Beef Stew

I pretty much ate everything my mom made growing up, except for a couple things here and there.  First and foremost on the yuck list: beef stroganoff.  Just the name alone gives me the shivers.  I also happen to love a good beef stew, but somewhere along the line I realized that I don't like beef stews that have tomato bases.  Yes, I am very picky.  So as I was scouring the interwebs for tomato-less beef stews, I stumbled across this recipe.  The name threw me off, but when I looked at the ingredients, I thought how bad could it be?  I gave it a try and was very happy.  The first time I made it I even forgot to add the sour cream, and it was still delicious.  

*note: in her actual beef stew recipe, she gives a tutorial on how to add carrots without turning them to mush.  Basically she cuts them up and tosses with oil, salt, and pepper, and wraps them in a foil packet and places that on top of the meat inside the crockpot.  When the meat is finished cooking, add the carrots.  They will be nice and tender yet still retain their texture.

Tri-tip marinade

"Everything in the kitchen sink" marinade!

Throw that hunk of meat in a ziploc bag and fill it up!

Here's what I add: (keep in mind this is not measured at all, just eyeballed

Olive oil (a couple tablespoons)

Red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)

Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce (couple tablespoons)

Course ground kosher salt (2 tablespoons)

Sugar (1 tablespoon)

Pepper (2 teaspoons)

Season salt and onion powder (1 teaspoon each)

lots of chopped garlic

If I feel like it, a glob of dijon mustard and a squeeze of a lemon

Now leave the grilling to the men!

Beef and green bean stir fry

This recipe is an all time Blickenstaff favorite.  I never was good at making it, mostly because I never paid attention to what my mom was doing.  She made it all the time, she could probably have made it with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.  My mom always made hers with flank steak, which gives is a little more umph, but then you gotta buy flank steak and cut it up.  When I was at my aunt's house the other week, she made the ground beef version.  Super fast and easy.  I always have ground beef on hand, so this time I paid attention.  It was so simple!  Now, she did skip a couple steps that my mom probably would freak out at if she knew, but hey it was worth the time crunch!

However much lean ground beef you feel like using, anywhere from a half pound to a full pound.  You can also sub in ground turkey or pork or chicken.

I put it in a bowl and drizzle soy sauce over the top (a few tablespoons) and about a teaspoon or two of sesame oil, then use a fork to break it up and get the soy sauce all mixed around.  Try to do this up to an hour before you get ready to cook.  The longer the meat marinates the better it tastes.

When you are ready to cook, heat about a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a pan and then crumble your meat and cook it up.  Remove from pan along with the gravy.  Then toss in your cleaned, trimmed green beans ( I cut them into about 1.5 inch pieces).  After about 2 minutes, pour in some water, anywhere from 1/4-1/2 cup and cover with the lid so they can steam and soften.  You don't want to cover them, just so you can see water all on the bottom of the pan.  When the water has evaporated and the beans are tender, take the lid off and (optional) add finely chopped garlic and/or ginger (this will make it spicier for the kids.  After a couple times I decided I liked ginger but not garlic).  Salt your beans and let them crisp up a bit, meanwhile take the gravy from your meat (should only be a couple tablespoons or so) and in a little bowl, make a slurry with about a teaspoon (or less) of cornstarch.  Toss the meat back in the pan and drizzle the slurry over top.  Cook for about 30 seconds til the sauce thickens and done!  Serve over rice.

If you want to make this with flank steak, just make sure to cut your meat on the bias, and make it nice and thin.  Same directions!  Now my mother would NEVER cook her beans in the same pot as the meat, she would blanch them first and then throw them in at the end.  This allows for a crispier bean, but in the end it doesn't make much of a difference and it saves a pot!  So we just won't tell her...

Most often she made it with broccoli, and sometimes she mixed it up with sugar snap or snow peas.  And sometimes carrots even got thrown in there for a bit more crunch and color!  For the peas, omit the steaming, they soften much quicker.  For broccoli I would blanch in a separate pot.

Sweet and sour meatballs

My mom used to make these for me when I was a kid, and for some reason, I HATED them!!! Now as an adult, I love their tangy, little bit of spicy, little bit of sweet sauce.  And what makes them even better: my kids LOVE them!  I serve them over rice with a side of veggies, and they are always gone in minutes.  Super duper easy, 3 ingredients and no prep work.  You can do crock pot, or just a regular pot on low for about 20 minutes, all the way from frozen meatballs.  Done!

Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese

For the record, as a child I hated Sloppy Joe's.  I mean, come on, even the name sounds disgusting.  I have literally never made them in my adult life.  Until last night.  And now I'm embarrassed because I loved this recipe.  So comforty, warm, gooey, crispy, yummy.  And there were no leftovers.  :(

*Note: I used Cracked Wheat Sourdough bread and Monterey Jack.  As if that could possibly make me feel any better about scarfing down the entire thing.

Glazed Meatloaf

It had been years since I'd made or even eaten meatloaf, but you know when you just get a craving... This recipe was a LOT of work, it just seemed like there were a lot of steps and a lot of dishes to wash after, but holy cow it was TOTALLY worth it.  Hands down the best meatloaf I'd ever had.  The glaze was delicious, but then again I am a sucker for any vinegar based sauce...

Basic Taco Meat

I LOVE me some good taco meat.  I remember as a kid my mom barking at us, "Don't take so much meat--fill your tacos with veggies and leave some for everyone else to eat!"  I always thought she was crazy and Hello, now I find myself "barking" at my husband as he scoops 1/2 a cup of taco meat onto his tortilla, "Not so much meat!!!"  Oh, and I won't pretend that I don't hide the leftovers in the back of the fridge so he doesn't scoop it out during the rest of the week, if there ever even are leftovers!

Here's how I do it:

1 lb. lean ground beef OR ground turkey

1 chopped onion, garlic cloves (or garlic powder if I'm lazy)

Brown, drain off fat if the fat content is higher than 7%

Add 1 can tomato sauce and then spice it up:

Salt, pepper, cumin, dark red chili powder, cayenne pepper all to taste.

(I never measure anything, I just keep adding until I like it)

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe on my foodgawker app and I knew I wanted to try it! 

I always make my own adjustments, so here's what they are:

Instead of adding marinara, I just made a basic taco meat and added frozen corn and black beans.  I loved the addition of the goat cheese.  It gave it just the right amount of creaminess and tangyness.  I wouldn't normally have bought some but I happened to have some on hand and I don't think I'll be able to make it without it now!  I also prefer white cheese instead of yellow, so I used Monterey Jack on top and ditched the Panko because I didn't have any and I was over it with 2 kids pulling at me while I was trying to finish stuffing the shells.  Boiling the shells for 9 minutes was the perfect amount of time, and 1 lb. of meat worked perfect for a box of 35 shells (the addition of 1/2 cup of corn and about a can of black beans gave me a little more filling).  All in all, it was a really easy recipe, and I had most of the ingredients on hand already.  It seems like it would be an easy one to freeze too.