Tag: Beef

Texas Chili Stuffed Shells

Texas Chili Stuffred Shells

Texas Chili Stuffed Shells

  • Servings: 6 - 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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As some of you may or may not know I am an Eclectic cook because I just love different  types of cuisines and the flavours they bring to the table so the whole idea of Fusion cooking is very intriguing because you can blend your favourite recipes, ingredients, countries into one cohesive dish and blow the minds of your dinner guests….. all without breaking a sweat.

This is my version of Fusion because I have combined a very classic Texas dish, Chili, with an even more classic Italian dish, Jumbo Pasta Shells.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 1 package Jumbo Shells
  • 2 pounds ground Beef
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Cheese
  • 3/4 cup chopped Green Onions
  • 1 large Sweet Onion – rough chopped
  • 2 Cubanelle peppers – diced
  • 2 Poblano peppers – diced
  • 4 Garlic cloves – fine chop
  • 3 tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 3 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
  • 2 tablespoons Chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons Chipotle powder
  • 2 tablespoons Ancho Chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
  • 1 tablespoon Oregano
  • 1 1/2 cups Chicken stock
  • 3 cups Crushed Tomatoes
  • Salt and Pepper to taste 
  • Garnish with Sour Cream.

Putting it all together:

  1. In a large pot heat the oil and brown the ground beef. Drain off the grease.
  2. Add the  beef back to the pot, add the remaining ingredients, except the shells, stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 mins to 1 hour.
  3. Cook the shells as per the box instructions.
  4. Drain the shells and let cool so they are easier to handle.
  5. While the shells are cooling heat the oven to 375°.
  6. Ladle a thin layer of chili on the bottom of an 11 x 15 casserole dish. Stuff the shells with a small amount of chili and fill the casserole dish with the stuffed shells. Top with shredded cheese and green onions and place in the oven until the cheese has melted. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream.
  7. Enjoy.

There you have it another “Simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……..

                            Bon Appetit

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Coffee Rubbed Striploin

Coffee Rubbed Striploin

Coffee Rubbed Striploin

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Sunday dinners with family are a time to gather together and enjoy good drink , good conversation and really good food which is why I chose this recipe for this family gathering.

The secret to any good recipe lies in the ingredients and for this one the ingredients in the dry rub make the difference.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list: 

  •  4 Striploin steaks 
  • 2 tablespoons Ancho chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons finely ground Coffee beans
  • 5 tablespoons Brown Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground black Pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground Coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground Ginger
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

Putting it all together:

  1. Preheat the bbq to 450°
  2. In a medium non reactive bowl mix all the dry ingredients together.
  3. Thoroughly rub the steaks with the dry rub and place on the bbq for 9 minutes a side.
  4. Enjoy

There you have it another “Simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time…….

                           Bon Appetit 

Beef and Lentil Stew

Beef and Lentil Stew

 

Beef and Lentil Stew

  • Servings: 6 - 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Cold season has hit my household and it looks like everyone, save yours truly, has caught one but it is entirely possible, if not probable, that I will sooner or later catch one. Until that time I will continue to look after my guys and so with that in mind I have made them some comfort food that will hopefully help them feel a little better.

Now I have “billed” this one as a stew however from what I can see the only difference between a soup and a stew is the thickness of the broth, except in the case of a Chowder which is thick anyways so if you wanted to make this a soup just thin out the broth.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping List:

  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds Sirloin Steak  Tails – cut into bite sized chunks
  • 3 Celery stalks- chopped
  • 2 Carrots – peeled and chopped
  • 1 Yellow Onion – diced
  • 3 small Leeks, whites only – chopped
  • 6 cups Beef broth
  • 1 28 ounce can Diced Tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons Oregano
  • 4 teaspoons Granulated Garlic
  • 2 cups Lentils
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Putting it all together:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown in batches removing to a separate bowl.
  3. Add the onion and saute until translucent.
  4. Add back the beef and the remaining ingredients bringing to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes.
  5. Adjust the seasoning and enjoy.

There you have it another “Simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time…….

                            Bon Appetit

Grilled Veal Chops

  • Servings: ”2″
  • Difficulty: ”easy”
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Grilled Veal chops

 

There are some things that my wife and I love to eat but rarely get to enjoy( unless we dine out and that’s not often) because my daughter does not like them and I’m not certain about my grandson. Things like Veal, Lamb, Chili and Sausage—- so when we recently found ourselves in the house alone for the weekend it was time for date night and that meant cooking something we have not had in quite some time…… in this case it was Veal.

