Category Archives: Beef

Christen’s Spaghetti & Meatballs, Slow-Cooker Style!

Posted on May 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

One of my favorite foods is spaghetti with red sauce. I could eat it every day and probably not get tired of it. But I know James would so I try to limit my cooking it to once a month or so!

As you know I have a deep love for my crockpot, so I figured why not try to make my spaghetti in there? When I make meatballs, I like them to cook in the gravy a long time, that way they aren’t all tough like they are if you cook them in a skillet first. A slow-cooker seemed the perfect solution for this, and it worked great. You simply dump all the ingredients into the slow cooker and mix it up well, assemble your meatballs and plop them into the sauce and let it cook. Couldn’t be easier. I’m thinking this would be easily assembled the night before even. I’ll definitely be cooking them this way more often (well as often as he lets me!).

Slow-Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs

Slow-Cooker Spaghetti & Meatballs
My own recipe

Ingredients:
Sauce
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 small cans tomato sauce
2 small cans tomato paste
A couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1/4-1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 tsp white granulated sugar
4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1-2 tsp dried Italian seasonings)
2-3 fresh stems of thyme
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
seasonings to taste: Tony’s, garlic and onion powders, salt, red pepper flakes
Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

spaghetti noodles for serving

Method:

Spray the crockpot dish with nonstick spray. Add all of the sauce ingredients to the dish, mix well.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the meatball ingredients just till mixed. Don’t over mix, or they’ll be tough. Place them into the crockpot, sinking them down into the sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. When done, taste for seasoning, remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs, then serve over pasta.

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Posted in Beef, Crockpot, Freezer-Friendly, Pasta

Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans

Posted on January 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

Well it’s that time of year again. Everyone is health conscious, everywhere you look are ads for weight loss items and the gym parking lot is full. New Years Resolutions. Every year my goal is to lose weight, and as I’m getting older the desire is much stronger. And it’s much harder.

It’s extra hard since I love to cook and I love food. Luckily these days there are many tasty recipes that are on the lower-cal side of the spectrum. One of my favorite sources for tasty healthier recipes is Cooking Light. Almost everything I’ve ever cooked from that magazine has been delicious and this recipe is no different. It really doesn’t even TASTE like it’s lighter. The portions were large also, so it didn’t leave you hungry. If you’re a fan of Mexican food you’re sure to love this.

Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans
Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, January/February 2012
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (ground turkey would work fine too)
1 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup lower- sodium beef broth
1 tbsp taco seasoning (it called for less-sodium but I used spicy)
1 (8 oz) can salt-free tomato sauce
4 (8-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown beef and crumble with your spoon. Add onion and cook until tender.
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, saute for a minute then sprinkle with flour and cook an additional thirty seconds, stirring constantly. Add in the broth, taco seasoning and tomato sauce and stir in well. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally for two minutes. Add 1.5 cups of this mixture to the browned beef, reserving 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture for later use.
Spray a pie plate with nonstick spray and place one tortilla in the bottom. Top with one cup of beef mixture, then repeat the layers, ending with a tortilla. Spread the reserved tomato mixture over the top, then sprinkle on the cheese.
Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Cool slightly and cut into four wedges.

Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients:
2 tsp canola oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 minced jalapeno pepper
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the pan.
Add the red bell pepper and jalapeno pepper and saute for four minutes. Add the lime juice, salt and beans and cook until heated through, about three minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Calories:
Enchilada Casserole – 377
Spicy Black Beans – 83

Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans

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Posted in Beans, Beef, Cinco de Mayo, Light and Healthy, Mexican

Grillades with Cheddar and Goat Cheese Fried Grits

Posted on August 24, 2011 | 1 Comment

We have a little tradition at our house where Sunday night is our “good meal” night of the week. It’s usually something that is a little more time or labor intensive, something you wouldn’t be up to tackling during the week. Often it’s something on the grill, or sometimes it’s something that has to simmer or roast for a while in the oven. This week it was grits and grillades.

I know you’re thinking grits and grillades don’t really take all that long to cook, and you’re right. They don’t. But these are special grits. They’re grits mixed with two different cheeses, cut into squares, battered and fried. So when you top the crisp little boxes of grits with that savory beefy gravy and dig in, you get a small taste of crunch with the creamy cheesy grits. And you keep digging in, way past when you should have called it quits. Because it’s just so good. So good.

I should note for those that can’t imagine what this tastes like – the grillades reminds me very much of boeuf bourguignon. In fact, it made me say “hmmm, maybe next time we make b.b. we can make fried grits!

Grillades with Cheddar and Goat Cheese Fried Grits
Recipe adapted from my dad, Gerry!

