Asian Beef Stew

You can use beef ribs or stewing meat. Usually I'll use stewing meat because we're lazy with the bones. But I had extra beef ribs cut into cubes already that I needed to use up so I used the ribs. It makes the sauce way fattier but more flavourful. It's even better when served the next day. :O

Note: If you like your carrots soft, then just put them in when you start braising. Otherwise leave them out and only put them in when you have only 30 minutes left in the braising time.


Asian Beef Stew
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs beef stewing meat, cut into 2 inches cubes
• 1-2 Thai chilies (optional)
• 1 bulb garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsps ginger, minced
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 398ml (14oz) can of diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp rock sugar
• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 2-3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 Tbsps canola oil
• Salt, to taste
• Cilantro and lime (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat canola oil over medium high heat. Add in chili (optional), garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon stick. Cook until fragrant.
2. Mix in onion, five spice and tomato paste. Cook until onions start turning translucent.
3. Stir in beef, diced tomatoes, fish sauce, rock sugar and enough beef broth to JUST barely cover the beef. Bring to a boil.
4. Cover partially, lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours. 
5. Stir in carrots. Cover partially and simmer for another 30 minutes.
6. (Optional) Garnish with cilantro and lime.
7. Serve with rice or French bread.

Roasted Congee

I don't roast a lot of things, but when I do, I keep the carcass for congee the next day. Why waste it? The carcass typically has lots of roasted flavour from the roast, so it gives the congee a nice mouth feel and TOTALLY makes it less boring. Plus when I debone the roast, I don't have to stress over leaving too much meat on the bones. It wont' matter since it'll go into the congee the next morning. >:)


Roasted Congee
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Leftover bones from a roast (e.g., prime rib, chicken, turkey)
• Water
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 4-5 cups water
• 2 thick slices of ginger
• Salt & pepper, to taste 

Directions:

1. Wash rice until water runs clearish. 
2. Combine rice, water (4 cups for thicker congee and 5 cups for a looser congee), ginger and leftover bones into the instant pot pot. Press the congee button. 
3. Once the machine beeps, wait 15-20 minutes before lifting lid. Remove the bone and separate any remaining meat from the bones. Place meat into the congee. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Serve by itself or with green onions and Chinese donut. 

Foolproof Prime Rib

There are two ways I make a prime rib roast. Both are pretty foolproof. The first method is basically Paula Deen's method and I use her house seasoning cuz it's so simple and awesome on steak. You can always use whatever steak seasoning you like best, but I always have this one on hand. :)

Hubby loves prime rib so I make this once in a while. Only really the two of us eat it so we always have leftovers, which is AWESOME when we have it thinly sliced in instant noodles or other soup noodles.

Note: It's easiest to thinly slice the leftover prime rib (or any slab of meat) if you put it in the freezer first for about 15-20 minutes to firm up a bit.


Foolproof Prime Rib
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 5-6lbs prime rib roast 
• 1-1.5 Tbsp of seasoning (see below) 
• Seasoning: 
• 1 cup salt 
• 1/4 cup ground black pepper 
• 1/4 cup granulated garlic 
• In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Store in an airtight container.

Method 1 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Place prime rib roast fat side up and bone side down on an aluminum foil lined baking tray. For every 5 pounds of roast, rub all over with 1 tablespoon of seasoning. 
3. Roast for 11 minutes per pound. (8 minutes per pound if using convection roasting option in convection oven.) Once cooking time is up, turn off the oven and leave the prime rib inside. DO NO OPEN THE DOOR. Leave alone in the oven for at least 3 hours and then reheat at 375F for 20 minutes. (If you left it only for 1.5-2 hours, reheat for only 10-15 minutes.) 
4. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before carving. Slice the prime rib off the bone and then into steak portions. (Keep bone for congee, broth, etc.) 
5. Serve with veggies and potatoes. 

