Beef


Slow-Cooker Barbecue Beef Brisket

May 25th, 2012 Nancy

 

 

“This is the best brisket I’ve ever eaten, and I’m 50 years old!” That’s what a guest said when I served this slow cooker barbecue beef brisket earlier this week.  Hop on over to Stacy Makes Cents to see the recipe.

Find more allergy-friendly crock-pot meals here.

 

Posted in Beef, Crockpot/Slow Cooker, Main Dish Comments Off on Slow-Cooker Barbecue Beef Brisket

Caramelized Onion Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

April 23rd, 2012 Nancy

 

You know how you see a recipe and you know you’re going to love it before you even try it?  That’s how it was when I saw this recipe at Mom’s Crazy Cooking. I have a thing for caramelized onion (try this Orange, Honey and Cumin Roasted Chicken with caramelized onions over mashed potatoes), and my husband loves a tender, falling apart roast.  So I knew this recipe was going to be a hit.

 

Caramelized Onion Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

Adapted from Betty Crocker Recipe Magazine, January 2001 and Mom’s Crazy Cooking

Ingredients:

  • 4 Onions, sliced thin
  • Palm Shortening or oil of choice
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper
  • 1 cup Beef Broth
  • 1/2 cup Apple Juice
  • 1 Tbsp Sucanat or Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 2 1/2 lb Rump Roast

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet, cook onions until translucent and brown.  Stir in remaining ingredients except roast and heat through.
  2. Spoon half of the onion mixture into the crock pot.  Place the roast on top of the onions.  Spoon the rest of the onion mixture on top of the roast.
  3. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours or until roast is falling apart.
  4. Serve over  mashed potatoes.

You may also enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Crockpot/Slow Cooker, Main Dish 8 Comments »

Ground Beef Goulash

April 1st, 2012 Nancy

There’s a sweet Granny at our church, who often brings a big pot of macaroni noodles with tomato sauce and ground beef to church potluck meals. It’s somewhat similar to spaghetti without the strong Italian seasonings and somewhat like beefy mac in a stew form.  Kids devour it.

She calls this meal Goulash.  I always thought Goulash was a Hungarian dish, but apparently there is American Goulash as well. Google tells me that in some regions this dish is called American Chop Suey!

Whatever you call it, it’s frugal, kid-friendly comfort food. Here’s my allergy-friendly version:

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Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish 14 Comments »

Ground Beef and Potato Hash

March 12th, 2012 Nancy

I was feeling a little under the weather this weekend. When lunchtime sneaked up on me, I needed to fix something simple.  I found a package of ground beef in the fridge and sprouting potatoes in the pantry.  Ground beef hash it was.

Ground beef hash is a frugal, kid and allergy friendly meal can be thrown together quickly.  The secret to good hash is to season it liberally, otherwise it can be rather bland.

Some of the kids topped their ground beef hash with cheese and some of them topped it with ketchup.  Three out of four of them had two helpings.

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Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish 1 Comment »

Crockpot Beef Stew and Mashed Potatoes

October 20th, 2011 Nancy

Cool weather got you looking for comfort food?  Chunky beef stew with carrots and onions served on top of mashed potatoes is sure to satisfy.  Throw the ingredients in the crockpot and go about your business for the day.  When you are ready to eat, whip up your favorite mashed potatoes and enjoy this hearty meal.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs Stew Meat
  • 1 Small Onion, diced
  • Carrots (I used 1/2 bag of frozen carrots but fresh would be even better.)
  • 14.5 oz Stewed Tomatoes (I used Hunts Fire Roasted)
  • 4-6 shakes of Worcestershire Sauce (Read labels-may contain anchovies, wheat or soy!  Allergy-free recipe here.  FYI:treacle=molasses)
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced or 1/2 tsp rounded Garlic Powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • ~1 tsp Arrowroot Powder or Cornstarch

Directions:

  1. Dump all ingredients except arrowroot or cornstarch into the crockpot and stir.
  2. Cook on low 8 hours.
  3. Uncover crock and stir in arrowroot or cornstarch and turn heat to high to thicken sauce.
  4. Serve on top of your favorite mashed potatoes.

You may also enjoy Rotisserie Chicken in the CrockPot Recipe and Easy Barbecue Chicken in the crockpot.

Recipe adapted from Full Bellies Make Happy Kids.