Grillades Recipe:
1 lb. sirloin tip steaks

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

½ cup flour

2-3 slices bacon, browned and crumbled, grease reserved

1 onion, chopped

15oz can diced tomato

1 can Rotel Original tomatoes

2 cups red wine

5 squirts Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. basil

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Method:

Remove and discard fat from meat. Cut into ½ inch wide strips. Lay several pieces of meat on a cutting board, sprinkle with seasoning mix and a little flour. Pound each piece of meat with a mallet till slightly flattened. After all of the meat is tenderized, heat the bacon drippings in a large black iron pot and brown the meat on both sides. Add seasoning blend and cook till veggies are tender, stirring often to prevent sticking. Add both cans of tomatoes and their liquid, reducing heat to medium. Add mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, wine, basil and thyme. Cook for an hour or so, until meat is tender. If gravy becomes too thick, add wine or beef broth. Just before serving, you can add chopped green onion tops. Serve over fried or baked grits.

Grits Recipe

Cooked grits (make 8 servings)

½ cup shredded cheddar

4 oz. garlic and herb goat cheese

green onions

seasoning mix (I use Tony Chachere’s)

seasoned flour

egg wash

vegetable oil

Method:
Make grits according to package directions. Mix with cheese, green onions, and seasonings. Pour into greased casserole dish. Put into fridge overnight, or at least a few hours. Cut grits into squares, dip into egg wash, then into seasoned flour. Fry in about an inch of oil in a fry pan till browned. Serve with grillades poured over it.

Grillades with Cheddar and Goat Cheese Fried Grits

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Posted in Beef, Goat Cheese, Mardi Gras, Regional Louisiana

Slow-Cooker Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches

Posted on August 22, 2011 | 4 Comments

Have you ever noticed that some things just make your mouth water? While perusing the Crockpot365 blog, I spotted a post for pepperoncini beef sandwiches and when I saw the picture, my mouth watered. And I made it two days later.

I have to say this is one of the easiest dishes ever. Doesn’t hurt that it tastes awesome and is pretty cheap to make! I added a few things because if you can believe it, the recipe only calls for two things. I’ll write the recipe as I made it and put my add-ins as “optional.” I was a little worried that it would taste too tangy with all that pepperoncini and juice, but it wasn’t at all, it was absolutely perfect. And the leftovers are even better. You can even put the meat in frozen. I have a feeling this will be in our regular rotation!

Slow-Cooker Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches
Recipe adapted from: A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:
1 2-lb. beef chuck roast
1 (16 oz.) jar whole pepperoncini peppers
5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 yellow onion, chopped (optional)
1 packet dry Lipton’s Beefy Onion Soup Mix (optional)
1/4 cup wine (optional)
buns
sliced provolone cheese (optional)

Method:
Spray a crockpot bowl with nonstick spray. If using onions, place half of them on the bottom of the bowl. Place the chuck roast on top of the onions and empty the jar of pepperoncini peppers on top. Place the sliced mushrooms and the rest of the onions on top. In a small bowl, mix the dry soup mix with just enough wine (or water if you don’t have wine) to where it is well combined. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (may want to go 10 if using frozen beef).

When cooked, shred with two forks. Serve on buns topped with cheese. I put ours under the broiler for a little bit to melt the cheese. But maybe left too long….see pic. ;)

Slow-Cooked Pepperoncini Beef Sandwich

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Posted in Beef, Crockpot, Money Savers, Sandwiches

Ultimate Sriracha Burger

Posted on July 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

This is the best burger I have ever eaten.

Yes. That’s a strong statement. Burgers can vary so much, there are literally thousands of topping options, so how can I say that it’s the best? I ate it. When you eat it, you’ll probably agree. And if you don’t, I’ll give you my shocked look. Picture Munch’s famous Scream painting, but with my face.

This burger has it all. It’s spicy, but it’s not crazy spicy where you’re guzzling down a cold drink after each bite. It’s just the perfect spice, then it’s topped with the crisp bacon, creamy swiss cheese and the extra creamy bleu cheese and the caramelized onions and fresh sliced tomato. Trust me when I say do not leave out any of the elements. They all combine to create burger heaven. We had them last weekend and we’ll be having them again this weekend and I cannot wait!!!

P.S. Don’t be scared when you see how red your hands are after mixing the meat, it’ll be alright!!

Ultimate Sriracha Burger
Recipe from The Sriracha Cookbook, as seen on Oishii

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
2 TBSP soy sauce
5 TBSP Sriracha, divided
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
4 slices thick cut bacon (thick cut people, thick cut!!)
1 large sweet onion, sliced
3/4 cup good bleu cheese dressing, I recommend the ones in the cold produce section sold by the salads
4 buns (I think sourdough would be amazing!!)
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 tomato, sliced
lettuce or arugula, if desired (we didn’t desire)

Method:
Mix the ground chuck, soy sauce, the black pepper and 2.5 TBSP of the Sriracha. Don’t over mix or your burgers will be tough! Form into four patties and place on a plate in the fridge while your coals get ready.

