Beef With Snap/ Snow Peas

I have many dear Asian friends who would not be happy with the "Americanized" version of the classic stir fry.  So if you are one of my dear Asian friends reading this, please look away and do not hate me.  Now, for the rest of us who have ever gotten a craving for "Asian take-out" without having to go out, this will definitely satisfy. With a few simple ingredients you are only a few moments away from getting "take-out" while you "stay in"!

1 1/2 lbs of flank steak cut into "stir-fry" sized pieces. You can cut the beef however you like.

I forgot to take a picture of the soy sauce mixture but anyways, put 6 tbsp of the soy sauce mixture in to the meat...

...and give it a good toss. You can marinade this overnight or set it aside while you prep everything else. 

The snap peas will have a thread that will need to be removed (in most cases). You will need to remove it from both sides as I have shown you here. Start from the tip and work your way along to the other side.

My nail polish is "Espresso Your Style" by OPI in case you were wondering :)

Grab half of an onion (yellow is what I used) and slice it thin

Heat your non-stick skillet with oil on HIGH heat and heat up your peas for about 1 min, just long enough to get some color. Set the peas aside.

Now that your peas are set aside add the meat and while you are on HIGH or MED HIGH heat, sear the meat on both sides, ie, leave it alone so that it develops a nice brown color.  

BROWN=FLAVOR

Flip and repeat

With your last batch of meat, after it is browned, add the onions and give some tosses. The onions will grab all that lovely crusty residue and impart some flavor into them. Do this for about 30 sec or so...

...then and the remainder of the meat and its collected juices, the rest of the soy sauce mixture and peas and give a good stir so that everything is incorporated and keep it on Med heat for about 30 sec. At this point, if you decide your mixture is too thick, add some water. I ended up adding 1-2 tbsp of additional water.

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Beef With Snap/ Snow Peas

FEEDS 4

1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp white wine
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, cut into stir-fry strips
3 tbsp regular oil (or use peanut oil for a more Asian flavor)
8 oz fresh washed snap peas, trimmed (some call them snow peas)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin or use 5-6 green onions chopped

1/4 cup water may be needed if mixture is too thick
2 Cups Uncooked rice of your choice, cooked according to package directions, I used Basmati

In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, brown sugar and ginger. Add the beef to a separate bowl and pour 6 tbsp of the mixture over the top. Save the rest of the liquid. Toss the beef and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the snap/snow peas and stir for 1 min and get some color on them if possible. Remove to a plate.

Allow the skillet to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture and if some marinade comes along, that's OK too. Spread out the meat as you add it to skillet, but do not stir for a good minute. You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible. BROWN=FLAVOR! Remove to a plate and repeat with the other batch(es) of meat. 

With your last batch of meat, after it is browned, add the onions and give some tosses. The onions will grab all that lovely crusty residue and impart some flavor into them.  Do this for about 30 sec or so and then add the remainder of the meat and its collected juices, the rest of the soy sauce mixture and peas and give a good stir so that everything is incorporated and keep it on Med heat for about 30 sec. You will see the mixture begin to thicken and caramelize slightly. If it is too thick, add some water 1 tbsp at a time until you get a consistency your happy with.  I ended up adding 3-4 tbsp of water. 

Serve with rice of your choice and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman on Food Network

Boneless Beef Short Ribs Braised in a Red Wine Sauce

This recipe was originally something I only used for pot roast.  And by all means, you SHOULD make this as a fun way to jazz up your next pot roast (see our other pot roast recipe). I have also found that this works very well with beef short ribs also.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that by the time this is done cooking, the meat will be so "fork tender" that you literally will not need a knife!  The richness from the red wine and beef broth combo packs a nice punch but yet provides a gourmet feel to your meal.  By the end of the cooking time, the sauce (which will be SO flavorful) can make a wonderful as a gravy for mashed potatoes and of course as an "Au Jus" for the beef.  I've made this recipes dozens of times and it never disappoints my dinner crowd!

Season your beef with salt, pepper and onion powder and sear on both sides in olive oil and butter (or just olive oil if you like)

Flip and repeat!

Place your browned meat in the crockopot vessel.  If you are working with short ribs, you'll have to work in batches. Place the thyme and bay leaves also.

