Beef Due Today

Next Week:  Vegetarian.

Any votes for the following?

Make-your-own Hamburger Helper

When Tom and I were in college, Hamburger Helper was sometimes the closest we got to a complete meal. We rarely make box meals anymore, but every now in then you just need to indulge. I stumbled across this recipe browsing online one day, and it is now one of our favorites. So much tastier than the box!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes prep time, 30 minutes cook time

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium carrots, sliced into coins

10 oz. white mushrooms (you can easily omit these)

1 large onion, diced

1 pound, 90% lean ground beef

2 teaspoons dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups water

(1) 14 oz. can reduced-sodium beef broth, divided (see directions)

8 oz. whole-wheat elbow noodles (our favorite is Cavatappi)

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Directions:
Chop garlic, carrots, mushrooms and onions, and set aside. Cook beef in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Whisk flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley (or chives) if desired.

*Sometimes we add chopped celery and frozen peas to the recipe, and other vegetables can be easily substituted. Trying to convert this to a "taco mac" would probably be pretty tasty too!

Source: Our version - altered from Food Network
Servings: 6

Hamburger Pie

Preparation Time:
About 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
one 16 oz. can cut green beans (drained)
one 10 3/4 can mushroom soup

5 medium potatoes (cooked)
1/2 cup warm milk
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese


Directions:
Brown meat and onion together in skillet . Add salt and pepper. Stir in beans and soup. Pour into 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish. Mash potatoes while hot. Add milk and egg to potatoes. Spoon into mounds over casserole. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25- 30 minutes.
You can also use cream of tomato soup instead of mushroom soup.

Source: Phyllis
Servings: 4-6

Beef Enchiladas

Sorry for all of the recipes.  It seemed better to separate them out.  You can do as much of this homemade or from cans as you want.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes to assemble, 30 - 40 minutes to bake.

Ingredients: 
Tortillas.  I use fajita sized flour ones.
Black beans
Rice (I use brown)
Machaca Beef
Enchilada sauce
Cheese
Onions for garnish

Directions:
Roll black beans, rice, and beef into tortillas.  It is easier to place the mixture off-center for rolling.  And place rolled tortillas into a 9x11 baking dish.  If you're smart, you'll remember to place them open side down so that they don't immediately unroll.  I squeeze them in clase and can usually fit about 10 per pan.  Cover with enchilada sauce, sprinkle with cheese and top with a few chopped onions.  Bake in a 350 deg oven for 30 - 40 minutes.  You might need to turn it up a bit at the end to get the cheese to bubble.

Source: Me!
Servings: As many as you want.  I make burritos for freezing with the leftovers.

Machaca Beef

Easy to make and great for burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas.  Don't let the large number of ingredients scare you.  The time to quantity ratio is quite good.

Preparation Time: 10- 20 minutes prep before, 2 hours cooking, and 10 minutes after.

Ingredients:
Marinade:¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
Juice of two limes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup vegetable oil or olive oil

Machaca:2-3 lbs. Chuck Roast or Skirt Steak, trimmed and cut into lb portions.
1 Large Texas Sweet Onion (yellow onion) diced
½ green bell pepper diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 Fresh Jalapeno Pepper, minced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies
¼ cup beef broth
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for searing the beef

Directions:
For the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl then whisk them to form an emulsion. Add the beef making sure every piece is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate.

Marinate the beef overnight in a bowl in the refrigerator. Before preparing, drain thoroughly and allow meat to come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Note:  I do the searing, cooking, and simmering in a pressure cooker.  Sear it and then put it on high pressure for 99 minutes with natural pressure release.  Also, I don't add the tomatoes.  I think they make the final mixture too acidic for what I use it for.  I do add a bit more beef broth to get the extra liquid.

In a large soup pot, heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the beef a few pieces at a time to develop a rich brown color on all sides as well as on the bottom of the pan. Do this in several batches if the pot is too crowded.

When all the beef is browned nicely and removed from the pan, add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the hot pan. Saut for a few minutes then add the remaining ingredients to the pan along with the beef. Bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly for about 2 hours. The meat should be very tender and should easily fall apart when pricked with a fork.

