Korean Beef

Servings: 4 (next time i may need to double the recipe!)

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 

1 pound super lean ground beef
1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness - i used the low end)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced (don't skip this!)

Directions: 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat (my 94/6 meat didn't haven't any fat to drain) and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions

Verdict: 

The was super yummy and a huge hit in our house. Bonus it's really fast to make and I already had everything but the green onions in the house. Isaac ate 3 servings of this. Plus both kids loved those crinkle cut frozen carrots I served it with. Note to self to buy more of those! This will definitely be made again. And again. 

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean hamburger meat
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (or petite diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups beef broth (or water)
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Brown and drain hamburger meat. Stir in taco seasoning, Rotel, beef broth and macaroni. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 minutes until macaroni is tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking for 5 minutes until light brown in color. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture and stir to combine.

Verdict:

This was SOOO spicy! I have no idea why it was so spicy, i used mild Rotel and original taco seasoning. Even I could barely eat it. But other than being spicy it was really good. I'm going to try to make it again using regular diced tomatoes and mild taco seasoning because I think it could be really good. The kids didn't touch it, cute plates and all. But I think they'd like it, if it weren't so spicy.

I'll update when I make it again.

Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: <15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients: 

4 peppers - green, red or yellow
1 lb ground meat - turkey or beef (this time i used turkey)
1-2 cups cooked rice - i used leftover rice
14.5oz can diced tomatoes with basil & oregano
shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat overn to 375. Cut the tops off peppers and remove the seeds. Place in dish, cover with saran wrap and microwave for about 3-4 minutes until crisp, tender.

2. Meanwhile, brown meat. Add rice and tomatoes. Season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir until warm throughout.

3. Spoon meat mixture into peppers about half way full. Srpinkle in some cheese. Fill the rest of the way up and top with more cheese. I say, the more cheese you can fit in those suckers the better!

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Verdict: 
This was pretty good. I feel like it was missing something, but i'm not sure what. I'm going to scour some other stuffed pepper recipes online and see what I can add to give it a little more flavor. Maybe pasta sauce? Any ideas?

Beef Satay with Peanut-Ginger Ramen

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids, not 4 adults though
Total Time: 25 minutes including marinating
nutrition per serving (not including cucumber): 443 cal; 18g fat (5g sat); 33g protein; 39g carb; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
3 T soy sauce, divided
2 T lime juice, divided
1.75 t sugar, divided
2 t grated fresh ginger, divided
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
2 packages (3 oz each) Ramen noodles, cooked according to package & seasoning discarded
thinly sliced cucumber, for serving

Directions: 
1. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes. In shallow dish combine 1 T soy sauce, 1 T lime juice, 1 t ginger and 1 t sugar. Add beef, toss, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a blender, puree 1 T lime juice, 3/4 t sugar, 1 t ginger, 2 T Soy sauce with peanut butter and 1/3 cup water.

3. Heat grill or grill pan to med-high. Grill beef until charred and cooked through 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Toss Ramen with peanut-ginger sauce.

5. Serve with beef and cucumber.

Verdict:
I thought this was ok. Dave and the kids really liked it. I may have liked it more if one, I hadn't overcooked the meat and two, it was warm when I ate it. These days by the time I sit down with my plate after getting everyone elses, my food is cold. One day I'll get hot food again. It was really easy and the noodles were really good, but pretty peanut-y. I'll probably make it again.

Beef Macaroni

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Servings: 4-6
Total Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition per serving (based on 4 servings): 442 cal; 6 g fat; 61g carb; 35g protein; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 t seasoned salt (I used lawry's)
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 t celery seed
1-28oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2-14.5 oz can tomatoes with green peppers)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups uncooked macaroni

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package.

2. In a skillet, brown beef in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once browned, add onion and cook until soft.

3. Add crushed red pepper, seasoned salt, celery seed, Worcestershire and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add cooked, drained macaroni and parsley. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Verdict: 
This was better than I thought it would be. I knew the kids would love it, and they did. But i'm surprised at how much I liked it. And looking back at the picture, I realize I forgot the parsley, and it was still really good. My parents first made this for the kids when Dave and I were in Mexico and they told me how much they liked it. I'm just now getting around to making it and am now wondering why I waited so long. It's a great alternative to regular spaghetti and will definitely have a place in our future menus!