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Crockpot/Slow Cooker, Main Dish Tags: , , , , , , Comments Off on Crockpot Beef Stew and Mashed Potatoes

Homemade Sloppy Joes

August 29th, 2011 Nancy

I have enjoyed sloppy joes since the early days of marriage when I didn’t know how to cook anything unless it came out of a box or can.  When I made a commitment to limit high fructose corn syrup in our families diet, I had to say goodbye to my friend Manwich.

I have tried several homemade recipes that were OK, but they just didn’t do it for me.  Then I found this recipe: Sloppy Joes…The Real Food Way.  I love the title.  I love the recipe.  My search for a good homemade sloppy joe recipe has ended.

While there are bold and spicy sloppy joes, I prefer sweet ones.  This recipe satisfies my sweet tooth.  It’s super easy to throw together and I always have the ingredients on hand.

I tweaked the recipe a bit to simplify it even more.  I also added a can of red beans to stretch the meal a bit.  (You can read how I also do this in my spaghetti sauce here.)

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Ground Beef
  • 1/2 cup Bell Pepper, chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 cup Onion, chopped
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, pressed or minced
  • 1 14.5 oz can of Red Beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
  • 5 Tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 cup Broth
  • 1/2 cup Honey
  • 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Tamari Sauce  (Soy-free recipes here and here or leave it out and extra salt)
  • 1/2 Tbsp Chile Powder
  • 1 tsp Ground Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a skillet cook ground beef until brown.
  2. Add peppers, onions and garlic and cook until soft.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
  4. Serve on allergy-friendly bread or in a baked potato.

You may also enjoy Easy Pulled Barbecue Chicken and Nancy’s Green Beans and Sausage.

This post is part of Melt in Your Mouth Mondays, Mouthwatering Monday, Monday Mania, Mangia Monday, Make a Food”e” Friend, Mingle Monday,  Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival,  Made By You Monday, This Weeks Cravings, Homemaker Monday, Hunk of Meat Monday, Hearth and Soul Hop, Made From Scratch Tuesday,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Delectable Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, $5 Dinner Challenge, Tip Me Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays , Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Domestically Divine, Tackle it Tuesday, {TITUS 2}SDAYS, Delicious Dishes, show me what ya got, Tuesday Time Out Link Up, Gratituesday, Tea Party Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Let’s Do Brunch, Tuesday Tasty Tidbits, Traditional Tuesday, Fat Tuesday

 

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish Tags: , , , , , 20 Comments »

Beefy Zucchini

July 24th, 2011 Nancy

Photo courtesy of my 11 year old daughter. Pretty good, eh?

Here’s another quick and easy zucchini dinner.  It is thick and hearty so it can be served as is or over rice or pasta.  A side salad would make a great addition. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 small Onion, diced
  • 2 pound Ground Beef
  • 2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  • 3 Zucchini, chopped
  • 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

  1. In a heavy skillet, cook ground beef and onion until beef is done and onions are clear.
  2. Add tomatoes, zucchini, seasoning, salt and pepper and cook until zucchini is tender.

You may also enjoy Italian Sausage and Summer Squash Skillet and Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats.

This post is part of Secret Recipe Club, Melt in Your Mouth Mondays, Mouthwatering Monday, Monday Mania, Mangia Monday, Make a Food”e” Friend, Mingle Monday,  Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival,  Made By You Monday, This Weeks Cravings, Hearth and Soul Hop, Made From Scratch Tuesday,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Delectable Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, $5 Dinner Challenge, Tip Me Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays , Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Domestically Divine, Tackle it Tuesday, {TITUS 2}SDAYS, Delicious Dishes, show me what ya got, Tuesday Time Out Link Up, Gratituesday, Tea Party Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, What’s on the Menu, Made it on Monday, Whatcha Makin’ Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, What’s on Your Plate, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What We’re Eating Wednesday, Show and Tell,  Works for Me Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Creative Juice, Foodie Wednesday, Healthy 2day, Inspired by You Wednesdays, Let’s Do Brunch, Cast Party Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday,  Tip Day Thursday, Real Food Weekly, Simple Lives Thursday, It’s a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Thrilling Thursday , Recipe Swap Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Hookin Up with HoH, Ultimate Recipe Swap, Food Trip Friday, Friday Potluck, Foodie Friday,  Friday Favorites, Fresh Bites Friday, Show and Tell Friday, Allergy Friendly Friday, I’m Lovin It Fridays!, Fun with Food Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh, Clean and Pure Friday, GCC Recipe Swap, Food on Friday, Finer Things Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Friday Food Linky, Friday Flair, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Party Mindie Style My Favorite Things Friday Friday Food Fight, Show and Tell Saturday, Seasonal Sunday,  Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop, The Sunday Showcase, Simply Delish, Party Time

