recipe of the week: beefy noodle casserole

i love my schedule. except for one small but important detail.

i'm rarely home before 7. 

which wouldn't be a big deal if

(a) i didn't love to cook

(b) we ate more easy/processed foods

but since neither of those are a truth in our home, i have limited options to getting a healthy and tasty meal on the table. 

thankfully i've discovered a few solutions.

(a) prepping ahead of time, and leaving instructions for anthony to pop something in the oven or mix the last part of a dish together

(b) a husband who doesn't mind cooking start to finish since he gets home first (and who does so at least once every other week or so...and would do it more often if i asked!)

(c) a crock pot that i try to utilize several times a month

and 

(d) quicker but still "real food" recipes.

don't get me wrong. i will always love cooking the more involved and impressive dishes. but they simply aren't practical for a weeknight in our home. hello saturdays :-)

with that longest introduction ever, here's a very basic little recipe that you could adapt to fit your own taste preferences. this is actually originally a taste of home recipe that i adapted quite a bit. it's fairly low-fat, calorie and carb though, so i definitely appreciate it!

beefy noodle casserole

2 cups egg noodles

1/2 pound ground beef

1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)

6 tbsp diced green chiles (standard small can)

2 tbsp diced green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp cream cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

cook pasta according to package directions

 brown ground beef

 add tomato sauce

 green onions

 green chiles

 and spices. simmer together for about 5-10 minutes

 spoon 1/2 beef mixture into bottom of casserole dish

 top with 1/2 the noodles, then layer the cheeses and sour cream on top

 repeat beef and noodle layers

 bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it's bubbling nicely

enjoy! 



 

recipe of the week: mongolian beef (crock pot or not)

once upon a time, i decided that i wanted to make mongolian beef.
and none of the recipes i found seemed perfect, so naturally i decided to make my own :-)

here's what you need:

1 pound (or a bit more) flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
5 green onions, sliced into 1/2 or 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water

begin by slicing the flank steak against the grain into very thin strips

admire

place your corstarch in a mixing bowl

toss the steak strips in it until they are well coated

in a large skillet heat garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in olive oil for 3-5 minutes

add coated beef strips and fully cook

grab your green onions

add them to the mix (perfectly ok to do this while the meat is browning, of course)

yum.

add the brown sugar

once the meat is fully cooked, mix the hoisin and soy sauces

pour into the mix and add the water

this is the point where it can go one of two ways. either simmer it on the stove until you are ready to serve it

OR pour into a crock pot and use the lowest setting (i just kept it on "warm") to continue simmering it throughout the day.

serve over brown rice. so, so yummy.

 

recipe of the week: taco seasoning and a couple of easy ways to use it (mexican pizza and taco mac)

that's right, folks. i have 3 recipes today, but they are all super simple and related :-)


i mentioned that i pretty much stopped using pre-packaged seasoning mix when i gave you my ranch seasoning/dressing recipe.  there are multiple reasons for this, but the added and very beneficial "side effect" is that i was able to tailor a seasoning mix exactly to our tastes. since i am on the "the spicier the better" side and anthony is on the "i'll drink milk with this medium salsa" side, that's trickier than you might think ;-) but i've found a blend that doesn't set his taste buds on fire and mine are happy with.

lora's taco seasoning

2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

and here are two very simple ways to enjoy it!


taco mac 
(basically a healthier & homemade version of hamburger helper)
1 pound ground beef 
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
elbox macaroni
salsa verde (i prefer herdez)
ranch dressing


brown meat with taco seasoning while cooking macaroni noodles according to package directions.  after draining both noodles and beef, build your bowls.  ladle in noodles, top with beef, and add salsa verde and ranch to taste. it's a very simple weeknight meal that takes all of 15 minutes to prepare.  

i wouldn't entertain with it, but hey. some days you need a 15 minute meal.


mexican pizza


1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning
salsa (we used a fire roasted chipotle from whole foods)
pizza dough
cheese (i used the fiesta blend also from whole foods and fresh mozzarella)
cherry tomatoes, green onions, black olives, etc to top with
(this recipe would also be great with fresh corn, black beans, etc!)

 spread salsa onto pizza dough

 top with cheese

 brown meat with taco seasoning

 top the salsa and cheese with the ground beef

 add other toppings (apparently the night i took pictures i stopped here)

 bake at 350゜for 15-20 minutes. enjoy!

recipe of the week: (slow cooker) thai red curry beef

i'm having quite the blossoming relationship lately with my slow cooker.
wednesdays are SLAMMED for both my husband and me, so wednesday has become "crock pot night" at our place
sometimes that's tossing everything together wednesday morning, but more often than not i prepare it tuesday night and plug it in as i head out the door.


i made this recipe for the second time this week.  the first time, i followed it nearly exactly (from the williams-sonoma website).  but i felt that while the sauce had great flavor, the meat itself just tasted like lumps of beef.  well, they were after all!


so i've revamped the recipe a bit, and we had it for dinner again this week.  this time was a little more to my liking, so here's my adaptation of the recipe!


thai red curry beef

marinade for the meat:
2 - 3 tbsp red curry paste
salt & pepper
garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lime
mint flakes


2.5 pounds lean stew meat
olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup (or more to taste) red curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
salt, pepper, cumin, a smidge of cayenne, crushed coriander seeds, mint leaves (to taste) - i use a mortar & pestle to combine
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can bamboo shoots
fresh mint and cilantro


begin by combining the stew meat with the marinade ingredients.  mix well, and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

heat 2 tbsp (ish) of olive oil in a large pot.  in batches if necessary, brown the meat a bit on all sides.  you're not cooking through, just getting a little color on the meat.

transfer the meat to the crockpot.

add the onion and garlic to the pan, as well as the spice combo.

cook for five minutes, and then add the red curry paste.

stir the paste into the onion/garlic mixture and cook through for another minute or so.

pour in the coconut milk and stir well, scraping any reside off the pan while you're doing so.  add the fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar.

bring mixture to a boil, then transfer to the crockpot as well.

cook on low for 6-8 hours, and 5 minutes before serving stir in the bamboo and a second round of that spice combo.  i also added another tablespoon or two of the red curry paste.

serve over rice and garnish with the mint and cilantro.

this is not a low-fat recipe.  after all, it has two cans of coconut milk in it.  however, fat (especially good fat) is not the problem, at least not for me.  i try to stay low-sugar, and this recipe fits the bill.  here's the screenshot from myfitnesspal of the breakdown (including rice...we use brown basatmi).

(lots of fun recipes linked up if you click on this button!  yummy!)