Classic Beef Stew

Stew... is a loose term. For some people, throwing a few extra chunks of potato into a soup turns it into stew. And then you have people who use that annoying term that Rachel Ray coined - "stoup." Seriously lady... it's bad enough that you can't be bothered to say the words "extra virgin olive oil" but c'mon... make a decision! It's either soup or it's stew... it can't be both. Amiright?

Me, I like my stew THICK. Like so thick it hardly has any broth left. So thick that it's basically meat and vegetables in super-thick, super-delicious gravy. That, to me, is stew.

And fewer flavors lend themselves better to a thick, hearty stew than beef. Beef stew is just... classic. Like apple pie and chocolate chip cookies, everyone needs a beef stew recipe! This one is about as classic as it gets... chunks of savory beef, generous pieces of potatoes and carrots, and thick beefy gravy. Serve it up with a buttery, flaky biscuit, and you've got the perfect cold weather meal.

Crock Pot Beef Bourguinon

So, I have to be honest, I hadn't planned on posting this recipe this week. No, I had two other recipes in line ahead of this one, but Dane insisted that I had to post this one first. See, not only did Dane go absolutely nuts over this dish, but apparently one of his coworkers was so enamored with the leftovers he took for lunch the next day that she demanded the recipe! And for good reason... this meal is downright heavenly.

This may look like ordinary beef and gravy over mashed potatoes, but it is so much more than that. It is tender browned beef in a salty, winey gravy, over mashed potatoes. :) It's like an extra special warm bowl of stew, perfect for a cold and rainy evening like night we ate this for dinner. Ultimate comfort.

It may not be Julia Child's beef bourguinon... give it a try and you'll discover, it might actually be better. :)

Grilled Steak Tacos

I'm a little grill obsessed right now.

There's just so much to love about grilling. The light smokey flavor it adds to the food. The ability to keep the house cool when the temperature reaches hellish proportions outside. And - my personal favorite - the awesome lack of pots and pans to wash when you're done.

Are you ready to grill yet?

Plus, grilled foods are usually easy foods. Usually "everyone-builds-their-own" kinds of foods. Sometimes even "done-in-under-30-minutes" foods.

But always delicious foods. That's what matters after all.

These tacos are no exception. Smokey, slightly spicy steak. Warm, chewy, slightly charred tortillas. Crunchy cabbage, sour lime. Cool sour cream, fresh cilantro. How can you possibly resist? These guys are tasty, and filling... and served with a cold corona, downright fantastic. Plus they come together in under half an hour. Your grill - and your tastebuds - are begging you make these. So give your house and your dishwasher a break. Make these this week - you totally have time. You'll be glad you did.

Szechwan Beef Stir Fry

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you've probably realized that I love a good stir fry recipe. Just like soup, the possibilities seem endless... there's so much potential in the simple combination of meat and vegetables mixed with a flavorful sauce over rice. Stir fry recipes also fulfill two very important requirements for me during the busy school week - they're usually quick, and almost always healthy. And, especially in this case, they're usually damn tasty.

You've also likely figured out by now that Dane can be a picky eater. He's usually willing to at least try something he's not sure he'll like, but he and I don't always agree on what counts as the most delicious meal ever. This was one new recipe that he absolutely loved. No having to talk him into this one - he loved it at first bite. And for good reason! The sweet but complex flavors in the sauce - thank you hoisin! - make this a truly remarkable dish. Plus I think he just loved that I cooked something with beef for a change. :)

Since we like to take leftovers for lunch the next day, I found that the original recipe didn't make quite enough for us. So, the proportions I've listed in my rendition of the recipe are doubled, but you could easily halve them again if you find this is too much for you. But if you love this recipe as much as Dane and I do, you'll appreciate the extra portions.

Meatball and Pepper Heroes

Ok, so I'll confess... these aren't the most photogenic works of culinary art. In fact, they're hardly even polite to eat, since much of the saucy goodness will inevitably wind up on your face and your hands. But don't let the mess and bad pictures fool you, friends - these meatball subs are spectacular. Just make sure you invest in some heavy-duty napkins before you dig in. :)

I've been on the hunt for a good meatball recipe for quite some time, and I was not disappointed by this one at all! True to Ellie Krieger form, this recipe is packed with flavor and healthful goodness in just the right proportions. I was hesitant to try it at first since it included shredded carrot in the meatballs themselves, but I was surprised to find that this addition easily replaced some of the usual breading you'd include and was hardly even noticeable. For those of you with children or otherwise picky eaters in the house, this could be a really good trick to sneaking them more veggies! Ellie's recipe included a homemade sauce that sounded too smoky for my taste, so I simply substituted some jarred marinara that I happened to have in the cupboard, with much success. The sandwich recipe is easily adaptable for anyone's tastes, but I was mostly excited to find such a healthy, flavorful way to make meatballs... and you can bet I'll be using it in the future for other meatball-worthy recipes.