Method 2 Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 500F. Place prime rib roast fat side up and bone side down on an aluminum foil lined baking tray. For every 5 pounds of roast, rub all over with 1 tablespoon of seasoning. 
2. Roast for 5 minutes per pound (11 minutes per kilogram). Turn off heat and let the roast rest in cooling oven for 2 hours. DO NOT OPEN!
3. After 2 hours, take prime rib out and let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving. Slice the prime rib off the bone and then into steak portions. (Keep bone for congee.) 
4. Serve with veggies and potatoes.

Meat & Potatoes Stew

This is Hubby's favourite stew. It's even better the day after, as with most stews and chilis. It's fantastic if you have it with some crusty bread as well. Honestly I can just dip the bread into the stew with the carrots and have Hubby finish everything else. Lol.

Meat & Potatoes Stew
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 2lb stewing meat or chuck roast cut into 1-2 inch cubes
• 1 large onion, julienned
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 medium russet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2-3 cups beef broth (just enough to cover the beef 3/4 of the way)
• 2 Tbsps smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsps sugar
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsps canola oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tsp cornstarch, divided
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Water

Directions:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. When heated, add oil. Meanwhile, toss beef with 1/4 cup of cornstarch. 
2. When oil is heated, shake off any excess cornstarch and sear beef on all sides. Seat in 2 batches so as not to overcrowd. This is going to take a long time but it's well worth it. 
3. When beef is all seared, add onions, garlic, allspice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, rosemary, paprika, bay leaves and 1 cup of beef broth. Mix well and scrape off the brown bits from the bottom. Add beef back into the pot and cover with remaining beef broth (enough to just cover the beef 3/4 of the way. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat to the lowest heat and simmer for 2 hours. 
4. Turn the heat back up to medium high. Addin potatoes and carrots. Add about a cup of water (just enough to ensure potatoes are covered). Bring to a boil, lower heat to lowest setting, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. 
5. Make a slurry out of the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of cold water. Mix into the sauce to thicken up. Heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Serve with crusty bread. If you want to be extra healthy, add some baby spinach to the bowls before ladling in the stew. The heat from the stew will cook the spinach for extra iron. 

Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Sandwiches

Funny story. I hadn't had the motivation to cook for a WHILE now and after I made this, Hubby asked if I took a picture yet. After I said no, he asked "then how will you remember how you made this? You have to put this on your blog! :O" And this is how I started blogging again...

This sandwich recipe is super spicy for my sis and I so we put a generous amount of mayonnaise to help temper it. The guys loved it as is so they just had it in the form of meat and bread! We originally toasted the bread with some cheddar cheese (see pic), but we found that it wasn't necessary. Just put more meat with the bread and lots of mayonnaise for those who can't handle the heat.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Sandwiches 
(serves 4-6) 

Ingredients:

• 2lb chuck roast
• 1 199g (7oz) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbsp granulated garlic
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tap pepper
• 4-6 ciabatta buns, halved
• Mayonnaise (optional)

Directions:

1. Place everything except the beef and bread into the slow cooker. Mix well. 
2. Place beef into the mixture and turn to coat all over. 
3. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. When finished cooking, shred beef with two forks and mix with juices. Keep warm until ready to serve. 
4. To serve, lightly toast ciabatta bread. (Optional) slather a generous amount of mayonnaise on each halves of the bread. Top one half with the shredded beef with peppers and top with second slice of bread. Cut on a bias (easier to eat). Serve with soup and salad. 

Mom's Meat Sauce

Most people will probably think this is too sweet and it's sacrilege but it's a taste of childhood for my sibs and me. And man did we ever love our ketchup. This is definitely one way to have your kid have spaghetti and meat sauce if they love ketchup the way K does and the way my sis and I did as kids.

We used to have this as "sloppy joes" with buns, or with rice or with spaghetti (our fave way to eat it). I introduced this sauce to K last night and he had a healthy portion of it. Any way I can get him to have any meat, I'm happy. :)


Mom's Meat Sauce
(serves 4-5)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 10 3/4 oz (305g) can condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp sugar
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat up a large pot (or in my mom's case, a wok) over medium high heat. When pot is hot, add beef and cook until no longer pink. Season with a pinch of salt.
2. Once meat is cooked, stir in tomato soup, 1/2 cup of ketchup and a 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Mix well until sauce is hot and bubbly. Taste and season with more ketchup, sugar and/or salt, if needed.
3. Serve over spaghetti, rice or use as a "sloppy Joe" filling.

