Warm and Toasty November 15, 2010

Chili is great on a cold rainy night or afternoon. It’s easy to prepare since basically all you do is throw things into a crock pot and let the crock pot do the rest of the work. This chili has a really nice smoky flavour to it and depending how spicy you like your chili you can add more or less of the chipotle peppers.

Fire Roasted Chili:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound top sirloin steak, cut in bite size pieces
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery ribs, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 medium Anaheim peppers (or New Mexico peppers), chopped
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 jar Newman’s Own Sockarooni sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper

Directions:

In a ziplock bag combine the flour and the smoked paprika. Add the steak and toss around in the flour mixture until all steak pieces are completely covered. Heat oil in a large skillet. Once oil is hot add the steak and sear on all sides. Add steak to a large crock pot.

Return the skillet back to the heat and brown the ground beef. Season meat with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the crock pot.

In the left over meat juices add the carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the Anaheim peppers, chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce. Mix together well. Add all the beans and mix well. Transfer the vegetables to the crock pot. Add the Sockarooni sauce (found on the pasta sauce aisle) and the beef stock. Stir well. Sprinkle with the chili and cumin powder. Stir well. Add the lid and cook on low for about 4-6 hours.

After a couple of hours taste the mixture and decide whether to add more chili powder or more smoked paprika.

Enjoy on a nice cold night snuggled up in a blanket.

Adapted from foodnetwork.

Italian Enchiladas August 24, 2010

Beef and Cheese Manicotti:

Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Juice from 1 small lemon
• 3 cups of your favourite tomato sauce (I use roasted garlic and onion)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, 2 cloves of garlic and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, basil and parsley. Add rest of garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture (I used a piping bag to do this). Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of pecorino romano cheese over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Adapted from foodnetwork.

Nachos July 22, 2010

Quick and easy meal to make when you don’t have alot of time.

Beef Nachos:

Ingredients:

• 1lb Ground Beef
• 3 Garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 can Rotel
• Shredded Cheese
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• Sour Cream
• Jalapeños
• Tortilla chips or Doritos (I use tortilla chips with a hint of lime)

Directions:

Brown beef in a skillet with the garlic. Drain off any fat once browned. Add can of rotel with half the juices and taco seansoning. Stir well. Allow to simmer for about 5-7 minutes.

Place desired amount of chips on a plate. Cover with the beef. Then some diced onion. Sprinkle generously with cheese and then melt in microwave for about 45 seconds.

Sprinkle more onion (I love onion), the tomatoes, avocado and jalapeños. Top with sour cream.

Simple and Easy July 15, 2010

Beef Kabobs:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef for grilling, cut in cubes
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 3 jalapeño, cored and sliced
• 1 yellow zucchini, sliced
• skewers for grilling

Directions:

Preheat grill.

Add ingredients to the skewers alternating between the beef and vegetables.

Grill until meat is cooked to desired liking.

You can also use chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp and any type of vegetable that will will hold on the skewers while grilling. Try a chicken, pineapple, onion and garlic one. YUMO!

Also, if you wish you can marinate your meat the night before in your favourite marinade to give some more flavour. There are many possibilities with this easy dinner.

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi June 11, 2010

So since I am Australian I decided to add this true Australian dish. Sausage rolls and meat pies in Australia are a staple. When I first moved over to the US I was very disappointed that you could not find these little fellows here. Then when I took Jared to Australia he fell in love with sausage rolls. So thats when I started to experiment with things and try to re create these little beauties. This is the closest I have been able to get the recipe to the real Australian sausage rolls. When I make these I really just eye ball all my spices and bread crumbs. So I have estimated the following ingredients to what I think they may be. In true Australian fashion enjoy with lots of ketchup! Also try hot sauce or the Asian sweet chili sauce. Hope you enjoy them.

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!

Sausage Rolls:

Ingredients:

• 1 package puff pastry
• 1/2lb ground beef
• 1/2lb ground pork sausage (breakfast sausage)
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small white onion, diced finely
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Thaw puff pastry sheets out on counter.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients until well mixed.  You want a slightly mushy consistency.

Cut each sheet of pasty into 6 rectangles. In each rectangle add spoonfuls of meat mixture in the middle. Fold pastry over meat and press seam closed.

Place pastries on a baking sheet. Score the top of each pastry with 3 slices. Make sure you don’t skip this step otherwise you will end up with the huge mess (Trust me!)

Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until pastries are golden brown.