Sloppy Joes

Who can resist a big, messy sloppy joe? A big sandwich, dripping with sweet and spicy tomato sauce, just begging for you to pick it up... doesn't it remind you of being a kid again?

Have some napkins ready for this meal, friends, especially if you choose to eat it like a sandwich. They call them sloppy joes for a reason, after all. More civilized folk would eat it with a knife and fork, though. (And we won't talk about what kind of person - ahem, like me - eats the warm leftovers right out of the gladware container because it's almost too good to share with the hamburger bun.)

This recipe is everything you'd expect from a sloppy joe. A large amount of sweet and tangy sauce, hearty ground beef, and just a little bit of kick. But it has some unexpected elements too - like peppers and pinto beans - that add a little something different and a lot of extra nutrition. The picky boy didn't even notice there were beans in it until I told him! Serve it with a light salad to balance the hefty sandwich, or go all out and have some onion rings or fries... or just have another serving, because who needs a side dish when the main attraction is so good?

Trust me... try this one and you'll never eat another girly-wich again. :)

Swiss Steak with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm honestly amazed I hadn't posted this recipe before.

This, my friends, is Dane's favorite meal. He's told me that if he were on his deathbed and got to choose his last meal, this would be it. And for good reason! The hour-long simmer renders the meat meltingly tender and the veggies candy-sweet. Put it on top of a fluffy bed of silky smooth, garlic-y mashed potatoes, and you've got some of the world's most comforting food. Give it a try and you'll completely understand why Dane practically begs for it to be on the menu every week.

And talk about a budget-friendly meal! Simmering allows you to use traditionally tougher, less expensive meats yet still reap flavorful and tender results. You can use round steak or cubed steak as you prefer - I've made it with both and had great results either way. I used cubed steak this time around because we happened to have some in our freezer. The rest of the ingredients - carrots, celery, onion - are things that most people already keep in their produce stockpile... at most you might have to buy the can of tomatoes, depending on whether you keep the Italian-seasoned ones on hand. The only downfall is the time it takes to cook, really. But the prep work is easy, and once you get it simmering you can just step away and use your free hour for all kinds of important things, like playing cafe world on facebook housework or watching last week's episode of Grey's anatomy studying or taking a bubble bath laundry.

So trust me... give it a try and you'll fall in love too. :)

Confetti Chili

It's funny how sometimes everything in the world seems to align to the same idea at the same time. Like, for instance, me coming across these adorable BSU soup mugs. Chili had been on the menu for last weekend for over two weeks and then suddenly, two days before I was going to make it, I ran across this irresistible find on my first trip to the Bronco Shop in a very long time. It was as if the Bronco Nation gods knew that I had chili (and cute dishes) on the brain. Then, Monday (and Tuesday), after last week's lovely string of 50-degree days, it snowed out of nowhere. Funny... perfect weather for a reheated bowl of chili. Oh, and it just so happens that I'll be super busy later this week and won't have time to cook... wouldn't it be nice if I could pull something out of the freezer for a quick meal without any effort? What was that? Did someone just say that chili freezes extremely well?

Chili is one of those weird things that, for some reason, Dane absolutely refuses to eat. Like won't even try it. Not even two bites. So it's something that's been on my list of recipes-to-try-when-the-boy-is-out-of-town for pretty much forever. I've bookmarked several prospective recipes over the last couple of years, but when I saw this recipe in (you guessed it) my Ellie Krieger cookbook I knew I had to pencil it in on the schedule.

Ellie calls this recipe "confetti" chili because it's speckled with all kinds of glorious colors from all the yummy, brightly-colored,  nutrient-packed veggies she managed to slam into it. But don't worry... it doesn't even remotely resemble beef stew like I was afraid it would. This recipe is a chili-lover's chili for sure. And even if you hate chipotle like I do follow the recipe at least once, because it's actually quite good! The amount she calls for is just enough to add a little flavor without overpowering the whole dish (like many recipes containing chipotle do). 

I can't wait to eat this again on Thursday and Friday! ...although I could totally do without the snow this time. :)