Euna Mae's Cheese Grits and Chili

This chili is delicious and easy.  Serving it on top of cheese grits just takes it over the top!  It is from one of my favorite cookbooks - Love Welcome Serve by Amy Hannon.

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 lbs ground beef 

1 14oz can light red kidney beans, partially drained

1 14oz can pinto beans, partially drained

1 14oz can black beans, partially drained

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 4oz can tomato paste

1 4oz can chopped green chiles

1 packet chili seasoning

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

2-3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

-for the cheese grits-

1lb velveeta, cubed (I only used 8-10 oz.  You can also use shredded Velveeta.)

1 cup uncooked 5-minute quick-cook grits

2 cups of water

2 cups of milk

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 Tablespoons jarred chopped jalapenos and juice, optional (I did not add this)

In a large pot, saute onion olive oil. Stir in garlic and ground beef.  Cook until browned.

Partially drain  beans and pour into pot. Pour the tomatoes and chiles into the pot with the juice. Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir well. Bring just to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes. Add a can of water if you prefer.  (I added this.)

Meanwhile prepare cheese grits. In a large saucepan, bring water, milk, butter and salt just to a boil and stir in grits, whisking constantly so they do not clump.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook grits until they've expanded and gotten creamy, about 7-8 minutes. Over low heat, stir in cheese and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and grits are smooth. Stir in optional jalapenos.  Add milk if needed.

Serve in shallow bowls ladled with grits to cover the bottom of the bowl, then filled with chili.

Beef Enchiladas

This is a quick and simple recipe for Beef Enchiladas that I cooked up using some ingredients I had on hand.  It's nothing fancy, but I thought it rivaled restaurant enchiladas so I'm sharing here for future reference.  I didn't even take a picture.  Hence the stock photo at the top of this post.  Give this easy recipe a try sometime!

1 lb ground beef

about 1/2 an onion, chopped

4 oz can of diced green chiles

1 t chili powder

1/2 t ground cumin

1/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

10-12 corn tortillas

1 can Old El Paso red enchilada sauce

shredded cheese - monterrey jack, pepper jack, colby jack or cheddar

1.  Brown the ground beef and onions.  Add green chiles, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt.

2.  Put corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave to soften them, about 30 seconds.

3.  On each tortilla, spoon some ground beef mixture and a sprinkle of cheese.  Roll up and place in a greased pan.  

4.  Pour sauce over the enchiladas and then cover with desired amount of shredded cheese.  

5.  Bake at 375 for approximately 20 minutes, until warmed with cheese melted.

Hamburger Steaks {Pioneer Woman}

I have made this retro comfort food dinner from the Come and Get It Pioneer Woman cookbook a few times now, and it's always a winner.  I couldn't find a copy of the recipe online, so I decided to post it here for my future reference.  

I generally make the recipe with 1 lb of ground beef, making 3 patties.  The recipe calls for 1.5 lbs to make 4 patties, and you could size up to 2 lbs to feed a larger group.  The amount of sauce is generous so you probably wouldn't need to double that.

1.5 lbs ground beef

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

12 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 T flour

1/2 cup red wine or beef broth (I used broth)

2 cups beef broth

2 thyme sprigs (I used a sprinkling of dried thyme)

Several dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1. Form ground beef into oval shaped patties.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2.  In a large skillet, heat a little oil over medium heat.  Cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until no longer pink in the middle.

3.  Remove them to paper towels.

4.  Increase the heat a little, and add the mushrooms.  (I had to add a little more oil.)

5.  Stir them around, and then sprinkle with flour.  Continue stirring.  

6.  Pour in the broth and simmer while stirring.

7.  Add the thyme.  Reduce heat and stir until thickened.  Add the Worcestershire sauce.

8.  Add the patties to the sauce, putting sauce over the top and simmering for a few minutes.

Baked Ravioli

 

I have been making this Baked Ravioli recipe (originally from Martha Stewart) for many years.  The sauce is delicious, and it is one of those flexible recipes that can be modified in many ways: beef ravioli, cheese ravioli, add veggies, freeze it, make and bake later.  It is also perfect for delivering as a meal, since the recipient could heat and eat or freeze it for later.  You could also use a jar of marinara sauce, but the homemade tomato sauce is really good!

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 t dried thyme or oregano (I added both!)