Asian Beef Wrap

My sister does not eat onions, nor green onions. Surprisingly she ate this though. And she ate more than one wrap so she's gotta like this. I know I do, cuz I ate until I was stuffed. :P

You can wrap everything yourself and then serve it, or just place the skillet on the dinner table and have everyone make their own wraps. This is essentially what I did. It's more like a family meal this way.


Asian Beef Wrap
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 8-12 10" flour tortillas
• 1 head of green lettuce, leaves washed and dried
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps oyster sauce
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Hoisin sauce
• Sriracha

Directions:

1. Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is very hot (a water droplet would bounce and sizzle away), add ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until beef is no longer pink.
2. Toss in bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Cook until onions start getting soft.
3. Add garlic and soy sauce. Cook until garlic is fragrant.
4. Stir in oyster sauce and green onions. Turn off heat. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
5. To assemble, lay a thin layer of lettuce leaves on a tortilla. Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of beef mixture into the middle. Top with as much hoisin sauce and Sriracha as you like. Fold opposite ends and roll into a small/medium wrap. Repeat with remaining filling.
6. Enjoy with a cold glass of limeade or strawberry lemonade.

Saucy Sliced Beef with Peppers & Onions

I feel like this is from a Chinese restaurant, only it's not nearly as unhealthy as the ones you'd eat at Chinese restaurants. Or maybe it is! I don't know. I just know that I didn't use that much oil. Lol.

I really liked this. It was hearty and yummy. Very homey feeling to it. My fave kind of food. ;)


Saucy Sliced Beef with Peppers & Onions
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb flank steak, cut into stir fry strips (see note)
• 2 medium bell peppers, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 green onion stalks, chopped into 1 inch long pieces and/or diced
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch, divided
• 1 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 slices of ginger
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch with the beef. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat a wok over high heat. Add canola oil and wait for it to shimmer. Add beef and let it start browning for a minute. Once the beef can be moved easily without ripping any meat, toss in ginger and garlic. Stir for a few seconds until garlic gets fragrant. 
3. Stir in peppers, onions, Hoisin sauce, sugar and soy sauce. Cook for a few seconds while you make the slurry.
4. In a small bowl, make a slurry out of the water and remaining cornstarch. Pour into the wok and mix well.
5. Cover and let it cook until the peppers and onions are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
6. Turn off heat. Mix in green onions and sesame oil.
7. Serve with rice and soup.

Note: Cut the steak along the grain into 2 inch wide slabs. Then position the flank so that the grain is perpendicular to you. Using a sharp knife, cut against the grain on a bias (45 degrees) into strips that you'd see in Chinese restaurant stir fries.

Korean Braised Beef Ribs

Maangchi is totally awesome. I essentially used her recipe to braise these ribs. I used back ribs instead of the short ribs, so then I just braised it longer. It's a little sweet if you eat it on its own with just rice, so I'd definitely make some side dishes to go with it.


Korean Braised Beef Ribs
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs beef back ribs, cut into 2 inch pieces (similar to giant pork spare ribs)
• 2 Bosc pears, peeled & chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 inch knob of ginger
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a dutch oven or a large pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and blanch ribs for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the ribs. Wipe down the dutch oven and add ribs. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, add pear, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, water and brown sugar and puree. Pour over ribs. Mix well and bring to a low boil. Cover the pot with a lid, but not completely; leave the lid ajar to let the steam out. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover completely and turn heat up to medium high. Cook until almost all of the liquid is gone and the ribs are shiny, stirring  more often to prevent burning.
4. Turn off heat. Stir in sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Serve with kimchi, rice and other side dishes.

