Steak something-or-other

A concoction I made up because it's easier than stuffed zucchini! Added bonus is that my kids all love it too.

Preheat large electric skillet.

Cut one large round steak into strips about 2" x 1/4". Cook in hot pan until browned, stirring occasionally. Season as desired (I like to use Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt).

Add 12-16 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 large red onion quartered & sliced, and 4 small zucchini, halved and sliced. Stir together, cover and cook until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve with warmed, whole wheat tortillas.

Serves 4-6

Zucchini Meatloaf

for Ballon Pirate

ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds extra lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken - to taste)
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons dijon mustard - or plain yellow mustard if you don't have any dijon around

Preheat oven to 175C/350°F.

Mix ingredients well.

Put into bread pan or shape into loaf and put it onto some other baking surface...

Bake until done - probably around an hour.

Freely enjoy

Kentucky Burgoo

I love this recipe but it is a bit of effort and expense. I thought I would put it up as it is my time of year to go visit friends in Kentucky and do the Kentucky Derby thing.

Source: Molloy Postcards & Souvenir Services, 1100 Pike Street, Covington KY 41011
Category: Main Dish
Servings: 12
Serving Ideas: Serve with garlic bread.
WW Points: 7.5

1 pound beef stew meat
1 pound lean pork tenderloin -- cut 1" thick
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 whole carrots -- sliced
2 small onions -- chopped
4 chicken thighs without skin
2 small red potatoes -- peeled and cubed
1 cup chopped green pepper
14 1/2 ounces stewed tomatoes -- cut up and juice reserved
10 1/2 ounces chicken broth -- double-strength
17 ounces whole kernel corn, frozen
17 ounces baby lima beans – drained

1.Place beef and pork in a 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with onion salt, pepper and red pepper. Toss until evenly coated.

2.Layer in slow cooker, in order, carrots, onion, chicken, potatoes, green pepper and stewed tomatoes with juice. Add chicken broth. Pour liquid from corn into slow cooker; set corn aside. DO NOT STIR mixture in slow cooker.

3.Cover and cook on low for 9 hours or until beef, pork and vegetables are tender.

4.Remove chicken. Stir corn and lima beans into mixture in slow cooker. Cook on high for 30 minutes or until heated through.

5.Meanwhile, when cool enough to handle, remove chicken from bones and cut into bite size pieces. Discard bones. Return chicken to mixture and heat through.

Per serving: 348 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; (16% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 64mg Cholesterol; 296mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Cheesy Meatloaf

At my house we share the meatloaf making tasks. One kid mixes the dry stuff in one bowl, the other kid mixes the wet stuff in another bowl, and they pour them together in a third bowl with the ground beef, where I mix it all together and then slide it into a loaf pan, and drizzle some ketchup on the top:

1.5 lb lean ground beef

dry stuff:
2/3 cup cheese crackers, crushed*
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese)

wet stuff:
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp worchestershire sauce

Bake at 350 for one hour. Let stand for 10 minutes, and serve it with corn and applesauce.

yeharr


*we use one of those kids-lunch sized bags of cheez-its, open a little corner of it to let the air escape, and pound it into submission. But that's just us.

Taco Pot Pie

I glommed onto this one when I was perusing the Food Network's site. A lady entered it in one of Emeril's contests. I made it tonight with great reviews from the peeps who stuffed their faces. Any changes I made to the original recipe are bolded.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning (1.25 oz)
1/3 C water

1 Tbl oil (omitted)
1 (16oz) package frozen green, yellow, and red peppers and onions
1tsp garlic powder (omitted)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder (added)
1/4 tsp salt (omitted)
1/8 tsp pepper (omitted)
1 (11 oz) can corn, drained (I used frozen corn that I quickly steamed in the microwave.)
1/2 C salsa
1 can pigeon peas, drained (I used the Goya brand. You can use any bean you like or omit them completely. They weren't in the original recipe.)
1 (15 oz) package prepared, refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 oz (2 C) shredded cheese - colby/monterey blend, cheddar, whatever.