1 can 28 oz. whole tomatoes

1 can 28 oz. crushed tomatoes

2 lbs. frozen ravioli

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1.  Saute onion and garlic until soft.  Add thyme/oregano and tomatoes.  Break up tomatoes and simmer 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.

2.  Cook ravioli according to package directions.

3.  Mix ravioli and sauce.  

4.  Put in 9 x 13 (I used 2 9x9 pans and froze one.)  Cover with cheese.

5.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

 

Beef-n-Pasta Two Ways

It has been a LONG time since I posted a recipe, and I hope to get back in the habit of sharing.  I love having a permanent "recipe box" here, as well as pinning to Pinterest.  (You can click RECIPES above to see all of my past food posts.)

Cottage Pie

For my cozy fall recipe, I'm suggesting the Cottage Pie I made last week.  This was based on a recipe in my new cookbook - Love Welcome Serve by Amy Hannon.  However, I simplified it quite a bit so I decided to type it out here.

Beef Stroganoff

Here's a quick and easy weeknight meal for you...beef stroganoff.  As a child of the 70s, I remember eating this dish all the time.   Either it was a very popular recipe or my mom just thought it was an easy meal to make.  So I turned to my trusty Better Homes and Garden cookbook to make this retro dinner.  (You can find the recipe online here.)

The ingredients are super simple.  Like most recipes I make, you could easily substitute with different things you might have on hand.  I was pretty low on sour cream, so I made a change that I noted below.

I have to admit that photos of this dish are not exactly appetizing.  But it sure was delicious!

Easy Chili

For years, I have used the "3-Alarm" spice packets to make chili.  It is a really easy way to whip up a pot of chili.  But I decided to give homemade chili a try this weekend.  This recipe was super quick and simple, definitely easy enough for a weeknight meal.

Beef and Bean Burrito's

Another recipe from Pioneer Woman's Food from my Frontier Cookbook!  This was a quick and easy weeknight meal.  Again, this is a recipe that you can easily customize for the different tastes in your family.  Grace chose to eat her meal as a taco salad without the tortilla.  Jack ate his without the sauce on top, more like a soft taco.

And please excuse my mid-meal photo above.  I only remembered to take a picture when I was halfway through dinner.  You can find the full recipe here on PW's website.

(The recipe below is cut in half from PW's recipe so we wouldn't have so many leftovers.)

1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 Medium Onion, diced
1 can (7 Ounce) Mexican Tomato Sauce Or Enchilada Sauce
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1/8 t chili powder
1 can (15 oz?) Refried Beans
1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
6 whole Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas

Brown ground beef with onion and season to taste. Add spices. Pour in sauce and simmer over low
heat. Add water if mixture gets too dry.

Heat refried beans in a saucepan or microwave. Keep warm.

Heat tortillas in microwave for one minute.

Spread a small amount of beans on each tortilla. Add meat and shredded cheese. Fold over ends, then roll up.

Place two burritos on a microwave-safe plate. Drizzle red sauce over the top and
sprinkle with more grated cheddar. Microwave for one minute, or until cheese is melted
and burritos are very hot. Serve immediately.

Jamie Oliver's Beef Stew

My friend Nicole made this beef stew, and it was delicious.  I knew I had to try it.  So easy and so good!

It is Jamie Oliver's Beef Stew.  I haven't tried many of his recipes yet.  Many British recipes are very different from what our American taste buds are used to.  But this was a good start, so I might try a few more.  Be sure to click over since he has quite a few notes that go with the recipe.

I was happy to use an old Dutch oven that was my grandmother's.  Instead of a crockpot or stovetop technique, this recipe calls for a low-heat oven.

The photos of this stew really don't do it justice.  It doesn't look as appetizing on the screen as it looked and smelled in person.  On a chilly, dark British afternoon, this is the perfect dish to have "stewing" in your kitchen!

Jools' Favourite Beef Stew

olive oil
• a knob of butter
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• a handful of fresh sage leaves
• 800g/1¾lb stewing steak or beef skirt, cut into 5cm/2 inch pieces
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• flour, to dust
• 2 parsnips, peeled and quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and halved
• ½ a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced (didn't have this)
• optional: a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and halved (OMITTED)
• 500g/1lb 2oz small potatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• ½ a bottle of red wine
• 285ml/½ pint beef or vegetable stock
• zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
• a handful of rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped


Preheat the oven to 160ºC/300ºF/gas 2. Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan. Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt. Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender. Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C/225°F/gas ¼ and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.

