Recipe

Beef and Broccoli Stew

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Ok there are about a million different version of this one out there but this particular one is all my own, though I did take inspiration from Bon Apetit. I had a leftover pot roast that I made in the crock pot last week with some canned French onion soup; now before you berate me for the use of canned soup listen up. It’s delicious and so darn easy, sometimes we all need an easy recipe, and please check out the label it’s not all THAT bad. In this particular case, I made a little gravy with the drippings and roasted cauliflower and a side salad to complete the meal. So there!

Now the recipe I am sharing with you today is based on having a leftover pot-roast around, if you happen to not have one stew meat, and beef broth are easy substitutes for the drippings, and roast. Also if you would like to make it a clean meal you can use lean sirloin, cut into 1-2 inch pieces, and egg whites, with olive oil for the emulsion.

Beef & Broccoli Stew

2 tbs olive oil

2 large onions, sliced thin

1 large carrot, peeled & chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tbs flour

1 cup red cooking wine

1 leftover Pot roast (or 1.5 lbs stew meat)

½-1 cup drippings from pot roast

3 cups beef broth, low sodium

In a thick bottomed sauce pan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook stirring often until the onions have begun to caramelize about 10 minutes. Stir in flour until well blended. Add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate browned bits. Bring to a simmer and allow the wine to reduce by half. Add the beef, drippings and broth, continue to cook at a simmer until the liquid has reduced, and the broth thickened. 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook until crisp-tender (about 4 minutes) then remove drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Serve the stew hot in bowls with broccoli on top.

Garlic Emulsion

2 large hardboiled eggs, Peeled

2 garlic cloves

3 tbs lemon juice

pinch of salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine eggs, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a blender. While blending slowly add the oil in, until a creamy sauce forms. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Beware: The garlic emulsion is garlicky! I would only add a dollop to the stew, and I like it better once it’s well mixed in. It could be because I used way less oil in the emulsion than the regular recipe called. The stew itself is dreamy and having some broccoli at the end to scoop up the bots of stew in the bowl is pretty awesome as well.

Lemon Oregano Chicken and Green Beans

By Jessica

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Today I want to share a recipe that I have made a few times. It is delicious! As well as a wonderful recipe to dress up a cheaper cut of meat. Now the original recipe called for boneless chicken thighs but after making it a few times I have altered it for bone-in thighs because let’s be honest that’s what usually on sale, and we all like it when we can use things that are on sale.

Another huge alteration is that I added some green beans to the mix. As you may know I am trying to add more vegetables to our diets, I am trying to make them the superstar of our meals, as opposed to the meat, and well though there isn’t much for vegetables in this one it’s certainly a start.

Lemon Oregano Chicken & Green Beans

1 lemon, sliced thin (discard seeds)

4 Large skin-on, boneless chicken thighs (for bon in us (x) cooking times)

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbs olive oil

3 sprigs of oregano

1 minced shallot

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425°. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a nonstick, oven safe skillet. Place the chicken skin side down and cook through, pouring off excess fat. Allow the skin to brown, for roughly 10 minutes (15-20 minutes). Scatter half the lemon slices over the chicken and the other half on the bottom of the skillet and place in the oven, roasting until the skin is crisp and slices in the skillet have caramelized, 5-8 minutes (10-15 minutes). Remove the chicken to a plate, skin side up (to keep it crispy), as well as the lemon from the skillet, leaving the slices on top of the chicken in the pan. Over medium heat add oregano, shallot and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallot begins to soften and the mixture smells fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the green beans and toss. Add in the wind and continue to cook until it has reduced by half, 2-3 minutes. Next add in the broth and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and return the chicken (skin side up) and lemons to the skillet to rewarm. Serve with sauce from the pan drizzled on top.

I suggest making a mellow side dish of pasta, without much fuss on it, maybe just some parmesan cheese, because the sauce from this dish is so good you will want to dowse your whole plate in it. The super crispy skin and crisp green beans add a dimension of crunch and taste that marries so well together you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven, at least that’s how I feel about it. Every time I make this I feel as though I’m eating at a restaurant. And leftovers the next day are just as good, though you may lose some crispiness on the skin, the sauce has had time to really soak in and it’s downright dreamy. Can you tell how much I like this recipe?

On a side note I am thinking of doing a giveaway soon. Any ideas?

Blue Cheese Stuffed Steak

By Jessica

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Ok so this is one of those recipes’ that you will hold on to forever, not only is it easy, and clean, but it’s also MAN APPROVED! Does it get much better? Oh yeah it’s also fairly cheap. There are only two non-pantry items to buy so even though you’re cooking steak, if you make sides of salad and a baked potato, or simple pasta, you still have a full meal for less than $6 a person. I love it, oh do I love it.