Kimchi Fried Rice

One of my favourite foods in the world for sure! I love a runny egg with almost anything. Seriously. And I love fried rice. And have you TRIED kimchi paired with rice and a runny egg? OMG it's to DIE FOR.

You could make this vegetarian or with any kind of protein. I made mine with leftover diced deli ham, but I've tried it with diced spam. HELLO...loving it. But I do love my spam, so meh! :P

This really is an awesome dish to use up leftover kimchi and leftover rice. You can even make it using leftover fried rice, which makes this dish even easier than it already is. :D


Kimchi Fried Rice
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup kimchi, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups leftover cooked rice
• 3 Tbsps kimchi juice
• 1 heaping Tbsp gojujang
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 lb diced spam/ham/cooked chicken/beef strips/bulgolgi/firm tofu etc.
• 2 green onions, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 tsps sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat up 1 teaspoon of canola oil. Add mushrooms and cook until caramelized. Add kimchi and stir fry until heated through.
2. Add in protein and rice. Using a spatula, break up the clumps of rice, while stirring everything so it doesn't stick to the pan too much.
3. Pour in the kimchi juice, gojujang and water. Stir until well combined. 
4. Drizzle in the sesame oil and add in green onion. Stir to loosen up everything. Take off the heat and place into 2 bowls. Set aside.
5. In a small skillet, heat up the remaining canola oil over medium low heat. Gently break the eggs into the pan and cook until almost cooked through. Season with a little bit of salt and continue to cook until all the whites are cooked through. Cover the pan with a lid if you want to cook it faster.
6. Slide one egg each over the bowls of kimchi fried rice. Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.
7. Serve with a side of seaweed salad, pickled radishes or alone as is.

Beef Enchiladas

I have not made beef enchiladas in a LONG long time. Like at least 3 years ago long. I really have no clue why, considering they're so darn yummy. It's almost impossible to find any enchiladas sauce here, so maybe that's why. I did get a bottle from Trader Joe's the last time I went down to the states, so I decided to put it to good use!

Of course after I made this, I stumbled across a recipe for enchiladas sauce. I'm gonna have to try it out next time with this. :D


Beef Enchiladas
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 355ml (12oz) bottles Trader Joe's Enchiladas Sauce, divided
• 2-3 Tbsps taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 2 cups cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 6 10" whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Pour 1 bottle of enchiladas sauce on the bottom of a 9" x 12" casserole dish/lasagna pan. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, cook ground beef with 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. Once the beef is no longer pink, add in onions, bell peppers and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent and bell peppers are tender crisp. Stir in about 1/4 of a bottle of enchiladas sauce. You need just enough so that the meat mixture is moist. Season with more taco seasoning if needed.
4. Spoon 1/6 of the meat mixture onto the center of a tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream. Tuck the sides in and roll into a burrito. Place seam side down on the casserole dish. Repeat with the other 5.
5. Pour remaining enchiladas sauce over the burritos, making sure the edges are covered. Top with shredded cheese. At this point, if you want to freeze it for another day, just let it cool down to room temperature, cover with aluminum foil and freeze.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted. If baking from frozen, leave aluminum foil on top to bake for 60-75 minutes, and then uncover to bake for another 20. Top with green onions.
7. Serve with salad and Mexican rice.

Ham & Pepper Fried Rice

OMG we always have so much leftovers after a Christmas dinner. Same for Thanksgiving too. Maybe next year I'll just make turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. I really actually only like the ham. Hubby used to love turkey but he prefers ham now so really it's just the extended family that likes turkey.

I gotta say though, it's pretty amazing when you present a nicely cooked turkey to a big group of people. Makes you feel accomplish. ^^

Anywho, I used deli ham for the picture cuz I forgot to take a picture of the one with real ham and sometimes I need to get rid of deli ham quick. But who cares. It's still the same recipe. Only it tastes way more amazing with real ham that you've cooked using a picnic shoulder. Drool....