While your coals are heating up, heat a skillet over medium heat and fry up the bacon until crisp, break each piece in half and set aside. In the bacon grease, cook down the onion until caramelized then set it aside. In a small bowl, mix the bleu cheese dressing and the remaining 2.5 tbsp of Sriracha and store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the burgers.

Cook the burgers on the grill until they are done to your liking, placing a slice of Swiss cheese on each just before they’re done so the cheese can melt. When done, toast your buns until lightly browned. Assemble your burgers and enjoy!

Ultimate Sriracha Burger

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Posted in Beef

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes

Posted on May 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sloppy Joes are always a good thing to have when you’re wanting comfort food. Unfortunately, a glance at the nutrition information makes it not so comforting. Luckily we can always count on Cooking Light to deliver a tasty recipe at a fraction of the calories.

This was a really quick to cook recipe and though it’s a little odd with all of the chopped mushrooms, it is really REALLY good. And you’d never know it was lower calorie. They say that it yields 4 sandwiches at 439 calories each, but I guess we just don’t put enough meat on ours because it made like 6 or 7 sandwiches for us. So I don’t know how many calories that would be. Anyway. It was good, try it!

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Recipe from: Cooking Light, June 2011 issue

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz lean ground beef
1 lb. mushrooms, washed, stems trimmed and quartered (I don’t like presliced – they get brown and dry)
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup no-salt tomato paste
1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce
4 hamburger buns, toasted

Method:

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground meat and cook until browned. While that’s cooking, add your mushrooms to a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Make sure your ground beef is chopped up small (with your spoon) and add the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook until tender, two or three minutes. Add the tomato paste, oregano, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses and salt and cook five minutes until some of the liquid evaporates. Add the pepper and hot sauce, taste for seasonings and serve.

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes

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Posted in Beef, Light and Healthy, Quick Fix, Sandwiches

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup

Posted on May 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve only made boeuf bourguignon a few times but I really enjoyed making it because it slow cooks and makes your house smell AMAZING! My husband is a huge fan of the dish so when I saw the soup variation, I knew he’d want to try it. I picked a day that he was off of work so he could also enjoy the delicious aroma and it didn’t disappoint!

The night we made the soup, it was good. But it made a pretty good bit and we had some leftovers the next night. It was so delicious leftover! The flavors really intensified overnight and it was fabulous! I think it’d be a great idea to cook it on the weekend and maybe just pop it in the fridge for an easy weeknight meal!

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup
Recipe adapted from Elizabeth’s Edible Experience, originally from Martha Stewart Living, December 2010

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp olive oil
8 oz white button mushrooms, washed, trimmed and quartered
3 carrots – 2 finely chopped (I used food processor) and one in chunks
1 onion, chopped
3 strips bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup red wine
8 cups beef broth
2 cups water
cooked egg noodles, for serving

Method:

Season stew meat with salt and pepper, coat well with cornstarch. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot (I used enameled cast iron) and add the beef. Brown on all sides, about six minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add the mushrooms to the pot, cook until lightly browned and then remove them to a bowl, and add the uncooked cubed carrots to the bowl with the cooked mushrooms. Set this aside also.

Add the onion, bacon and chopped carrots to the pot. Cook until caramelized, about six minutes, then stir in the tomato paste. Return the beef (and any juices that the plate has collected) to the pot and add in the thyme and bay leaf. Raise the heat to high and add the wine. Reduce about a minute, gently scraping bits stuck onto to the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon (flavor!). Add the stock and water, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook partially covered 2.5 hours or until the beef is tender. Add the reserved mushrooms and carrots back to the pot and cook at a simmer until the carrots are tender. Season to taste and ladle into soup bowls with a little of the egg noodles.

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup

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Posted in Beef, Soups, Stews, Chili and Gumbo

Steak & Bleu Cheese Quesadillas

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

One of my favorite combos is beef and bleu cheese. I mean really, does it get better than that?? I needed to use up some flour tortillas before they went bad so I decided to concoct a quesadilla that was a little different. I hate to even call this a recipe because it was so easy, but there ya go. The end result was pure yummy-ness and next time, I won’t wait till I’m trying to use up tortillas – I’ll buy them just for this!

Steak & Bleu Cheese Quesadillas
A Cooking With Christen original

Ingredients:
1 pkg. tenderized cube steak (I think that’s what it’s called, anyway! It’s those round patty looking things that have been tenderized, you know what I mean! I wanted to use flat-iron steak but it wasn’t on sale.)
Dale’s marinade – to taste
3 tbsp butter
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 tsp thyme
4-5 white mushrooms, washed and sliced into thick slices
A couple of handfuls of fresh baby spinach
bleu cheese crumbles
flour tortillas

Method:

Set the meat in a tupperware container and drizzle the Dale’s marinade over it. Allow to sit in the fridge a half hour or so (while you prep the rest of the ingredients).

Heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat and add the onions. Cook until soft, add some salt if you like. Remove the onions to a plate and set aside. In the same pan, add 1 more tbsp butter and cook the mushrooms until just soft. Don’t cook them too long though because they’ll shrink down! Add them to the plate with the onions. Finally, add that last tablespoon butter and the spinach and cook until just wilted. Set aside.

Remove the beef from the refrigerator and cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook in a skillet or pan until done then set aside.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and place one tortilla in it. Add some beef, bleu cheese crumbles, spinach, mushrooms and onions on only one half of it. Fold the other half over and flip to cook each side and allow the cheese to melt. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Cut into wedges and serve.

Steak and Bleu Cheese Quesadillas

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Posted in Beef, Sandwiches

Crescent City Meatloaf

Posted on March 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Meatloaf. It used to be something I did not like. Until I found the recipe I’ve been using for years, calling it “meatloaf for people who don’t like meatloaf.” Perhaps now I can call it “starter meatloaf.” My dad’s friend Cindy told me she had a really great meatloaf recipe she wanted to share with me, so she sent it and I tried it.

I have to admit, I was skeptical of the sun-dried tomatoes because I generally do not care for those because they always seem to be chewy. You can push that skepticism aside though because after rehydrating and cooking in the meatloaf, they’re wonderful. This meatloaf is wonderful, I cannot rave enough about it. While its cooking, it smells like steak. Yum. It killed me that yesterday was a Friday in Lent so I couldn’t eat the leftovers! But that meatloaf better watch out because today isn’t Friday! It’s truly a wonderful recipe, Cindy thanks so much for sending it to me (she says it’s good made into burgers too, I’ll have to try that).

All I can say to my other meatloaf is….there’s a new meatloaf in town!

Crescent City Meatloaf
Recipe from: The Roux to Do Cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted and chopped
1.5 lbs. ground chuck
8 oz. ground pork
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup grated swiss cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup spicy steak sauce – I used Tabasco brand (found at Albertsons)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup additional spicy steak sauce

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the sun-dried tomatoes, ground chuck, ground pork, onion, garlic and cheese into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs and then add in the 1/2 cup steak sauce, milk and salt, blend together well. Pour into the meat mix and using your hands, mix in well. Add the breadcrumbs a little at a time, mixing in well. Shape into a loaf and place into a 9×13 pan coated with nonstick spray. Spread the remaining 1/4 cup sauce over the meatloaf. Bake 70 minutes. Slice and serve. We had ours with homemade creamed potatoes and asparagus.

Crescent City Meatloaf

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Posted in Beef, Pork

Upside-Down Stuffed Bell Peppers

Posted on February 19, 2011 | 2 Comments

I love stuffed bell peppers, but never make them. Just always seemed like too much work. My dad told me that one of his friends wished I would put a recipe on the blog, so I told him that I needed one! He sent me this one, which has been in my aunt’s family for years. Doing stuffed bell peppers this way was so simple, I’ll be making them more often! The stuffing was so good, I might just make stuffing as a side dish sometimes, yummy!!

Upside-Down Stuffed Bell Peppers
Recipe from: My Aunt Peggy

Ingredients:
Cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 can French Onion soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
½ soup can of water (I forgot to add this and it still came out well!)
1 ½ cups raw rice
salt, red, and black pepper to taste
6 large whole red or green bell peppers (I only used four – one per person)

Method:
In a large dutch oven, sauté in a small amount of cooking oil, the onion, celery, chopped bell pepper, and garlic. Add the raw ground beef and brown well. Add soups, water, rice (raw), salt, black and red pepper. Mix well. Cook until just heated through (the rice will not be fully cooked at this point, just warmed).

Cut the stem ends off of the whole bell peppers. Scoop out seeds and clean well.

Spray a (9×13) baking dish with Pam.

Stuff each bell pepper about ¾ full of the rice mixture. Quickly invert each bell pepper, rice side down, into the baking dish.

Put the remaining rice mixture around the bell peppers. Cover the dish tightly and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Do not open the cover until the cooking is complete.

Serve either one bell pepper per person or you can serve them cut in half to stretch them further.