Wednesday Recipes

Here we are, half-way through the work week. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through today, as well as the rest of the week, including Meatloaf with a Twist and Beef and Broccoli. Enjoy!

EASY CLASSIC CHILI

This is from Paula Deen Magazine, and begins, “This Easy Classic Chili is a delicious mixture of slow-cooked ground chuck, tomatoes, kidney beans, sweet onions, and bell peppers. Complete this meal by serving it with a side of cornbread or crackers.”

Makes 12 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds ground chuck

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (1.75-ounce) packet chili seasoning

Toppings: shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef, salt, and pepper, and cook until browned and crumbly; drain well.

In a 6-quart slow cooker, stir together cooked beef, tomatoes, beans, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and seasoning until well combined. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with toppings.

EASY PASTITSIO (GREEK LASAGNA)

This recipe is from tbsp.com, and begins, “This big, fat Greek pasta is as delicious as it is comforting. Packed with a meaty tomato sauce, penne pasta, warm spices and topped with an easier-than-you-think béchamel, it’s a take on lasagna we highly recommend.”

Prep: 45 minutes; Total: 1 hour 30 minutes; Servings: 8

View this online here.

Ingredients

Pasta

12 oz uncooked penne pasta (4 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic tomato basil pasta sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 eggs, beaten

Topping

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 5 to 7 minutes, breaking up any lumps with back of wooden spoon. Add onion; cook and stir about 4 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in pasta sauce. Heat to simmering; reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix tomato sauce mixture, cooked pasta, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and 3 eggs. Spread in baking dish; spread top smooth.

In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, 1 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Gradually beat in milk with whisk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; beat in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. In small bowl, beat 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into beaten egg. Return egg mixture to pan, beating constantly. Pour over top of pasta.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is bubbly and lightly browned in spots. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

MEATLOAF WITH A TWIST

This is from FamilyTime, and begins, “This moist and flavorful meatloaf gets an extra kick from picante sauce...it takes just 10 minutes of your time before you bake it, so it's as easy as it is good to eat!”

Serves: 6 servings; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 65 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Mushroom Gravy

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce

Directions

Thoroughly mix 1/4 cup gravy, beef, bread crumbs, egg and 1/4 cup picante sauce in a large bowl. Shape the beef mixture firmly into an 8 x 4-inch loaf in a baking pan.

Bake at 350°F. for 1 hour or until the meatloaf is cooked through.

Heat 2 tablespoons drippings, the remaining gravy and the remaining picante sauce in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until it's hot and bubbling. Serve the gravy mixture with the meatloaf.

Serving Suggestion: Serve the meatloaf with hot mashed potatoes.

PICADILLO

This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “Picadillo is one of the great dishes of the Cuban diaspora: a soft, fragrant stew of ground beef and tomatoes, with raisins added for sweetness and olives for salt. Versions of it exist across the Caribbean and into Latin America. This one combines ground beef with intensely seasoned dried Spanish chorizo in a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and scents it with red-wine vinegar, cinnamon and cumin, along with bay leaves and pinches of ground cloves and nutmeg. For the olives you may experiment with fancy and plain, but rigorous testing here suggests the use of pimento-stuffed green olives is the best practice. A scattering of capers would be welcome as well.”

Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in “The Ultimate Cuban Comfort Food: Picadillo”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and chopped

2 ounces dried chorizo, diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 bay leaves

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg

2/3 cup raisins

2/3 cup pitted stuffed olives

Preparation

Put the olive oil in a large, heavy pan set over a medium-high flame, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onions, chorizo and garlic, stir to combine and cook until the onions have started to soften, approximately 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef, and allow it to brown, crumbling the meat with a fork as it does. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Add tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and let the stew simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes.

Uncover the pan, and add the raisins and the olives. Allow the stew to cook for another 15 minutes or so, then serve, accompanied by white rice.

BEEF AND BROCCOLI

This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “Here is a streamlined, powerfully flavorful recipe for a delivery-food standby: velvety wok-fried beef in a oyster-soy sauce, served in a forest of green. ‘It’s diaspora food,’ the chef Jonathan Wu told me, describing the cooking of Chinese immigrants to the United States and a dish that is almost unknown in China but beloved in America. The recipe is a version of the one Wu’s mother made for dinner when he was growing up outside Hartford, Conn., with a little chile-garlic paste added for zip and, thanks to the Brooklyn chef Dale Talde, a pat of butter swirled into the sauce at the end. This provides a plush gloss that is far better than the traditional cornstarch slurry. It is midweek family cooking at its best.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “The Best Beef and Broccoli, No Delivery Required” and can be viewed online here.

Note: This is me (Robin) writing. Cooking can be a fun, creative process. There have been many times over the years when I have not had an ingredient on hand; I’ve either run out, or, in the case of alcohol, just plain don’t have it around at all. If that sounds familiar, you can usually experiment. I personally would either use non-alcoholic wine or water for the wine, and either hoisin sauce or soy sauce in place of the oyster sauce. But that’s just me. Feel free to follow Sam’s recipe here to the letter. But either way, make sure you get some enjoyment out of your food and the company you eat with!

Ingredients

1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine, dry sherry or sake

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 pound beef — chuck or rib steak — sliced thin against the grain

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola, grapeseed or peanut

1 pound broccoli, the head cut into florets and the stems peeled and cut into planks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

In a large bowl, whisk together the wine, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce and the cornstarch. Add the beef to the bowl, and toss to combine, then cover the bowl, and set aside for 20 minutes or so.

To make the sauce, combine in a small bowl the remaining soy sauce, the oyster sauce and the chile-garlic sauce, and mix to combine, then add a tablespoon of water and mixagain. Set aside.

Heat the 1/2 cup of oil in a wok set over high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add about half the beef to the wok, and stir-fry until it is browned and crisp and barely cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl or plate, and set aside. Then repeat with remaining beef.

Pour off the oil in the wok, wipe it out with a towel and return it to the stove over high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and swirl it around and heat it until it is smoking. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing and stirring frequently, until lightly charred in spots, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons water to the wok, and toss and stir the broccoli in the steam for an additional 2 minutes, then return beef to the wok, followed by the sauce. Cook, stirring and tossing frequently, for 30 seconds or so, then add the butter, and stir and toss again for 30 seconds more. Serve immediately, with rice.

SPICY BUFFALO-STYLE MEATBALLS

Recipe Yield: Makes 32 appetizer servings.

To view this online, go to https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/spicy-buffalo-style-meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

Blue cheese dressing

Celery sticks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly.

Shape beef mixture into 32 1-inch meatballs; place on rack in broiler pan. Bake in 350F oven 18 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine hot pepper sauce, butter and honey in large bowl; mix well. Add meatballs; stir to coat.

Serve with dressing and celery sticks, as desired. Makes 32 appetizer servings.

Cook's Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef done-ness.

Cook's Tip: 1 package (about 18 ounces) frozen fully-cooked beef meatballs can be substituted for ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook meatballs according to package directions. Continue as directed in step 3.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 33; Fat: 2 g; Sodium: 78 mg; Cholesterol: 16 mg; Protein: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 1 g