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish Tags: , , , , , , 30 Comments »

Spaghetti Zucchini Boats

July 15th, 2011 Nancy

Tonight we tried our zucchini boats with spaghetti sauce.  I found the spaghetti boats to be more flavorful than the cheeseburger boats.  My kids couldn’t decide which recipe they preferred.  Which recipe should you prepare?  I guess whatever floats your boat!

Ingredients:

  • 6 small, 4 large or 2 overgrown Zucchini Squash
  • 1 small Onion, diced
  • 1 pound Ground Beef
  • 1 – 1 1/2 cups Spaghetti Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • Daiya or Mozzarella Cheese.

Directions:

  1. Put a stock pot full of water on the stove and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, cut the ends off the zucchini and slice lengthwise. Halve the zucchini if necessary.
  2. Add the zucchini to the boiling water and cook 10 minutes or until tender.
  3. In a skillet, brown ground beef and onions.  Add spaghetti sauce and seasoning. 
  4. Remove the zucchini from the water.  When cool enough to handle, scoop the inside of the zucchinis into the ground beef mixture and stir well.
  5. Arrange the zucchini on a baking tray and fill with ground beef mixture.  Top with cheese.
  6. Bake until cheese is melted.

You may also enjoy Italian Sausage and Summer Squash Skillet and Summer Squash and Chicken Skillet.

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish Tags: , , , , , Comments Off on Spaghetti Zucchini Boats

How to Get Your Kids to Eat Zucchini: Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats

July 11th, 2011 Nancy

Getting children to eat green and slimy vegetables can be a challenge.  Sometimes all you need is a toothpick and a piece of paper to build enthusiasm.  My little ones were actually excited to try these.  They got 2 thumbs up from everyone but the youngest.  She was able to eat them once we covered them with ketchup.

This recipe comes from Laura at Heavenly Homemakers.  This week I’m going to make it with Italian seasoning or possibly spaghetti sauce.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

Update: We tried spaghetti sauce!  Check out our spaghetti zucchini boats here.

Ingredients:

  • 4 large Zucchini
  • 1 pound Ground Beef
  • 1 small Onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Cheddar or Daiya Cheese

Directions:

  1. Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil.  Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice lengthwise.  Halve the zucchini if necessary.  Boil the zucchini for about 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and onions and season with garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.
  3. Scoop the “meat” out of the zucchini and into the beef.  Stir well.
  4. Fill the zucchini with hamburger mixture and top with cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted.

You may also enjoy Italian Sausage and Summer Squash Skillet and Summer Squash and Chicken Skillet.

This post is part of  Monday Mania,  Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival, Made By You Monday, Hearth and Soul Hop, Made From Scratch Tuesday,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tuesdays at the Table, $5 Dinner Challenge, Tip Me Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Domestically Divine, Tackle it Tuesday, {TITUS 2}SDAYS, Delicious Dishes, show me what ya got, Tuesday Time Out Link Up, What’s on the Menu, Made it on Monday, Whatcha Makin’ Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, What’s on Your Plate, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What We’re Eating Wednesday, Show and Tell,  Works for Me Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Creative Juice, Foodie Wednesday, Healthy 2day, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday,  Tip Day Thursday, Real Food Weekly, Simple Lives Thursday, It’s a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Thrilling Thursday , Recipe Swap Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Hookin Up with HoH, Food Trip Friday, Friday Potluck, Foodie Friday,  Friday Favorites, Fresh Bites Friday, Show and Tell Friday, Allergy Friendly Friday, I’m Lovin It Fridays!, Fun with Food Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh, Clean and Pure Friday, GCC Recipe Swap, Food on Friday, Finer Things Friday, Friday Food Linky, Friday Flair,  Party Mindie Style, http://www.stayathomenation.blogspot.com, Friday Food Fight, Show and Tell Saturday, The Lady Bloggers Tea Party, Nifty Thrifty Sunday,  Cookbook Sunday, Sundae Scoop, The Sunday Showcase, Savory Sunday, Potluck Sunday, Simply Delish

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish Tags: , , , , , 68 Comments »

How to make 5 jars of spaghetti sauce in 5 minutes for around $3

May 12th, 2011 Nancy

I love a truly from scratch sauce with fresh tomatoes from my garden.  In fact, I’ll be posting my favorite garden fresh sauce recipe this summer. But this time of year, I am happy to compromise with this sauce.  It tastes way better than any store bought sauce I’ve tried.

