Gluten Free Roast Beef

Where's the beef!? That's not a question often asked in my kitchen. I tend to cook turkey, chicken or shrimp and rarely even purchase red meat. Sometimes, you just have a craving, or in my case, found a really great deal and popped a juicy roast in the freezer for a rainy day.

I'm sure I've shared this story before but in case not, my first meal I ever remember cooking was beef roast. Random, right? In high school my mom worked during the day (mid nights prior to that) and would call on her way home to have me start dinner. It was usually beef or pork roast. Super simple and in felt like a junior chef when then fork tender meat came out of the oven.

That feeling still hasn't changed. It's pretty darn amazing that you can put a large tough piece of meat in a slow cooker and a few hours later, voila, tender beef cooked to perfection!

Not the best photo but beef roasts are not the prettiest meal in my opinion.

Recipe:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 lb top or bottom round of beef
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups peeled, chopped root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, etc

Directions:
1) Coat the roast in olive oil then pat with cornstarch, salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the roast, turning on to each side to ensure entire roast is browned.
2) Place beef round roast in slow cooker, then add carrots, onion, potatoes and any other desired vegetable. Add in garlic, wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves.  Cook on Low until the meat is tender, 6 to 8 hours.

Ragu Bolognese

When I think of comfort food pasta is always the first thing that comes to mind. For the last several years I've always tossed together any ground meat I had with some store bought sauce and was happy. But last week, all of that changed! There is nothing better than a meaty, bacony, thick bolognese sauce to warm every inch of your stomach. I could shovel this sauce in my mouth, it's so good! I can honestly say, this recipe is 100% worth the 2 and 1/2 hours it takes to cook. Enough with the words... read this recipe and get in the kitchen!!

Recipe:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup butter
1 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced carrot
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped pancetta bacon
1/2 cup milk
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth, gluten free

Directions:
Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add veal, pork, beef and pancetta, and cook until evenly brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour in milk, and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. If you'd prefer, you can use 2 and 1/2 pounds of meatloaf mix instead. Once all meat is added, stir in tomato sauce and beef broth. Cover, and simmer 2 1/2 hours.

Gluten Free Cauliflower, Pork and Beef Stuffed Peppers

I've been dying to use my Crock-Pot and every time I think about it, I get too lazy to run to the grocery store in the morning, or night before, so I can prep the meal to cook all day. Last weekend was no different. I planned ahead and settled on stuffed peppers, but of course, my day got away from me and I ended up getting home from the store at 4 pm. If I had used the Crock-Pot, dinner wouldn't have been ready until at least 9 so that idea was off the table. Thankfully, cooking stuffed peppers on the stove top are equally as easy so I didn't abandon my plan.

I had never made stuffed peppers before but LOVE my Deconstructed Stuffed Red Pepper Soup recipe so I was looking forward to tasting this recipe. I though I'd take a healthier route so instead of finding a recipe with rice stuffed peppers, I found one that used cauliflower instead. I think it helped to make the peppers more moist and definitely added great flavor. I think I would prefer this recipe with red peppers over green, but it really is all about preference.

While the peppers were cooking, I baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies, so be on the lookout for that recipe soon.

Recipe:
2 pounds ground pork, or a combination of pork and beef. I used both
4 large green peppers 
1 large onion
2 carrots
4 cloves garlic
1/2 head cauliflower
6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dry oregano 
1 tablespoon dry, Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Cut the tops of the peppers and clean the seeds out. Arrange peppers in a deep baking dish or slow cooker standing up and make sure they fit securely.
2) Grate onion, carrots, garlic and cauliflower in the food processor. You can also just chop them into small pieces with a knife if you don’t have a food processor. I did it this way. It took some time but worth the effort.
3) In a big bowl, combine ground pork, shredded vegetables, seasonings and tomato paste.
4) Add salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and arrange leftover meat between the peppers. Cooked in the oven, covered, for 1-2 hours, or 8-10 hours on low in the slow cooker.

Minced cauliflower, carrot, onion and garlic mixture

Combining the veggies with the meat before filling the peppers

Filled peppers, with excess meat and veggie mixture surrounding the stuffed peppers

The finished product! They looked much brighter before cooking but they tasted great

A Holiday Feast for Eight

A sneak peak...

I think it goes without saying that I LOVE to cook so it should be no surprise that I jump at any opportunity to cook for friends and family. As luck would have it, the opportunity arose this week!

I'm heading to Michigan Sunday so I thought it would be nice to spend some time and cook for my boyfriend on Tuesday night. After a quick chat, he also invited his roommates, three friends and one of their girlfriends. Cooking for 8? No problem! The more the merrier, right?