See what the meat left behind? Residue! Lots of lovely, crusty residue that will impart MAJOR flavor in your sauce. Add the sliced onions, garlic and tomato paste and sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of salt to draw out the moisture from the onions. The moisture from the onions will begin to deglaze the pan.

Add the red wine and let it cook and bubble for a few minutes.  Then add the beef broth.

There is the meat again...patiently waiting.

Pour everything on top! Try to leave the onions on top if you can. It'll keep the beef moist.

Turn the slow cooker on LOW and let it cook for 8 hours.  Three hours before you are ready to eat, put in your baby potatoes. If you want to use baby carrots too, place them in the crockpot last hour of the cooking process.

All done!

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Boneless Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine
3-4 lb Boneless Beef Short Ribs OR a 1 3-4 lb chuck pot roast
(Look for one that has a lot of marblely fat)
Salt, Pepper, Onion powder
Olive oil and butter
2 onions, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic -roughly sliced or smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 C red wine (I like Merlot)
2 C beef stock (I used water + 1 tsp beef base)
4-6 fresh Thyme sprigs
2 Bay leaves
6-8 Baby Potatoes or whatever your slow cooker will fit! (red or white -doesn't matter)
Baby Carrots if desired (or chopped carrots)

Season the short ribs (or roast) with salt, pepper and onion powder.

On MED HIGH or MED heat, sear the beef in butter and olive oil (or just olive oil if you like) so its nice and brown on both sides and place the browned meat in your crockpot. If you are working with short ribs, you'll have to brown your meat in batches.  Put the thyme sprigs and bay leaves in the crockpot too.

Now look at your pan and you'll notice the lovely residue from the browned meat! Lower heat to MED LOW and add onions, garlic and tomato paste and sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt to draw out the moisture from the onions.  The moisture from the onions will deglaze the pan; this will take about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and let it cook for about 5 minutes.  You will notice it getting a bit thick and bubbly due to the tomato paste.  Add the beef broth (or beef bouillon + water combo) and let simmer for a few minutes until everything is incorporated.

The browned meat is now ready for this luscious sauce that you've just created! Taste the sauce and see if it needs more salt or pepper.  I ended up adding a little more salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp each, but that's my personal preference. Pour the sauce over the meat and leaving the onions on top of the beef (if possible) so as to keep the meat moist.

Turn the slow cooker on LOW and let it cook for 8 hours.  Three hours before you are ready to eat, put in your baby potatoes. If you want to use baby carrots too, place them in the crockpot last hour of the cooking process.

Skim off as much fat as you can. Strain the sauce in a fine mesh sieve and taste it to see if you need more salt or pepper and serve with the beef or thicken it for a wonderful gravy for mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf

Could anything be more classic Americana than meatloaf?  Could anything be more controversial than meatloaf?  In these times yes of course, but meatloaf can divide Americans as much as any political agenda. So do you really need yet another meatloaf recipe?  Yes, actually you do. I served this recently for our dinner group and I brought up this controversial topic of meatloaf.  The reactions were mixed.  Some have very fond childhood memories of meatloaf on the dinner table and some have not-so-fond childhood memories of how they hated that it was "meatloaf night" on mom's recipe rotation.  Why this dichotomy among Americans?  Hmm....some are bothered that they are eating a loaf of meat. I say "get over it!". Some are bothered that it is just a hunk of beef with a bunch of stuff mixed into it. I say, "get over it!"  Some are on the fence about meatloaf but get bothered that the stuff mixed into it is bland and tasteless and does nothing to elevate the humble ground beef.  I say..."AHA! Then THIS is the recipe for you!"

Let's get started...

1 Onion, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 Cup parsley leaves (no stems)

Chop them finely or pulse in a food processor

While the onion mixture is sauteing, soak 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs in 1 Cup buttermilk

Combine well

Once your onions are browned, add the garlic until aromatic. Then add the tomato paste and cook out the tomato paste until darkened a little. About 2 minutes.

Done and ready to go in the beef!

Here we have 2lbs beef, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, buttermilk/Panko mixture and onion mixture.

Let your onion mixture cool a little until it is comfortable to the touch.

Mix well

Form into a loaf and put your sauce on it.  Oh! I forgot...on to the sauce...