Remove from heat, remove meat to a cutting board and shred with a pair of forks. Return to the pot and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Reduce the liquid until very thick, almost dry. At this point, adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and whatever additional heat you want to add if any.

Serve with tortillas, cheese, salsa, lettuce and guacamole for a great beef taco. Portion and freeze the remaining machaca in zip lock bags for later use.

Source: texascooking.com
Servings: a lot!

Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

A tomato and onion sauce with as much kick as you want.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes prep, 15 minutes to cook, and 5 more minutes to finish.

Ingredients:
1 can tomatos, I want to try it with fresh
1 onion, diced - doesn't have to be perfect, they'll be blended in the end
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1-2 cups beef broth

Directions:
Put everything into a pan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for a few minutes and remove from heat.  Blend until smooth.  It should be the consistency of gravy.  If it is too thin return to the stove to thicken and next time use less beef broth.

A note about spice:  I usually only add the adobo and no chipotles.  You can add chipotles and remove or add them and blend them.  If you haven't used them before, be cautious.  A little goes a long way!

Source: texascooking.com
Servings: Twice as much as needed for enchiladas.  I freeze the rest in an ice cube tray.

Black Beans

Better tasting and texture than the canned kind!

Preparation Time: 90 minutes of waiting.

Ingredients:
Black Beans
2 - 4 tsp oil
extras

Directions:
Put one pound of black beans and 8 cups of water into your pressure cooker.  Add extras such as onions, peppers, corn, or carrots.  Make sure to add oil or it will make a mess!  Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes and allow for natural pressure release.  Drain and use or freeze for later.

Source: Me! (and cuisinart)
Servings:  a lot!

Suggested Reading

A discussion of the benefits of grass-fed beef over grain-fed beef.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/beefs+about+feed+cows/3134565/story.html

Two different discussions of the parts of a cow:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef#Cuts
http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/typesofcuts.aspx

Look at episode two for MythBusters take on tenderizing beef.
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Mythbusters_Collection_5_Exploding_Steak/70135367?trkid=921403

That's all I've got for you this week.  Around here, we pretty much just use the hamburger part of the cow....

Matambre: Stuffed Flank Steak

This is a super super tasty Argentinan dish. I made this dish with some friends as part of a going away dinner.

Preparation Time: Time flies when you're making food with good friends.

Ingredients:
1 flank steak, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds
Salt and Pepper
1 tbs fresh majoram or oregano or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs minced fresh garlic
1/2 bunch of chopped fresh parsley and cilantro leaves
6 to 8 thin carrot sticks (1 medium carrot)
1 cup pitted green olives
1 medium red onion sliced
1 hard boiled egg sliced
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
2 tbs olive oil

Directions:
They say:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use a boning knife to butterfly steak: Working across the grain, make a cut down the center, but only halfway through the meat. A the top of that cut, make perpendicular cuts, one in each direction, this time with the grain. Again, cut only halfway into steak. Repeat perpendicular cuts at the other end of the center cut. Cuts should resemble the letter H.
2. At the top of the original center cut, hold the knife parallel to the meat and insert knife. Slice toward you, making a pocket. This cut should almost reach the outer edge, halfway through the meat’s thickness. Repeat on other side. Open the flaps.

I say:
We found a piece of thin meat. For the thicker piece we carefully cut the meat in half.

3. Season the meat liberally on both sides with salt and pepper, then place it cut side up, wide side facing you. Season with marjoram, cumin, and garlic and cover it with a fairly even layer of parsley-cilantro mix. Then arrange carrots, olives, egg slices, and onions horizontally over the full width of the meat. Scatter a relatively even layer of watercress over the it.

4. Roll meat up from bottom into a roll; the rain of the steak should run length of a roll. Tie in three or four places with butcher's twine.

5. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large roasting pan. Deeply brown the rolled steak on all sides (takes about 15 minutes total) then transfer pan to oven and roast for about 30 minutes, until meat is cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 30 minutes before serving. Or, put meat in a clean baking dish, weight it with a plate with something heavy on it and chill overnight. Take matambre from refrigerator and slice it into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces about an hour before serving at room temperature.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/dining/011mrex.html?_r=2&ref=dining
Servings: 6