The menu was set, the guests had arrived and we were off and running in the kitchen. We (and when I say we, I mean me and my boyfriend turned sous-chef...cooking for 8 ain't easy) started with the veggies.

Roasted Veggies Recipes:
6 tbsp olive oil
1 lb carrots
2 containers/bags of Brussles sprouts
1 head cauliflower
1 bag of baby redskin potatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp dried Italian herbs
1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove florets from the cauliflower, about 1 inch pieces. Next, slice carrots in 1 inch pieces, halve the potatoes then trim then halve Brussles sprouts lengthwise. Mix together in a large oven-safe dish and toss with oil and spices.
2) Roast in oven for about 1 hour, until the veggies and potatoes are tender. If more than an hour is needed, check back every 10 minutes for perfect doneness.

Once the veggies were in the oven, we dove into our Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf prep. (I mean that literally.) I was cooking in a "boy" apartment that is obviously not equipped with my standard culinary needs. We covered a large rimmed baking dish in foil and rolled out our entire meat mix there. I was mixing meat by hand as my sous chef poured small amounts of milk, breadcrumbs and parm atop the meat mass. It was hilarious. At the end of it all, we created a delicious looking piece of meat, or shall I say meats? There are five types of meat in this after all.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Recipe:
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil 
1 1/4-1 1/2 C seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
3/4 lb hot sausage
1 1/4 lb meatloaf mix (beef, veal and pork)
2 eggs
1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated 
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano  [Dry Goods]
1/2 tsp basil
1 pkg bacon strips, 10-12

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees (in my case, this was already done.)  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook bell pepper, garlic and onion until they are tender and the onions are translucent. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. This is the same bowl you'll want to mix the meat in (or in my case, a baking sheet.) ;)
3) Add in breadcrumbs and milk, mix well. Add all meat and eggs to bowl. Gently mix without compacting. Sprinkle with cheese and seasonings including the optional red pepper flakes.
4) Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheet. Form a 10×4″ log, roughly.  Start at one end and begin laying bacon over the meatloaf log in a diagonal pattern. Overlap each piece a little bit to allow for any shrinkage that will occur while the bacon cooks. Be sure to leave 1/2″ overhang on all sides. After covering the entire meatloaf, carefully fold bacon underneath the edges.
5) Bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 when inserted into the center of the meatloaf. Broil for an additional 3 minutes to crisp up the bacon.
6)  Let the load rest for about 10 minutes. Cut into 1/2 – 1″ pieces with a serrated knife.

Top left: Adding the bacon; Right: Fresh out of the oven; Bottom left: a beautifully sliced piece.

When we took this bad boy out of the oven the entire apartment smelled of sweet bacon-y goodness. Before I can tell you how amazing it was, let met get to our last dish: Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette. I knew how heavy and fatty the meatloaf would be so I looked for a salad recipe with just the right amount of tartness to balance out the meal. It was perfect! So perfect that I'm  planning to make this again for Christmas. 

Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette Recipe:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
10 cups mixed salad greens, rinsed and dried
2 Red Delicious apples, cored and thinly sliced

Directions:
1) Toast walnuts in the oven, on a pan or in a toaster oven until lightly toasted.
2) In a food processor or blender, add the cranberries, vinegar, onion, sugar, and mustard. Blend until smooth. Slowly add the oil then season with salt and pepper.
3) In a salad bowl, toss together the greens, apples, and enough of the cranberry mixture to coat. Sprinkle with walnuts, and serve.

We rounded out the meal with a quick batch of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits. Once all were served, we dug in! Every single bite of the meatloaf was incredible. Not only could you taste the bacon in every bite, but also the kick of the hot sausage along side the beef, veal and sweet sausage. It was pure meat heaven!!! The red peppers mixed in made it pop even more. None of us could get over how great it tasted. It's definitely more labor intensive than most meatloaves but definitely worth the effort! Besides, isn't the best part of cooking a great meal sharing it with friends and fam!? ;)

Meat Trio Pasta with White Bean and Red Pepper Bruschetta

Preparing a meal for friends and family is always a joy for me. There is no feeling better than sharing my love for food with others around me.

Last night, I had the pleasure of cooking for my boyfriend, his brother and girlfriend. When planning this meal, I knew I had to cook something pretty substantial. Both Christian and his brother eat like 500 pound gorillas. (Seriously!) If I prepared small portions, I would have been in trouble. 

I went with Three Meat Pasta and served it along side White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta. I knew meat, veggies, carbs and cheese would be a hit! Lucky for me, I was right!! After multiple servings we were highly satisfied. 

You have got to try this!