Ham & Pepper Fried Rice
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cold leftover white rice (1-3 days old)
• 1/2 lb ham (or any cooked meat or medium firm tofu), finely diced or crumbled
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 - 2 Tbsps ginger, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced
• Salt or soy sauce, to taste
• 2 Tbsps canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat a wok on high heat to warm up canola oil. Add in ginger, garlic and ham. Stir fry until ham starts to caramelize/brown. Add in eggs, stirring vigorously so that it doesn't burn and scrambles into tiny pieces.
2. When egg is still a little runny, add in bell peppers and rice. Stir to break up all the rice. Season with salt or soy sauce. 
3. Once the rice softens and is no longer in clumps, turn off the heat. Stir in green onions.
4. Serve with soup.

Asian Steak Salad

Okay, so the picture is not all that pretty and the steak isn't nicely arranged. Who cares? It was a yummy salad and I love the dressing. I can use that dressing for almost any salads I make...including the ones where I just use the spring greens and add roast beef and cheese. Yum.

The picture you see is of a whole steak with only half of the salad . We were craving meat, so yeah. Otherwise it'd look better and we wouldn't have been so overstuffed. :x


Asian Steak Salad
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsps lime juice
• 3 Tbsps soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsps sugar
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
• 2 1 inch thick striploin steaks, excess fat trimmed
• 1 300g package of mixed spring greens

Directions:

1. Combine canola oil, vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in a mason jar to make dressing. Close the lid and shake hard. Set aside.
2. Place steaks in a large Ziploc bag and pour 1/3 or 1/2 of the dressing in the bag. Squeeze out all the air and let marinade for 10 minutes.
3. Heat up a hot grill pan until smoking hot. Take steaks out of bag and grill on grill pan until medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Grill more if you like it more cooked and grill less if you like it rare. Transfer to a rack or the cutting board to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss spring greens in a large mixing bowl with the dressing and sesame seeds. Add more dressing if necessary. Transfer salad on a big serving platter or on individual plates. Set aside.
5. Slice steaks into strips and lay on top of the salad.
6. Serve on its own or with a wedge of garlic toast, or a baked potato.

Hungarian Goulash

Honestly I have no clue how authentic this is. It probably isn't, but I don't care. It's yummy and it's something that goes awesome with the Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls I made specifically for this.

I used beef shank cuz it was on sale, but honestly any cheap cut of meat/muscle would go well with this. The awesomeness of braising and stewing makes any meat super tender and fall-apart-y. This is definitely a dish that best utilizes those cheap tough meats. :D


Hungarian Goulash
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb stewing beef, cubed
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsps paprika (Hungarian is best)
• 3/4 cup beef broth or water
• 2 Tbsps tomato paste
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsps canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium high heat in a medium pot or Dutch oven. While the oil is heating up, add flour and season it with about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Toss in beef cubes to coat evenly.
2. Sear beef cubes until they're nicely browned. Sear in batches, if necessary. Transfer beef to a bowl or plate. Set aside.
3. Stir in onions, garlic, paprika and tomato paste, scraping up brown bits as the onions releases its juices. Cook until onions start to soften and garlic gets fragrant. Add the beef back in, including any juices that may have run and beef broth or water.
4. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to the lowest setting. Cover and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender (beef falls apart when poked with a spoon).
5. Serve with Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls and a side salad.

You can always make this into a one pot meal by adding some root veggies in the beginning to stew and then adding in some cooked quinoa at the end.

Taco Lasagna

Got leftover sour cream? My first choice is always to make Mexican or Tex Mex food :P

I got a little salsa crazy too. Hence the lil pool of liquid at the bottom there. OH WELL. I just used a slotted spatula to scoop everything up. No harm done. :)

Good dinner that was done relatively quick. I did get a little distracted with K eating (read: flinging) food while I made this. He's cute, but crazy messy while he's learning to feed himself with utensils. My poor floors...