Garnishes:
chopped green onions
salsa
sour cream

Preheat over to 400 degrees

1. Brown beef over high heat until thoroughly cooked. Drain visible fat and add taco seasoning and water. Mixed until well-combined. Place in a bowl.
2. Dump the frozen bag of peppers and onions into the same pan and cook until heated through. The defrosting process will help deglaze the pan.
3. Get a BIG bowl. Mix the meat, vegetable mixture, can of drained beans, corn, and salsa together. Add any specific spices if you feel it's not spicey enough.
4. Arrange one of the pie crusts on the bottom of the pie pan. Cover the crust with 1/3 of the cheese. Layer on 1/2 of the meat and veggie mixture. Add 1/3 of the cheese on top of that. Layer on the rest of the meat, cover it with the remaining cheese, and then, the top crust.
5. Crimp the edges of the shells together and cut a few steam slits in the top of the crust.
6. Bake for 40 minutes - keep an eye on the shell. You may need to place some foil on its edges to prevent overbrowning. I put the pie on a foil-covered cookie sheet in case it boiled over while baking.

Hope you enjoy!

Oxtail Two Ways

I first had oxtail soup in Denmark, when I was a kid. It is especially memorable for me because I ate it in a pagoda at Tivoli Gardens.

Oxtails should be cheap, and used to be, but are now quite expensive. I won't even tell you what you have to pay for kosher ones, if you can find them. The good news is that you only need about a half pound for a big ol' pot of tasty soup.

I'm going to give two recipes for variations on this wonderful soup. The first is my take on a traditional oxtail soup with red wine. The second is perfect for Lunar New Year or just a good Chinese chowdown. Both look like they have a lot of ingredients, but feel free to adapt them to what you have at home or what you like to eat. Each of these should be good for 6-8 servings of soup. Both freeze well. Add the noodles later if you are going to freeze the high protein East Meets West soup.


1.Traditional Oxtail Soup

1/2 lb oxtails
1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 stalks chopped celery
1 peeled turnip, chopped (optional)
garlic
parsely
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 bay leaves
thyme
1 big can pureed tomatoes or 1 box pomi tomatoes
water
1 cup of wine, like a sirah (if desired)

Get your butcher to cut the oxtails into 2" pieces and trim the excess fat from the tails. Heat the olive oil - some use butter, but I don't - and sauté the onions and garlic in the oil. When translucent, add the celery and carrots and parsely. Place the oxtails carefully in the oil and vegetable mixture and let brown evenly (this is what gives your soup a good color). Salt and pepper to taste and add a bit of thyme - about 1/4 tsp dry or to taste. Add water to cover and simmer for 1.5 hours. Yes, you could do this in a crock pot. Remove from the fire, strain and put the stock into the cold so that you can remove the fat more easily. If you want, you can stop at this point and come back to the soup later.

Remove the meat from the bones and return it to the stock. If you don't mind picking bones out of your soup spoon, you can also just cook the soup until the meat falls of the bones. Bring to a simmer and add the tomatoes and wine. Adjust seasonings. If you like you can add more vegetables, barley or another grain, but it is delicious without any of these.

2. East Meets West Oxtail Soup


1/2 lb oxtails
1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 small pieces celery root (celeriac)
2 pieces bok choy
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 pkg. shirataki (soy) or gan si noodles (optional)
garlic
ginger
peanut oil
dark soy sauce
vinegar (chinkiang is best, but rice will work)
salt
pepper
5 spice powder
1/2 c. sherry (if desired; Chinese is best)


Sauté 1 carrot, celery root, garlic, ginger, salt in a small amount of peanut oil. Add 2" pieces of oxtail and brown on all sides. Reduce heat add a good splash of dark soy sauce, vinegar and about a tsp of 5 spice powder. Cook for about 1.5 or until meat is read to fall of of the oxtails. Strain soup, remove meat and let stock cool. Defat.

Reheat the stock, add sliced bok choy, carrot. Let simmer until vegetables are soft and add noodles. If you like, add 1/2 cup of Chinese sherry (or regular sweet sherry) to the soup.