1/2 C BBQ sauce, 1/2 C Ketchup and 1/4 C dark brown sugar

Combine until brown sugar has dissolved.

WARNING: be careful of cross contamination! I used 2 utensils, one for spooning the BBQ glaze and one for spreading it on the meatloaf.  If you intend to serve the extra glaze on the side during your meal (which I recommend that you do), then you especially want to make sure that the utensil used to spread the glaze on the RAW meatloaf NEVER touches the glaze that you will serve your guests.

Glaze is now spread evenly and ready for a 425 F oven

Enjoy with mashed potatoes or potato wedges for the ultimate American comfort meal.

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Meatloaf
For the Glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

For the Meatloaf:
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs (Japanese style breadcrumbs - the same type used for tempura)
1 cup buttermilk
2 clove garlic, minced
2-3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 lbs. ground beef (whatever kind of beef you like - or use a pork/beef combo)
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground pepper
Olive oil - for saute

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined well.  Alternately, you could combine the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and place over low heat.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions until browned then add garlic and cook until garlic is aromatic. Add parsley and tomato paste and cook for about a minute. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine Panko and buttermilk and set aside for 5 minutes. Then in a large bowl, place beef, salt and pepper, the onion mixture, Worcestershire sauce and the Panko mixture. Mix with your hands until just combined.

On a rimmed baking pan (9x13 glass dish works well), form the mixture into a loaf shape sitting in the center of the pan, with all four sides exposed. Brush sides and top with some glaze, then bake for about 40-50 minutes, removing the pan 30 minutes into the cooking process to brush on more glaze. (At the end of baking, you will not have used all of the glaze mixture – just keep it on the side to serve as a sauce.)  Cool for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy.

WARNING: Be careful of cross-contamination!  Use 2 utensils to avoid this.  Use one utensil to pour the sauce glaze on the meat.  This utensil should never touch the raw meat. Use the second utensil (designated to touch the raw beef) to then evenly spread the sauce glaze onto the raw beef.

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Beef Schnitzel

Schnitzel, a word I've learned when I moved to Australia... I've always known this dish to just basically mean a cut of meat that is breaded and shallow fried. I know pretty silly. However, I do love meat and chicken done in this manner. It's a simple dish to prepare and the end result is nothing short of fabulous. The herbs and seasonings is what makes for an amazing dish. Turns your average steak into something a little special. 

Remember, you don't have to use the best cut of meat for this dish. Traditionally, this schnitzel is made using veal. However, I use whatever cuts of meat I have on hand at the time. This is also great with chicken. 

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 The line up... My steak is vacuumed sealed... It's a thick cut steak but its what I had on hand at the time. Please feel free to use a cut that's cut thin already. 

I cut the steaks into slices 

Place between baking paper and pound out to an even thickness 

There's my little princess helping me 

Now season both sides with salt, pepper and some garlic powder. 

Season your panko bread crumbs with the dried basil, dried thyme and fresh parsley. I didnt have fresh thyme so I used dried, but would taste nice with fresh herbs... I just used what i had on hand. I also seasoned with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

I set up my dredging station like this... Panko crumbs, two eggs beaten and my flour. 

Dredge in flour and shake off excess 

Then into the egg, allowing excess to drop off 

Finally, the panko crumbs making sure to press the crumbs into the meat. 

Here's the steak covered in the bread crumbs 

Shallow fry your steaks until golden brown. 

Let's get started! 

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Ingredients 

2 lbs beef thin cut, I had just thick cut steaks so I cut them in half and pounded them out

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tbls parsley fresh or dried

1 tbls thyme fresh or dried

1 tbls basil fresh or dried

Garlic powder for seasoning

Salt and Pepper

Oil for frying 

Start by preparing your meat, if you bought a cut of meat that's too thick just cut thin slices and pound out. Season meat with salt, pepper and garlic. Set aside. 

Grab 3 plates and place flour in one, beaten eggs in another and the panko bread crumbs in the last plate. 

Season your bread crumbs with the basil, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder. If using fresh herbs make sure to chop the herbs finely. 

Now set up your dredging station... Dip each price of meat first into the flour, then into the egg and finally into the panko crumbs. 

Heat about 4 tbls of oil in a frying pan, cook schnitzel in batches until golden brown.

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