Taco Lasagna
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 9 6" flour tortillas
• 2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 lbs extra lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 436ml (15.5oz) jar salsa
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large skillet or pan, cook ground beef. Season with chili powder, cayenne powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Stir in onions and cook until onions are soft. When everything's cooked, turn off heat, drain excess fat, and set aside.
4. In a 3 1/2 quart casserole dish, spread 3 big spoonfuls of salsa on the bottom. Layer with 3 tortillas. Top with half of ground beef mixture. Top with 1/2 of remaining salsa. Top with half of sour cream. Top with 1/3 of shredded cheese. Top with 3 tortillas. Repeat.
5. Layer last 3 tortillas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is all bubbly.
7. Serve with a side salad.

Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Okay, so it's a crappy picture. I was hungry and wanted to eat this right away before it got cold, so I took a quick snap and then started shoveling it into my mouth. Oh and it was wonderful. Eating this reminded me of why sometimes Hubby doesn't like going out for food. It's just sometimes yummier at home and healthier since I know exactly what went in there. There's almost nothing more satisfying than when you cook a meal and it tastes better than the stuff you can get outside......and people tell you so. :D


Cheeseburger Quesadilla
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb extra lean ground beef
• 2 (whole wheat) flour tortillas
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, brown ground beef on medium high heat. Season with salt, pepper, ground cumin and chili powder. Drain off excess fat.
2. Stir in onions and cook until translucent. Set aside.
3. In a 10" pan or grill, lay a tortilla down and warm up on medium heat. Spread 1/4 cup of cheese on one half. When almost all melted, top with half of ground beef mixture and then top with another 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Fold the tortilla in half. Using a large spatula, flip the quesadilla over to get the remaining cheese all melty.
4. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, guacamole & salsa.

Beef Lettuce Wrap

I love lettuce wraps. They can be a little messy but I always feel like I'm eating healthier when I have them. And it's so refreshing in the summer. :)

It's probably easier to eat when using butter lettuce but green is so much easier for me to find, so I use that instead. You can also add mushrooms or bell peppers in the filling too. I just didn't have all that on hand, so it was more plain this time.


Beef Lettuce Wrap
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 - 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 head of green lettuce, separated and dried
• Cilantro (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef on medium high heat. Season with cumin, salt & pepper. Drain off excess grease.
2. Stir in onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Stir in the Hoisin sauce. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
3. To serve, spoon meat filling into the lettuce cups, add a little cilantro and a squirt or so of Sriracha.

Meat Pie

Super simple? I think so! It's kind of a cheat recipe really. I mean...packet gravy mix and frozen veggies? AND frozen puff pastry???! Lol. A working mom's gotta do what a working mom's gotta do. Quick and easy meals in a jiffy! :)

I like to use fresh whenever I can (if my cheapo side doesn't rule out) but I can't help but use packet stuff once in a while. I just add to it to make it not so bad. Or at least I'd like to think so anyway. :P


Meat Pie
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables
• 1 74g (2.64oz) packet of gravy mix
• 3/4 cup water
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 sheet frozen butter puff pastry, defrosted
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large pan, heat up oil and brown ground beef on medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in onions and cook until onions are translucent.
4. Add gravy mix. Stir well to incorporate into the meat mixture. Pour in water, scraping up brown bits while mixing everything up thoroughly.
5. Turn off heat and mix in frozen veggies. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Transfer to a 8"x8" glass dish. Lay puff pastry directly on top of the filling. If there's overhang of puff pastry, let it just go up the sides of the dish. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve with a side salad or soup.

Faux Beef Terimayo "Japadog"

The other day I spotted a Japadog food truck and I looped around a block just to go back to grab a few for dinner. Heehee. I love Japadogs, especially their Terimayo Japadog with some wasabi mayo. That made me want to try to make this at home (since I'm cheap and like to try to make things at home). Which led to my buying hot dogs and hot dog buns the next day to experiment.

Considering how I have no garlic at home, I decided to just go and experiment the other night for dinner. This is my rift on it but darn it is YUMMY! I'm definitely making this again. Hubby probably could've eaten 2 or 3 of these by himself. He doesn't usually finish my food unless I REALLY can't finish it and he didn't even need to be asked twice before he finished the rest of mine. LOL!


