Mini Meat Loaves

Mini Meat Loaves
-Heather W.

Ingredients
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup purchased pasta sauce
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped if large
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz.)
1 12-oz. pkg. fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to boiling. In large bowl combine egg, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of the basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beef and 1/2 cup of the cheese; mix well. Divide beef mixture in four equal portions. Shape each portion in a 5-1/2x2-inch oval. Place on 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F.

2. Meanwhile, cook green beans in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain; toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and red pepper. Serve with meat loaves. Sprinkle all with remaining basil leaves. Serves 4.

Change for green beans:

Season pot of water with celery salt, pepper, garlic powder. Bring to boil. Turn off heat (but leave pot) and add green beans. Let sit until almost ready to eat. Drain and re-season with celery salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add 2 squirts of honey. Stir and serve!

I also made double the meat loaves and froze 5. (Mine must have been mini-er)

Linguine with Peppery Beef Strips

-Christine B.

I like to make this dish from leftover sirloin steak I'd grilled earlier in the week.

Tip: this recipe calls for 1 c. beef broth. If you use canned broth, and need to store your leftover broth for the long term, place remaining broth in a Ziploc sandwich bag and store in your freezer. This also works well for when a recipe calls for only the whites or yolks of the egg, simply freeze the unused portion.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean beef steak
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper (or if you only have regular pepper on hand, use 1 1/2 tsp)
3 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onion
1 tbs. cornstarch
1 c. beef broth
8 oz linguine
1 c. julienned carrots (to save time, buy the "matchstick" carrots in your grocer's produce case)
optional: 1 c. green pepper, seeded and sliced thin; 8 oz sliced mushrooms

Directions:
Slice steak into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Mix oregano, basil, pepper, olive oil, garlic and green onions in a shallow dish. Add steak; toss to coat. Heat water for pasta.

Dissolve cornstarch in broth. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Remove steak. Stir broth mixture into skillet. Boil, stirring continually, for about 1 minute. Return steak to skillet. Add carrots and optional items, if desired; cook for 5 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to skillet; toss with steak and vegetables. Serve immediately.

Chad liked this dish with some red pepper flakes. I personally think the black pepper added enough heat on its own. Joe (my 7-year-old) likes to add Parmesan cheese to his.

I Want A Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

I Want a Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

My MIL is coming to town this Thursday and she is what I will kindly refer to as PICKY when it comes to food. She doesn't like a lot of seasoning, is pretty traditional about foods, and after endless tours of restaurants, we've managed to find 2 places that she likes.  Wait.  3.  One of which is Arby's!  So I'm pretty sure that shouldn't count.

Anyway, I'm hoping to make a Shepherd's Pie Thursday night.  My plan is to use instant mashed potatoes so that John will actually eat it and that will cut a lot of the prep time down.

If you have a great recipe, could you post it?

Beef Rissoles

Beef Rissoles
-Tish M.
 This is one of my Australian recipe and it's a great way to get kids to eat their veggies without knowing.

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion finely chopped or grated

1 medium carrot grated

1 medium zucchini grated

1 egg

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Option: add 1/4 cup of cheese to the mix

Mix in a bowl beef with all ingredients until well combined.(hands are a good tool for combining the ingredients) Divide meat mix up into patties (ball first then press into shape) about the size of your palm. Place patties into a fry pan with a little oil. Cook to your liking. You can also cook these on a BBQ.

Sometimes I like to roll the patties in bread crumbs before cooking.

Serve with mashed potatoes/veggies or on a burger.

Crockpot Beef Stew

Crockpot Beef Stew
-Kate W.

2 lbs. Beef chuck, cubed
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
4 carrots, sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
3 potatoes, diced

Place meat in slow cooker. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir into meat until coated thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours, or on high 4-6 hours. Stir before serving.