Italian Beef Sandwich on Onion Rolls

This has been a long time family favorite and these sandwiches are the very first meal I cooked for Erik.  When I told him I was making roast for his first dinner at my house he was expecting a traditional roast with vegetables and was pleasantly surprised by these sandwiches.  I hope you enjoy these sandwiches as much as we do!

Source: My mom

Ingredients:
3-5 pound rump roast
2 good seasons Italian dressing dry packets
1 good seasons ZESTY Italian dressing dry packets
2 cups water
1-2 cups monterey jack cheese
6-8 onion rolls

Instructions:
1. Place the rump roast in a crock pot.  Mix 2 cups of water with all 3 Italian dressing dry packets.  Pour over the rump roast and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Once the meat is cooked, shred and place on a onion roll, top with cheese.  Broil for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted and the roll is toasted on the edges.

Minty Meatballs with Feta-Dill Sauce

Do you ever pull a recipe out of magazine and decide that you are going to make and then wonder where the recipe came from originally?  I had this recipe in my basket of recipes I hope to make someday (the old version of pintrest....)  This one was on top and I had no idea where it came from or how long it had been in the basket so I googled it and found the recipe right away.  I am really loving quinoa these days and it helps to give volume to these meatballs!  I served the minty meatballs and feta-dill sauce on 1/2 of a whole wheat sandwich thin.



 

Source: Self magazine

 

Ingredients for Minty Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (85 percent lean)

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup 1 percent milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Parchment paper

Ingredients for Feta-Dill Dip/Sauce:
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
4 oz crumbled feta, divided
1 cup fresh dill, divided
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Instructions for Meatballs:
In a bowl, mix together all ingredients until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. Heat oven to 425°. Form meat mixture into 24 oval balls (about 3 tbsp each). Arrange on 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 8 minutes; turn and bake 10 minutes more. Garnish with parsley if desired; serve.

Instructions for Dip/Sauce:
In a food processor, place yogurt, parsley, vinegar and all but 1 tsp feta and 1 tsp dill. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl; top with remaining feta and dill and, if desired, pepper.

 



Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

Made this for dinner and I am already thinking about making it again!  Comfort food made healthier by Cooking Light.

Source: Cooking Light April 2013

Ingredients:
5 ounces uncooked wide egg noodles

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound beef tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 cup thinly sliced leek

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 (6-ounce) package presliced shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika

1 cup unsalted beef stock

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

Instructions:

 

1. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.

 

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat; swirl to coat. Add beef; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 4 minutes or until browned, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan.

 

3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add leek, thyme, garlic, and mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle mushroom mixture with flour and paprika; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in beef, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sour cream. Serve over noodles; sprinkle with parsley.

Steak and Stewed Tomatoes

This recipe is incredibly easy!  It only has 2 ingredients and takes less than 30 min.  I remember eating this growing up and now I know why my mom liked to make it on a school night.  I usually serve it with a baked potato.  Enjoy!

Source: My Mom
Ingredients:
10-16 oz beef steak (I usually use strip steak)
1 can Stewed Tomatoes

Instructions:
1. Slice the steak into thin strips

2. Heat a non-stick skillet on med-high add steak and brown the meat on both sides.  Then add the can of stewed tomatoes and simmer on med-low for 20 minutes (or until the meat is tender). 

Steak Flatbread

Steak flatbread - Yum!  I modified the recipe a little bit to cook the flatbread in the oven and pan sear the steak on the stove.  It was too dark and too cold to use the grill.  Plus I used pre-made pizza dough versus making the flatbread dough from scratch - much easier!  I tried to work my dough into a nice long rectangle and it just didn't cooperate - so I ended up with an amoebae.  Still tasted great! 

Recipe: Grilled Flatbread with Garlic Rubbed Fillet of Beef, White Bean Puree and Sun-dried Tomato Chutney
Source: Bobby Flay Foodnetwork - original recipe link

Steak:

• 1 (8-ounce) beef tenderloin
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

White Bean Puree:

• 1 cup cooked white beans, plus 1/4 cup of cooking liquid, or 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, slightly drained
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sun-dried Tomato Chutney:

• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and julienned
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Flatbread - I used about 1/2 of a package of pre-made pizza dough from my local grocery store
• 4 roasted shallots, sliced thin

Combine beef, olive oil, and garlic in a large resealable plastic bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the grill to high. Grill on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes, for medium-rare. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then slice thinly.

Puree the beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and thyme in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Mix together the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, honey, and parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat grill to high. Flatten flatbread dough and gently press into a large rectangle and throw on grill. Grill on 1 side until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from grill, turn over, and spread each flatbread with a thin layer of White Bean Puree, sliced beef, roasted shallots, and Tomato Chutney. Return to grill, close cover and cook for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

*To roast shallots on the grill, place the shallot in the center of a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bring the edges of foil together and scrunch to seal tightly. Place on a hot grill, close the cover and "roast" for 25 to 30 minutes or until soft. Remove the skin and slice.

Beef Taquitos with Pineapple Dip

My friend Noelle made these for me several months ago and shared the link for the original recipe.

A couple revision to the original dip recipe - I leave out the "Candied Jalapenos" and just use regular sugar instead of "coconut palm crystals".

Another note - the recipe calls for "Amasi".  This is a Beyond Organic product that is similar to yogurt or kefir.  You can substitute plain yogurt, or purchase Amasi from this website - click here

Here is the link to the original recipe - click here

Goat Cheese Hamburger with Cherry Sauce

Welcome to Tara's Kitchen Adventures blog!  This is my first foodie blog post.  I have blogged before  - about my time living in Ireland http://tarasirishadventure.blogspot.com/ and during my Mom's recovery from a traumatic brain injury http://taniarexroth.blogspot.com/ 

This blog is just for food!  I enjoy creating new recipes, adapting recipes I find and sometimes simply enjoying a tried and true recipe.  In this case I adapted a recipe from FoodNetwork's Michael Chiarello for a 3 pound buger.  Here is a link - click here

I absolutely do not need a 3 pound burger so here is my 1/3 pound version for 1 person:
Ingredients

For the hamburger:
1/3 pound ground beef
1 oz soft goat cheese
Fresh Bread for the bun - I used sourdough from a local bakery

For the cherry sauce:
1/2 cup bing cherries (cut in half with pits removed)
1/2 T butter
1 tsp. dried shallots
1 T. white balsamic
1 tsp. brown sugar

Make 2 flat patties out of the ground beef.  Spread the 1 oz goat cheese in the middle of one patty, add the other patty on top and press together the edges.  Cook the hamburger on the grill to your prefered temperature.

In a saucepan melt the butter, add the dried shallots until they turn golden and then add the white balsamic and brown sugar.  Once it is all combined, add the cherries until they are softened and the sauce is a beautiful cherry color (about 2 min).  Now it is time to build your burger.  Put half the cherry sauce on the bottom of your bun add the burger and then top with the other half of the cherry sauce and the top of your bun.  Enjoy!