Faux Beef Terimayo "Japadog"
(makes 2 "Japadogs")

Ingredients:

• 2 hot dog buns
• 2 all beef hot dogs
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsps thick soy sauce paste
• 2 Tbsps water
• 2 Tbsps sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise (and more for topping, optional)
• 1 tsp wasabi paste

Directions:

1. In a medium pan, caramelize onions on low to medium-low heat. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar to help it along. Stir occasionally.
2. In the meantime, in a small saucepan, add soy sauce paste, water and remaining sugar and cook on medium high heat until sauce thickens. Add caramelized onions into the sauce. Mix well. Set aside.
3. Using the pan you used to caramelize the onions, split the hot dog buns and put them facedown to toast a little on medium high heat. Set onto serving plates.
4. Meanwhile, make wasabi mayo by combining the wasabi paste and Japanese mayo. Mix until well blended. Set aside.
5. Cook hot dogs however you want. (I just nuke them on high in a microwave to be quick.)
6. To assemble, place hot dogs in the buns, top with onions in sauce, wasabi mayo and extra Japanese mayonnaise (optional but definitely recommended). Serve right away before someone steals it from you.

You can get the thick soy sauce paste and Japanese mayonnaise in any Asian supermarket. I always just get mine at T&T. Same with the wasabi. :)

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Pasta used to be a main staple in our household. And then it wasn't. I'm not entirely sure what happened. But the other night we had baked pasta. God do I ever miss that. The cheesy oozy goodness is just to DIE FOR! Disclaimer: I didn't have enough cheese at home - just a little less than 2 cups. That's why the picture doesn't show all the ooey gooey goodness of some baked melty cheese.

I used to use ricotta but about 2 years ago, I decided to sub ricotta for cottage for more protein. It makes me feel better (read: healthier) when I have so much cheese everywhere. :P

Have I ever told you how much I love my dutch oven? I love it. I love it a lot. I don't even use oil when I brown meat anymore because it doesn't even stick! And I'm going to use some sort of liquid to deglaze anyway, so there's really very little point to add it. :D


Cheesy Pasta Bake
(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs lean ground beef (or a little under 1 lb of each lean ground beef and lean ground pork)
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes 
• 1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs 
• 3 bay leaves 
• 1 796ml (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 can water
• 1 500g tub of cottage cheese
• 3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 lb uncooked short pasta (eg., penne, rotini, bowtie, etc.)
• 1 pkg of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted & drained (optional)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Heat up the oil (optional) in a large dutch oven or pot on medium high heat. Brown the meat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Once the meat is almost all browned, add onions. Cook until translucent. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in chili flakes, Italian herbs and bay leaves.
4. Pour in the can of crushed tomatoes. Fill the can halfway with water and add to the sauce. Stir to combine and lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
5. In the meantime, combine the cottage cheese, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and spinach (optional) in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the pasta until all the pasta pieces are coated with the cheese mixture.
6. Ladle half of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour the pasta and cheese mixture over the sauce, spreading it out evenly. Ladle remaining sauce over the pasta, making sure that the tops are all coated with sauce. Sprinkle on the remaining cheddar cheese and then top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
7. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until everything is all bubbly and gooey.
8. Serve with a side of garlic toast and a side salad.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I always oil the side of the aluminum foil that's going to touch the cheese. This ensures that I won't lose most of it to the foil. Sometimes it gets the dish's handles all oily but MEH! It saves that precious cheese! :D

The pasta will cook with all the steam and extra water we put into the sauce. I wouldn't worry. This is how I make all my baked pastas because I'm too lazy to cook the pasta first. I mean...it'd mean I have more things to wash and I'd have to spend more time in front of the stove. Now who would wanna do that? Right? Not me, that's for sure! :P

Update: I froze half of this in the freezer the last time I made it and then baked it from frozen. Make sure you bake it for an extra half hour or your pasta will only be half baked.