Crock Pot Italian Beef

4-4 1/2 lbs of shoulder roast (typically 2 pkgs)

Mix together and pour over roast:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup peperoncini juice
1 pkg dry au jus (McKormick)
1 pkg dry zesty Italian dressing
Put peperoncinis on top ( I actually mix in with above ingredients.  As many as you like.)

Cook in crock pot on low all day or high for 5-6 hours

Verdict: I've tried a lot of different crock pot beef recipes, and this is by far the best and most flavorful. This recipe makes enough for a large crowd, so I usually use a smaller piece of meat when making it and still have plenty to freeze.

I served the meat on mini rolls with a piece of cheese melted on top. YUM!

Source: Vicki G.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Time: 25 minutes prep - 8 hours cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 pounds)
• 2 large russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, sliced thickly on the diagonal
• 2 large ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
• 1 can (14-15 ounces) diced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Cut roast in half; place into a 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with potatoes, parsnips, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
2. In a medium bowl, combine thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper, broth, and diced tomatoes; pour over vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves before eating

Verdict:
This was good pot roast. Allison loved the meat and carrots. She wasn't big on the parsnips, but Dave and I enjoyed the different flavor they added. Pretty decent recipe as far as crock pot things go.

Beef and Broccoli

Everytime I post a picture of the food I make, I really think, wow, I should use a better camera than my cell phone. But then I get lazy again. And really, who has time to break out the big camera when your yummy dinner is just sitting there waiting to be eaten.

So not the best picture, but this is so yummy!

Recipe source: canyoustayfordinner.com

Servings: 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
• 1 pound broccoli florets, blanched or bag broccoli wokly
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Beef Marinade:

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Make the marinade: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes
2. Make the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. 
3. Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.  OR If you want to cheat (which is what I did): buy a bag of broccoli wokly florets that steam in the bag. I cooked it in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes.
4. Heat a wok over medium-high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the sesame oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the strips out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink.
5. Pour in the sauce.
6. Add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil.
7. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.
8. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Verdict: 

This was super yummy and so super fast and easy. It took the rice longer to cook than it did for me to make this. And it's pretty healthy to boot. 

Per Serving (not including rice): Calories - 292 Fat - 17 Carbs - 10 Prot - 25 Fiber - 2

Crock Pot Asian Beef and Noodles

Source: stephaniecooks.blogspot.com

Serves: 8 servings Total time: 5 mins prep and 9-10 hours cook time

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir fry vegetables 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes 1 (12 oz) bottle reduced sodium stir fry sauce, any flavor 3/4 cup chicken or beef broth (low sodium) 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 (3 oz) packages Ramen noodles, broken 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Direction: Coat a 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place frozen vegetables in the bottom and top with meat. In a medium bowl, mix stir fry sauce, broth and red pepper. Pour over meat and vegetables in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 4.5-5 hours (I recommend low, it will help to break the meat down more).

At the end of the cooking time, discard spice packets from ramen noodles. Stir noodles and green onions into meat mixture. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir before serving.

Verdict: While this didn't look all that appetizing (and my cell phone picture of it probably doesn't help matters), it was actually pretty good. Allison really liked it and it was a nice change of pace from the soupy type stuff you usually make in a crock pot. Plus it takes less than 5 minutes to throw together in the morning, especially if you get the stew meat that is already cut into cubes. I'll definitely make this one again.

Diner Meat Loaf Muffins

Source: Cooking Light

Served with mashed potatoes and a salad.

Yield: 6 Servings of 2 muffins each
Total Time: 55 minutes - 30 min prep & 25 mins to cook

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)
1 cup finely crushed fat-free saltine crackers (about 20)
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.

Combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with 2 teaspoons ketchup. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories:276 (28% from fat)
Fat:8.6g (sat 3g,mono 4g,poly 0.8g)
Protein:28.7g
Carbohydrate:21.7g
Fiber:1.8g

Verdict: The meat loaf was actually pretty good. The problem was that they took almost an hour to make. So by the time we sat down to eat, Allison had already eaten so many snacks she wasn't hungry. The nice thing is it did make enough to freeze half the batch, so maybe the next time we eat them Allison will get to try them too. But Dave and I were fans.