Now part of the problem with cooking something like Veal is finding the right side dish to go with it. I mean it’s not like you can cook a perfect piece of veal and then slap a bunch of boxed macaroni and cheese down beside it and call it complete….. well I guess you could but I don’t see that as being very appetizing. What I decided to to do as my sides was steamed Asparagus on top of combined mashed potato celery root puree and frankly it worked quite well.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping List:

  • Two Veal shoulder chops
  • One medium Celery Root– peeled and rough chopped
  • Three Cipollini onions or one small yellow onion– peeled and rough chopped
  • Four to five large yellow flesh potatoes
  • One bunch Asparagus– trimmed of woody end
  • Two garlic cloves – peeled and smashed
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • Canola oil
  • Salt and pepper

Putting it all together:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  2. Put approximately two inches of water in a large pot
  3. Place the celery root,garlic and onions in a steamer basket and place over the pot of water and steam for 10 minutes
  4. In a separate pot cook the potatoes until just fork tender
  5. While the potatoes and celery mix are cooking grease your grill pan (see Kitchen gadgets) or add Canola oil to a large fry pan
  6. Season the Veal chops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides– about 4 minutes
  7. Pop the chops in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 164 degrees
  8. Put the Celery root mix in the bowl of a food processor along with 1 ladle of the steamer water and the butter
  9. Puree the mix for about three minutes
  10. While the food processor is running pour in the heavy cream and puree until blended
  11. Mash the potatoes and add enough of the puree to get the consistency you would like- the puree acts like the butter and milk you would normally use
  12. In another pot with a steamer insert steam the Asparagus for about 7 minutes or until tender
  13. Plate the Veal and potatoes and top the potatoes with the asparagus.
  14. Enjoy

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time………

                 Bon Appetit

Corned beef hash

Dreamstime photo

 

 

This is one of those dishes that people really only think of as a breakfast item but in fact is one that is extremely versatile as well as very inexpensive and can be served morning, noon or night.

If you are like me I have neither the time nor the space to pickle my own Brisket and wind up with scratch made Corned Beef so this is one of those rare moments when I will use— gasp—- pre packaged food.

Ingredients:

  •       2 -12 ounce Cans Corned Beef
  •          2 -18 Ounce cans of diced potatoes
  •          2- 8 ounce cans of mushrooms
  •          1 Medium white onion diced
  •          3 or 4 healthy dashes of Worcestershire sauce
  •          2 Garlic cloves minced
  •          3 to 4 tablespoons of Olive oil
  •          Pepper to taste
  •          4 Eggs

Method:

  •          Heat the oil in a large non- stick pan
  •          Add the potatoes and sauté over medium high heat until they are crispy and just about fork tender
  •          Add in the onions, mushrooms and garlic and continue to sauté until the onions start to become translucent – about 4 minutes
  •          Break up the Corned Beef and mix it very well with the rest of the ingredients
  •          Mix in the Worcestershire sauce and the pepper.
  •          While the Corned Beef mixture is cooking fry or poach your eggs.
  •          When the eggs are finished spoon some of the Corned Beef onto a plate, top with an egg and enjoy. If you feel ambitious you can also toast some bread to have with the meal. I should also point out that I don’t add Salt because           the Corned Beef is rather salty to begin with.

Now the reason I mentioned that this was an inexpensive dish to make is because when I used to make it the total cost was under $15.00  and it fed four of us.

So I hope the next time you want something “simple but tasty” that also is inexpensive you will give this one a try. Oh and my thanks to Dreamstime for the awesome photo.

Until next time……..

                              Bon Appetit

 

Curried Chicken Burgers

Curried chicken burger

 

So I was at my doctors one day and she says to me “We should do some blood work since it has not been done in a while”.

“Okay says I” (why do I sound like Captain Jack Sparrow here?)

She calls me a short time later and says “You have Hemochromatosis and you can’t eat red meat”. “OOOOKKKAAAYYY……… what’s that?”  Well it seems it is a build up of Iron in major organs and as such I need to lay off the red meat if not cut it out entirely (yeah like thatps going to happen).

Well needless to say my heart stopped, my jaw dropped into my shoes and I envisioned my world at an end. NO RED MEAT? I’m a carnivore I eat red meat. Imagine a world without Beef burgers, rack of Lamb or Steak? What am I supposed to do I asked her?

Her answer was simple—- Adapt!!!

Well this recipe is my adaptation to not being able to eat red meat as often as I would like and I hope you like it as well. If you are not a lover of Curry or Garam Masala then simply leave it out and still create a killer burger.

Curried Chicken Burgers

–         2 Pounds lean ground chicken

–         2 Eggs

–         1/2 Cup bread crumbs

–         1 Teaspoon salt

–         1 Teaspoon ground pepper

–         2 Tablespoons Garum Masala

–         1 ½ Teaspoons granulated garlic

–         1 ½ Teaspoons granulated onion

–         Mix all ingredients in a large bowl being careful not to overwork the mixture

–         Form 6 ounce patties

–         Refrigerate for approx. one hour to allow the patties to set

–         BBQ and serve on a toasted bun with lettuce and tomato.

–         These go very well with a Chipotle mayo.

Bon Appetit