Meat Sauce Recipe:
1 combo pack of ground veal, beef and pork, about 1 1/2 lbs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tomato paste
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes in juice
2 28 oz cans of whole pealed tomatoes in juice
2 tsp salt
black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp rosemary
2 bay leaves  

Directions: 
1) In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pepper flakes and cook for about 15 seconds. Add the onion and cook until golden brown for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
2) Add garlic to onions and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Add the cans of crushed tomatoes then add whole tomatoes, one at a time, crushing tomatoes by hand as you go. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce over low heat, covered.
3) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat, thyme, oregano and rosemary. Season with the second teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Break up meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.
4) Once cooked through, add meat to the sauce, being careful not to add the fat and drippings from the meat. Cover the sauce and simmer over low heat for about 90 minutes.
5) Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

*Note: This makes a lot of sauce. You will definitely have some left over. Freeze and save for a later date.
 
Now on to our amazing side dish!

Bruschetta Recipe:
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, packed in oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1 French or Italian baguette

Directions:
1) Turn broiler on to preheat while preparing bruschetta.
2) In a food processor, add beans, red peppers, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic. Blend until almost smooth.
3) While food processor is running, slowly add oil and process until creamy.
4) Toast both sides of baguette in broiler. Top with bruschetta and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I've been planning this lazy day dish for a few weeks now but with the weather getting cooler, I've made sure to take advantage of every beautiful day possible. Yesterday was no exception. 

At 8:30am, I set out at on a breath-taking 5k walk through Central Park, along side thousands of fellow American Cancer Society supporters. And after that walk, I was hungry!! What better way to relax and recoup than to pull out a slow-cooker let time do the cookin'!?

This is NOT my best photo. Once I realized how hard this dish would be to present cleanly, I opted for the classy paper plate. ;)

Recipe:

3 to 4 pound roast beef
flour to coat

salt and pepper

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 pkg. french onion soup mix

1 cup water

½ cup katsup

2 teaspoon dijon mustard

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ cup red wine

Directions: 

1) Pat meat dry then dredge in flour then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2) Place meat in slow cooking pot. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl then pour over meat. 

2) Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours, on high.

*If desired, add small peeled potatoes, mushrooms and carrots to the pot with one hour remaining. 

Meatloaf: Round 2

The holiday season is officially over. It's sad how fast it always seems to fly by. Yet here we are, the second week of January, buried in snow with only memories and mementos of Christmas and New Years. Maybe it's just me, but as soon as New Year's is over I fall into a spout of complete exhaustion. My work-day seems to drag on and the only thing I can bring myself to cook is pasta.

After the last week of pasta dinners, I had enough... I need some protein in my life! I always have ground turkey on-hand so after work I set out to make Turkey Meatloaf. Way back when I began this blog, meatloaf was one of my first recipes and I haven't made it since.

Feeling adventurous, I didn't bother looking for a recipe. I know enough now to know what will work well together and sweet Jesus! This meatloaf was the most tender, juicy-est piece of meat I have ever had! Delish! Check out the (sort-of) recipe. :)


Recipe:
2 lbs ground turkey
2 eggs
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 small white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 pack french onion soup mix

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together by hand. Spray loaf pan generously with cooking spray and pat meat into pan firmly. Bake on 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Slice and serve.

Roast Beef Make-Over

Yesterday, I cooked a delicious beef roast. I ate left overs for lunch and still had more left in my fridge when I got home. I couldn't bare to have meat and potatoes for a third time in 24 hours but hate letting things go to waste. I had a major craving for pasta so I decided to create a butter braised beef pasta.


It was so quick and super tasty. While my elbow noodles were cooking, I melted 2 tbsps of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat and tossed in 2 cups of beef, cooking until the beef was heated through. I tossed this over the cooked noodles and topped with a little more butter, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. It was delicious! The butter cooked out the original gravy that was on the meat from the night before, and tasted amazing with noodles. I'll definitely be making this next time I make roast.

Sunday Fun-Day!

When I moved out of my family's house many years ago, my mom gave me her old crock pot (and by old, I mean a good 15 years old.) I've only used it twice before and have planned to use it many times since and somehow never get up the energy to get the food in the crock pot at a decent time. I know it's ridiculous since the point of a crock pot is to make your life easy, but I tend to sleep in really late on the weekends and by the time I wake up, I would have to eat dinner at 9pm in order to let the meat cook for 5 to 8 hours. PATHETIC!!!

All that changed today! I got my butt out of bed at a decent time and went straight to the kitchen to get a beef roast into the crock pot. I tweaked my mom's recipe and created the most tender, juicy, delicious roast I've ever had! You've got to try this! It will leave your house smelling amazing all day and your stomach full all night. :) (I know, I'm corny.)