I think what I like best about it is that it looks complicated, taste’s decadent, and is totally easy! You would never know.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Steak

1 lb sirloin steak, cut in half

1 tbs worchestshire sauce

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

½ tsp Pepper

3 oz Blue Cheese Crumbles

1 tbs oil

Combine worchestshire sauce, balsamic vinegar, and pepper in a plastic bag. Place steak in the bag shaking the cover the steak. Allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Remove the steak from the bag and cut the Steak in Half, then carefully cut a slit in the middle of the steak to make a kind of pocket. Be sure to take care and not poke out the sides or you will have cheese oozing out while cooking. With one hand hold open the steak pocket and stuff it with half the cheese, do the same for the other piece until they are full. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet and place steaks in to sear. Cook each side for roughly 5 minutes or until desired doneness, take care while flipping that you don’t lose all of the stuffing. Let stand another 5 minutes before serving. (serves 2)

Asian Grilled Chicken Salad

By Jessica

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Ok, so if you read my plan for the next two weeks in my last post you saw that I was planning on making Asian Marinated Scallops over salad. Well I changed my mind, which it to be allowed since I made up my own meal plan anyway. I found that bay scallops were on sale instead of the larger diver scallops and I have a totally different recipe that I want to try with those, so I opted for the chicken version of the salad instead. It was just as good let me tell you. Chuck heartily approved, using an extra piece of chicken for his lunch the following day.

Asian Marinated Chicken

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs olive oil

Whisk together and pour over chicken breast. Place covered in the fridge for 30 minutes. After marinating place the chicken on a preheated grill. Cook until juices run clear, turning once. You may also cook it in a flat skillet over medium high heat.

Salad

1 cup mixed greens

1cup shredded cabbage

1 cucumber, chopped

2 large carrots, julienned

1 stalks celery, julienned

4 long scallions, thinly sliced

1 clementine or mandarin orange, peeled and sectioned

1 tbs oil

1 package Ramen noodles

¼ cup slivered almonds

1 tbs Sesame seeds

In a small skillet heat oil and stir in noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds. Cook on medium low stirring continuously until golden brown, and remove from heat to cool. In a large bowl combine all other ingredients. Once the noodle mixture has cooled slightly add to the vegetable mixture and toss.

Dressing

2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp honey

In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients until well blended.

Plate the salad, and top with chicken and dressing to serve.

Now before you all go on about using ramen noodles, they aren’t as bad as you think. What is bad for you is the ramen noodle soup mix; that little packet of flavor that is discarded in this recipe. It is full of sodium and sugars that while making it tasty also make it very unhealthy. I typically use half of the ramen noodle package for a salad for two people, so what little carbs that are there from the noodles aren’t going kill you, I promise.

New Toys! & A Recipe or Two

By Jessica

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I always hate showing off what I got for Christmas, as I don’t believe that getting gifts is the part that matters. To me it goes back to core Christian values, but that’s a whole other post; any who I was lucky enough to get a beautiful little pasta maker.

This is the recipe for the very first meal that I made with it. A simple delicious Italian Lemon Pasta with sautéed Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe.

Lemon Pasta

(makes 1lb)

3 ½ cups flour

3 large eggs

3 tbs lemon zest

1tbs lemon juice

Mound the flour in a bowl, making a well in the middle. In this well add in all of the other ingredients. Using a fork, beat together the eggs, and other ingredients slowly incorporating the flour, until it becomes a dough. Then begin kneading the dough with your hands. If the dough is too sticky add small amount of flour, if it is too dry add water, a tablespoon at a time. Once the dough is one cohesive mass move it to a lightly flowered surface and continue to knead it for 3-5 minutes. Place the dough in a floured bowl covered with a damp cloth and let it set for roughly 20 minutes at room temperature. This is important as it will make for a lighter pasta. Once it has set cut off about ¼ of the dough and make it into a small bowl. Form the pasta that you wish using either a pasta machine or a rolling pin and a knife. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Fresh pasta has finished cooking when it rises to the top in only 3-4 minutes.

Garlic Sautéed Broccoli Rabe & Turkey Sausage

1 lb turkey sausage links

1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed & cut into 3 inch pieces

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

1/2 cup chicken broth

½ lb pasta of choice, prepared aldente

Parmesan cheese

Fully cook the turkey sausage links in either a sauté pan or boiling water. Allow them to cool enough to cut into thin slices. In a pot of boiling cook the broccoli rabe for roughly 10 minutes to reduce the bitterness. Then place on a cloth and pat dry, retaining 1 cup of the cooking water for later use. In a large skillet heat olive oil and sauté garlic for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Add the cut sausage to the pan and cook an additional 4-5 minutes until the center of the sausage pieces begin to brown. Deglaze the pan with chicken broth cooking for only 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add broccoli rabe, tossing to coat. Serve over pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese.

The combination of these flavors is simply amazing. I love Brocoli rabe and sausage together already, though I chose to use turkey sausage in this recipe which tends to have a lighter flavor so it didn’t overpower dish. The lemon pasta added just a hint of citrus flavor that really married well with everything else on the plate. It was the perfect first dish to make with my new pasta maker. I could not be more pleased!

Recipe

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