Store bought spaghetti sauce contain ingredients like corn syrup and “natural flavors” which we all know can mean just about anything, including MSG.  It can also be difficult for those of us dealing with allergies to find a jar of sauce that does not contain cheese and soy.

I am thrilled to share with you my secret to making 5 jars of spaghetti sauce in 5 minutes for around $3! I buy the large can of tomato sauce at Sam’s (or Costco) for $2.33.  I also buy the spices in bulk at Sam’s or Costco.

The hardest part of this recipe is opening the large can!  A regular electric opener won’t work.  I use a manual can opener.  Once I have the can open, I add the spices directly to the can and mix with a cheap immersion blender (like this one).  That’s it! It’s ready to be added to cooked ground meat or frozen for later.

But, you ask, doesn’t spaghetti sauce need to simmer?  I used to simmer it before adding it to the jars but I find that cooking the sauce with ground meat is enough simmering time to combine the flavors.

Bella enjoys this sauce over Mrs. Leeper’s Rice Shapes For Kids.  I have enjoyed this sauce in spaghetti, ravioli and lasagna.  We are meat sauce people.  If you prefer to go vegetarian, you probably need to add olive oil. Becca wrote this in the comment section:

As a vegetarian, I have to say: Adding olive oil will not give you the good flavor of adding something cooked in the oil.  This is really easy to do with kale, even if it is frozen, because it cooks so fast–give it 3 minutes in olive oil in the bottom of the pot, maybe with a clove of crushed garlic or some bits of onion, and then add the sauce and heat it up.  Kale is crazily nutritious and cheap, too!

Thank you so much Becca!

As a side note, my family of six really needs two pounds of beef in their spaghetti sauce to fill them up.  I buy organic, grass-fed beef from a local farmer which is a little pricier than store bought beef.  I can’t stand to use two pounds of beef in one meal, so I add a can of rinsed black beans to stretch the beef.  At first my kids acted like I was torturing them with beans, but they have gotten used to it.  If you want to try adding beans, don’t blame me if your kids won’t eat their dinner!  🙂

Ingredients:

  • Contadina Tomato Sauce – 105 oz. can  (I buy this from Sam’s for $2.33.)
  • 3 cloves of Garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder or 1 Tbsp Dried Onion Flakes
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Oregano
  • 2 tsp Basil
  • 1 tsp Pepper

Directions:

1.  Open the can of tomato sauce.

2.  Add the seasonings directly to the can.

3.  Blend with an immersion blender or long spoon.

4.  Divide sauce between 5 recycled spaghetti sauce jars or storage baggies.

5.  Store sauce in the freezer.

You may also enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe was shared at Melt in Your Mouth Mondays, Mangia Monday, Monday Mania, Make a Food”e” Friend, Mingle Monday, Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival, Mouthwatering Monday, Just Another Meatless Monday, Made By You Monday, My Meatless Mondays, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Delectable Tuesday, $5 Dinner Challenge, It’s a Blog Party, Tip Me Tuesday, 2 Maids a Baking, Tuesdays at the Table, Hearth and Soul Hop, Tackle it Tuesday, Domestically Divine, Tasty Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on the Menu, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday, Real Food Wednesdays, What’s on Your Plate, Made it on Monday, Thrilling Thursday, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursday, Creative Juice Thursday, PennywisePlatter Thursday, Tip Day Thursday, It’s a Keeper Thursdays, Recipe Swap Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday,Real Food Weekly, Foodie Friday, Show and Tell Friday, Foodie Friday, Friday Potluck, Friday Favorites, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Fun with Food Friday, Allergy Friendly Friday, Friday Food Linky, Seasonal Saturday, Sugar Free Sunday, Seasonal Sunday, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, These Chicks Cooked, Real food, low cost challenge

 

Posted in Allergy Friendly Recipes, Beef, Main Dish, Sauces and Seasoning Mixes, Tips and Tricks Tags: , , , , , , 83 Comments »
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