Recipe:
1 3-4 lb beef roast (I had a beef bottom round)
1/2 cup flour
1 large yellow onion, cut into 4 quarters then separate each piece
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Sides:
3 carrots, chopped into 1/4 inch slices
4 to 5 potatoes cut into wedges

Directions:
1) Plug in crock pot and set on high. Place onion into crock pot, immediately.
2) Pat roast dry, then coat in flour, shaking off excess flour. Season with salt and pepper then lay in crock pot on top of onion.
3) Pour water, garlic, mushroom soup and garlic on top.
4) Cook for about 5 hours.
5) With one hour remaining, drop potatoes and carrots into pot and cover.
*To serve, you can either shred the roast or remove from pot and slice. I prefer the sliced version. :)

After 5 hours of cooking the meat was beyond tender and the carrots and potatoes were perfect. I ate until I had to unbutton my pants! (haha TMI)

*Please excuse my awful picture. I was STARVING and did not want to waste any more time before stuffing my face :)

Mmmm That's Beefy!!

Right around the corner from my office is a restaurant called Fat Annie's Truck Stop. It's your standard overpriced NYC dinner and people at work are always talking about how great their beef stroganoff is. I can't bring myself to buying a $17 plate of beef and noodles so I used a recipe that my mom gave me years ago tried it out for myself.

I'll be honest, my rendition could have used a bit more sauce. There wasn't enough to cover all of the noodles and meat so a few bites were very dry, very tasty, but hard to swallow.

Recipe:
12 oz lean boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into strips
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp paprika
4 oz wide egg noodles
1/4 cup non fat sour cream
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tsp dried dillweed

Directions:
1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef; saute, until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
2) In same skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms and 1/4 cup of broth for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 3 minutes. Stir in paprika until well blended. Add the remaining broth; cook for 4 minutes.
3) While the mushroom mixture is simmering, cook noodles according to package, but do not add salt.
4) In a small bowl, combine sour cream and yogurt. Mix well; set aside. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet; reduce heat to low and stir gently. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet, heat through.
5) Drain the noodles. Place on serving plates and top with beef mixture. Sprinkle with dill and serve.

A Simple New Start

Since it's my first week back and they always say "take baby steps" I started out with a simple dish. While scanning through my Better Home & Garden Cook Book I stopped at a recipe for Spaghetti with Beef and Mushroom Sauce. This sounded interesting and oddly enough, I can't remember the last time I cooked spaghetti. (I know what you're thinking..."She makes pasta dishes all the time" but they are never spaghetti dishes - always another sort of pasta.) I read the recipe and luckily, I only had to pick up two or three ingredients that I didn't already have. It was destiny! My first blog worthy meal in the new pad!

(Please note: I'm still trying to figure out the best way to snap photos of my meals in the new place. The lighting is very different.)



Recipe:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 4 oz can sliced mushroom, drained (I used 1/2 cup freshly sliced mushrooms instead)
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
12 oz dried spaghetti

1) In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain. Stir in mushroom soup, tomato sauce, mushrooms, Italian seasoning and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2) Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain. Serve sauce over hot spaghetti.

*BH&G marks this as one of their low fat dishes! Per 1 cup of pasta + 2/3 cup sauce, it's only 398 calories and 11 grams of fat! Not bad at all, right?!

Arizona Eatin'

It's been a great few days of vacation here in Arizona. The weather could be better, but who could complain about being here rather than in chilly New York City? Not me!!! And to make things even better, my bestie Chanelle and her husband, Corey, have been feeding me like a little piggy!

Night 1: Surf & Turf!! Grilled sirloin with shrimp skewers, homemade mashed potatoes and pan fried green beans (covered in bacon!)



Night 2: Chicken and spegatti a la vodka! (My treat to them!) with a steak and onion appetizer.

How delicious do these meals look!? I'm honestly surprised I haven't gained any weight since I've been here!

MA! THE MEATLOAF!!!

Let's be honest, when you hear the word "meatloaf" most people think of a dried up brick of meat. Not appealing, bland and tough to swallow. Trust me, I feel the same way.

When I'm at the grocery store I check for sales on ground turkey (I try to avoid red meats.) Occasionally, I'll find a deal on the 3 lbs family pack. Since a girl can only eat tacos and turkey burgers so many times I decided it was time to make the dreaded meatloaf.

I was happily surprised with the end result and would advise that everyone try this recipe!

Recipe:
From cooks.com

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Prehead oven to 350 degrees.

Mix ingrediants together and place in a greased baking dish and bake for about 1 hour.

It's that easy and turns out juicy and delicious!


PC: Buzzle.com