canned - drained, fresh - sautéed
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Cook the egg noodles in a pot of salted boiling water, until tender. Drain.
- Toss noodles with the melted butter and poppy seeds.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large non stick pan, when hot, brown the minute steak strips.
- Add the onion and garlic, cook until the onion is tender.
- In a mixing bowl, add the soup, sour cream, mushrooms, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix together.
- Pour mixture in with the beef, stir together, cook and heat through.
- Serve sauce over the noodles, enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on minute steaks, and I would assume one could cut very thin slices of beef and use as well. I will need to research this.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream.