Category Archives: Beef

Crock-Pot Balsamic Pot Roast

Posted in Beef by

Another crock pot gem.

Crock-Pot Balsamic Pot Roast

(Inspiration found here)

Ingredients:

2 lbs of beef chuck roast
1 1/2 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic [I used pre-minced garlic]
5-6 red potatoes

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Preparation:

1.  Mix together beef broth, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, salt, red pepper flakes, and garlic.

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2.  Line the bottom of the crock pot with red potatoes.  This allows for the meat not to touch the bottom of the pot and potentially burn, but it also sets you up for some amazing mashed potatoes to go with your dinner.

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3.  Place meat on top of potatoes.

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4.  Pour sauce over top of the meat.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the mix to add a little moisture to the pot.

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5.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  The roast should shrink down to about 1/2 its size – that is normal.

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6.  At this point, the meat should just fall apart.  Scoop out the potatoes and mash them together with a little butter and milk for a perfectly complementary side dish.

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Results:

Definitely a hearty meal.  This is a good one for a cold weather warm-up.  It’s quick and easy and uses mostly general cupboard ingredients.   It’s also a great bonus to be cooking a side dish at the same time as the main course.  Great time saver!

The taste is savory – the meat falls apart and can be cut with a fork.  Yum! 🙂

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce

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We were having a special occasion and I wanted a special occasion meal.  I always feel like a nice steak dinner is a bit more formal than any other kind of meal.  It reminds me of upscale restaurants and steakhouses that are reserved for special nights only.

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce

(Inspired by this excellent cookbook, page 236)

Ingredients:

Beef tenderloin steaks
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon flour [I used the gluten free flour inspired by the cookbook, but any flour would work here]
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef broth
Salt and pepper

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Preparation:

1.  Mince your shallot.  A shallot is like a mini-onion.

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2.  Season each steak with salt and pepper on both sides.

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3.  Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the beef and sear for about 5 minutes per side, depending on how done you want the meat.  Remove the meat and set aside.

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4. Combine the flour, wine, broth, salt, and peppar in a separate bowl.

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5. Melt the butter in the same pan used for the beef.  Add the shallot and mix around for a minute, browning it a little bit.  Add the sauce and stir gently until it thickens.

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6.  Pour the sauce over the steak and enjoy!

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Results:

This actually turned out very nice to have for a formal-ish dinner.  The original recipe calls for using some olive oil in the saute pan (pictured above).  I’d skip that step – it actually slows the cooking and when the oil gets hot, it splatters.

The sauce has a really nice tang to it and is really scrumptious.  I wished there was more once I finished my portion.

Feel free to serve the rest of that wine bottle with your meal! 🙂

Party Meatballs!

Posted in Beef, Gluten Free by

I had these meatballs at my friend Emily’s engagement party and I found myself so in love with them, I hovered over the serving dish and kept eating more when no one was looking.  I knew that I had to keep this recipe and use it to wow my own party guests someday.  The opportunity came at my annual holiday shindig last night, where (once again) these meatballs got the party started!

Party Meatballs

(Inspiration found here and also from Emily!)

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef

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SAUCE:
2 cups ketchup
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion

Preparation:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients.
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2.  Mix in ground beef to bowl and knead all ingredients together until well mixed.  Get your hands messy on this one!

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3.   Shape into 1-in. balls. Place in greased baking dishes.

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–At this point, I put them in the refrigerator over night.  I had the luxury of preparing them the day before.  If you don’t have the time, you can continue on directly.  However, the fridge step allows for the meatballs to solidify and stay together a bit more than just cooking them directly.–

4.  Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink.  Serve and enjoy!

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Results:

A big hit!  The sauce caramelizes while baking, which allows for a great sweet taste.  There are more than enough servings to go around and also provide leftovers.  Yum!

Grandma Sylvia’s Brisket

Posted in Beef by

As we come upon the holiday season, what better way to celebrate than with comfort food?  My grandmother passed down the BEST brisket recipe and so here I pass it along to you.

Grandma Sylvia’s Brisket

(Inspiration from my grandmother!)

Ingredients:

2 to 2 ½ lb. flat cut beef brisket
1 c. catsup
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup water

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Preparations:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix  catsup, soup, brown sugar and water in a bowl.

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3.  Place brisket in a baking pan.

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4.  Pour mixture over.

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5.  Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours*. [See note below on cook time]

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6.  Uncover and bake ½ hour more.

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7.  The brisket will shrink (totally normal!).  Baste with pan juices and slice to serve.

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Results:

*As a general rule, consider cooking 3/4 of an hour per pound.  In this case, I had a 2.5 lb brisket, so I did 2 hours.   If you use a smaller piece of meat, you can cook it for less time (and vice versa).  However, definitely be sure to do the 30 minutes uncovered, regardless of the rest of your cook time.

This is another Sunday one, because it’s easy but it takes a few hours to cook.  It’s definitely a quality comfort food and leftovers are even better the next day.  Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie (in this case, I used asparagus).   It will warm you up and make you smile 🙂

Ginger Soy Flank Steak

Posted in Beef by

This is an episode of: Cozy Cuisine On Location!

While visiting my parents’ house for Thanksgiving, I was enlisted to cook a meal for the family pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  Though the kitchen looks different and does have a lot more counter space, this recipe can definitely be done within the confines of a tiny kitchen

Note: you’ll need a grill pan for this recipe.  I own this one (no official endorsement – though I do love it!).  This one in particular is a good one because it can be flipped over and be used as a pizza stone/skillet top.  It also has no handle which makes it easy to store in the drawer under the oven.  However, any grill pan will do.

Ginger Soy Flank Steak

(Inspiration found here)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
Lime juice from one lime
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak [My thoughts on flank steak can be found here]

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Preparation:

1.  Peel ginger root and then chop into pieces.  Ginger can be a little tricky, but I find it easier to peel it with a potato peeler and then just cut it up into cubes.  I’m no mincer, but if you are, go for it!

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2.  In a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, chili flakes, lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and sesame seed oil.

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3.  Pour mixture over flank steak into a large ziploc bag and let marinate for a minimum of 1 hour.  If you have the time, let it marinate overnight or at least put this up in the morning and let it sit the whole day.  If you don’t have time, 1 hour of marinating will do just fine.

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4.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Heat the burner under the grill pan to medium-high heat (about a 7 out of 10)

5.  Grill the meat on the grill pan, about 7-8 minutes per side.

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6.  After a while, the sauce drippings in the grill pan will burn onto the pan and get a little smoky.  At this point, remove it from the grill pan.  The steak will be rare/medium rare.  Slice it into 1″ pieces.

7.  If you like your steak more done than that, lay the pieces out on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the slices are done enough for you.

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8.  Serve it up and enjoy!

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Results:

This is a good, quick recipe that utilizes some great flavors.  It’s an great way to cook steak and grill, even in the winter!  I served it with some quick mashed potatoes and italian green beans – a well balanced meal.