Category: Beef

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Hamburger Stroganoff

Let’s face it, folks: Hamburger Helper is disgusting! It’ll take you ten minutes to parse out the pronunciation of all of its so-called ingredients. Instead, use those extra ten minutes to make this recipe, which is almost as easy, and has nothing in it you can’t pronounce on the first try.* This also re-heats wonderfully, making it a great go-to meal during your kids’ busy sports, drama club, or livestock show season.

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces Egg Noodles
  • 6 tbsp. Butter or Margarine (divided)
  • 1-1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
  • 1 Large Onion (coarsely chopped)
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) Can Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Dried Parsley to garnish

Directions

  1. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until soft, about 6-8 minutes.
  2. Drain noodles, and add 3 tbsp. butter or margarine, stirring until melted. Set aside and keep warm.
  3. In a large skillet, melt remaining 3 tbsp. butter or margarine over medium high heat.
  4. Add onions to skillet and cook until slightly translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
  5. Add ground beef to skillet and brown until the last bit of pink has just disappeared, about 8-10 minutes. Do not drain!
  6. Sprinkle flour over ground beef mixture and stir to absorb all of the fat in the skillet.
  7. Add garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup to skillet. Cook and stir until thoroughly combined and hot, about 4-5 minutes.
  8. Add sour cream to skillet. Cook and stir until thoroughly combined and hot, about 4-5 minutes.
  9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Serve over prepared egg noodles and sprinkle with parsley.

*Yes, I realize that some of these ingredients may have a chemical or two in them. Just check the labels, make sure you’re avoiding MSG (which for me, leads to the dreaded “Three I’s”: itching, illness, and irritability) and you should be A-O.K.

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Italian Meatballs

If you’re tired of hosing down your stove-top with degreaser after making meatballs, you’ll love this recipe. They are lighter and fluffier than your average meatball, and packed full of classic Italian flavor. You can also get creative with your meats by substituting ground lamb, venison, or turkey.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup Plain Bread Crumbs
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Large Onion, Finely Minced
  • 1 lb. Ground Beef
  • 1 lb. Ground Pork
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 4 Large Cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
  • 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
  • 2 tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

  1. Add bread crumbs and milk to a small bowl and soak.
  2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
  3. Saute onions in oil until translucent.
  4. Mix beef and pork in large bowl or stand mixer. (If using a stand mixer, make sure you’re using a slow setting to avoid pulverizing the meat.)
  5. Add cooked onions with oil, bread crumb mixture, eggs, garlic powder, oregano, basil, parsley, and Parmesan cheese to bowl and mix until combined.
  6. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  7. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
  8. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. (Make sure you use a baking sheet with a raised lip all the way around unless you were planning on cleaning your oven tonight anyway.)
  9. Roll meat into balls of equal size, about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and arrange on prepared baking sheet.
  10. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until well browned.

Sneaky Trick: Keep your hands wet while rolling your meatballs to keep the mixture from sticking to your skin. After all, this isn’t exactly a batter you want to lick off your fingers.

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Dadgum Biscuits & Gravy

I spent a few years in Texas, and this dish is something that everyone is required to learn to make before they’ll issue you a Concealed Handgun License. These biscuits are freakin’ fantastic, and my gravy has a not-so-traditional twist or two that gives it a lot of savory flavor. Y’all are fixin’ to be full as a tick!

THE BISCUITS

This makes about six biscuits, so double the recipe if you’re hungry enough to eat the south end of a northbound mule.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon White Sugar
  • 1/3 cup Shortening
  • 1 cup Milk

Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
    3. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
    4. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
    5. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead.
    6. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    7. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    8. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    9. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    10. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    11. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    12. Roll dough out to a full inch thick. (Aren’t you glad I didn’t say, “Dust with flour and fold twice.” again?)
    13. Cut biscuits from rolled dough with a pint glass dipped in flour.
    14. Repeat until all dough is used.
    15. Place biscuits onto a foil-lined baking sheet very lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  (You can omit the cooking spray if you’re feeling lucky, but why risk it?)
    16. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
    17. Remove from oven and set aside.

 

THE GRAVY

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp.  Cooking Oil
  • 3/4 cup Chopped Onion
  • 1 lb. Ground Beef
  • 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat cooking oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add chopped onion and cook until slightly soft, just a minute or two.
  3. Add ground beef and cook until JUST brown, when the last bit of pink has barely disappeared.
  4. Do NOT drain fat from the ground beef mixture.
  5. Add garlic powder and flour and mix until all meat is well coated.
  6. Add milk and cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
  7. If gravy is too thick, add a little more milk until it’s just right.  (Keep in mind, this is no wimpy, runny gravy!)
  8. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
  9. Split biscuits in half lengthwise on a plate and smother with gravy.
  10. Say, “Gadgum!” when you taste them!
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Shepherd’s Pie

This is a fantastic way to get the kids (and other annoying picky eaters) to eat vegetables and the use of canned soups makes this quick and easy!  You can make this as one large pie, or use single-serving aluminum pie pans for simple serving and freezing.  

Ingredients

  • 5-7 potatoes (Not all potatoes are created equal.)
  • 1 full stick butter or margarine
  • 3/4 c whipping cream
  • 1 pound ground beef, lamb, turkey, or whatever!
  • 3/4 cup chopped onions
  • 16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Coat deep pie pan, baking dish, or single-serving tins with cooking spray. (Don’t huff the fumes!)
  3. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes.
  4. Drain potatoes completely and mash with butter or margarine and whipping cream. Then whip it like Devo. Add additional whipping cream if needed to get a frosting-like consistency. Set aside.
  5. In a large skillet, cook ground meat and onions until brown over medium-high heat.
  6. If you’re trying to pretend that this is a healthy dish, drain fat from pan. (I don’t.)
  7. Stir in mixed vegetables and cook until just warm.
  8. Stir in mushroom soup, celery soup, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Heat through.
  9. Pour into prepared baking dish(es).
  10. Pipe with mashed potatoes.  Make ’em pretty!
  11. Spray tops of mashed potatoes with butter-flavored cooking spray, or mist with melted butter or margarine.
  12. Optional: Sprinkle with chopped parsley, chives, cheddar cheese, or a mixture of all.  Or get creative! Try paprika, cayenne pepper, finely minced onions or pimentos, or whatever you have handy. (I recommend you avoid chocolate sprinkles, though.)
  13. Put baking dish(es) on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. THIS WILL LEAK while it cooks. The cookie sheet will keep the smoke detector from going off and the foil will keep you from having to use a chisel to clean the cookie sheet.
  14. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden and meat and vegetable mixture is hot and bubbly.
  15. If potatoes don’t brown at all, move the oven rack up and flip on the broiler for just a minute or two. Watch it like a hawk!  The potatoes can go from golden to charcoal in a heartbeat.

 

(Sneaky trick: When freezing single serve aluminum pie pans, put an empty pan upside down on top of a cooled pie, and staple the pie pans together on either side.  Then wrap in foil before putting it in the freezer. This will keep your piped potatoes all fancy.)

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