The best way to serve this is by ladling big spoonfuls into bowls, accompanied by a glass of French red wine and some really fresh, warmed bread. Mix the lemon zest, chopped rosemary and garlic together and sprinkle over the stew before eating. Just the smallest amount will make a world of difference – as soon as it hits the hot stew it will release an amazing fragrance.

Spaghetti Casserole

This is another main dish I tried this week from The Star of Texas Cookbook.  It was tasty and very easy.

A few notes...

• Like many casseroles, I would classify this as comfort food...lots of cheese and not very healthy.  However you could easily lighten it up a little.  You could use lite cream cheese and sour cream.
• Also, like many casseroles, I think this tasted better the second day.
• I used the recipe to make two small pans and froze one (instead of making one 9 x 13 pan).
• My UK adaptation...I can't find tomato sauce here, so I diluted "double concentrate tomato puree" to make tomato sauce.

2 T butter
1 clove garlic
1 t sugar
1 t salt
Pepper to taste
1.5 lbs ground beef
16 oz tomato sauce
8 oz spaghetti
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1.5 cups sour cream
6 green onions, chopped
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.

2.  Put the butter in a cold skillet.  Add garlic, and mash with sugar, salt and pepper.  Cook until butter is melted, then add meat and brown.

3.  Add tomato sauce and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

4.  Cook spaghetti according to package direction.

5.  Combine cream cheese, sour cream and green onions.

6.  Place spaghetti in a 9x13 dish.  Top with cream-cheese mixture and then meat mixture.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

7.  Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.

Beef Pot Roast

When we moved to the UK, I wanted to get a good basic cookbook to bring with us.  I bought the newest Better Homes and Garden cookbook.  Everything I have tried has been delicious.  One feature that I like is that it offers several variations for many of the recipes.  So if you like the dish you can try it again with a slight change.

On a side note, I had this cookbook in college but probably sold it back to a used book store in one of my moves since then.  It has changed a lot since then anyway, so I'm glad I have a new edition!

Here's one of the recipes I tried and loved...beef pot roast.

1 2-3 lb boneless beef chuck pot roast
2 T cooking oil
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t instant beef bouillon granules (I used this little paste-type cube they have here in the UK)
1 t dried basil, crushed
1/2 t salt
1 lb tiny new potatoes or 4 medium potatoes
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
2 small onions, cut into wedges
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1" pieces
1/2 c cold water
1/4 c flour
pepper

1.  Trim fat from meat.  Place vegetables in slow cooker.

2.  Place meat on top of vegetables.

3.  Combine 3/4 cup water Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, basil and salt.  Add to slow cooker.

4.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9-11 hours (or on high heat for 5 hours).

5.  Gravy:  Use juices from slow cooker.  Add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups.  In a small bowl, stir cold water and flour until smooth.  In a saucepan, heat juices, then add water/flour combination.  Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Season with pepper if desired.

Super Burrito's

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  Since moving to the UK, I am on the lookout for simple recipes with basic ingredients that I can find over here.  This was easy and good.  I also like that you could adapt it to many different fillings.  I am going to freeze some of the individual burritos for quick lunches.

BHG.com

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 small green pepper chopped (omitted because I didn't have)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup water (I added more, probably 1/2 cup)
1 T chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1 cup cooked rice
1 4-oz can diced green chile peppers, drained (did not have, could add chopped jalepenos instead)
8 10" flour tortillas (mine were smaller, so the recipe made more burritos)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup chopped tomato
shredded lettuce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream or other sides

For filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes to soften. (When ready to fill tortillas, remove only half of them at a time, keeping remaining tortillas warm in the oven.)  I didn't heat tortillas.

Spoon about 1/2 cup filling onto each tortilla just below the center. Top filling with cheese and tomato. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom. Secure with wooden toothpicks.

Arrange burritos on a baking sheet, seam sides down. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through. Remove and discard toothpicks. Serve warm burritos on lettuce with Guacamole and, if desired, salsa.

Makes 8 burritos

Chicken or Steak Burritos: Prepare as above, except omit the ground beef. Partially freeze 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or 1 pound beef flank steak for easier slicing. Cut chicken into thin, bite-size strips and cut beef across the grain into thin, bite-size strips. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in skillet. Cook chicken or beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until desired doneness for steak or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers. Continue with step 2 as above.