Easy Ground Beef Vegetable Soup in the Crockpot
November 10, 2011 - Written by Diana
Last Christmas, my sister in law Pam, gave me a copy of a church recipe book – Seasoned With Love that her church had created for a fundraiser. It’s a fun family recipe book, the recipes were donated by the congregation. When I was out east taking care of mom, my mother in law stayed with my son. He’s 19 and old enough to live alone, but we knew that boys with girlfriends who live nearby probably should be supervised. That, and he doesn’t always eat enough to sustain himself. So we asked mom to come.
Mom made my college son this soup (contributed by Kellie Loudin) and since there were enough leftovers, my husband and I had a bowl when we arrived home. The soup was delicious but the best part was my son. He told us his grandmother made this soup that was easy – just cook up the ground beef, dump it and the vegetables into a pot and let it cook.
Pressure Cooker Brisket in a Pinch
June 4, 2011 - Written by DianaBarbecue Brisket made quickly with a Pressure Cooker – when you don’t have time for low and slow.
Keep It Simple – Crockpot Beef Stew in Red Wine
May 19, 2011 - Written by Diana
As you know, I am a big fan of keeping it simple. You can ruin a dinner by fussing too much. My dad was a perfectionist and though his meals were technically perfect, sometimes there were other factors. Ask my mom how her friends loved dinner with my dad when his perfect meal didn’t show up until 9:00. Ask how much we loved running out to the store at the last minute to pick up the perfect ingredient, that he couldn’t do without because the recipe called for it, and he didn’t do substitutions. Some of my favorite meals take just a few ingredients and a little bit of time. Spending a couple of hours preparing an appetizer that disappears within a couple of seconds can be such a let down and who wants to come home to start a really in-depth dinner, when you just want to relax? This stew is super easy, fast and delicious. I start meals like this before I go to work. The first one home adds the carrots and …
Grilled Veal Chops in a Red Wine Sauce
September 13, 2010 - Written by Diana
The kids are gone, so bring out the good meat. Does that sound bad? When you have kids sometimes you want a bit of something more, but spending the money with teens around could be a waste since they consume every thing in two minutes and then run. It’s difficult to want to cook dinner some nights with just two of you, but if you can change it up a little and make it interesting, it’s worth it. I thought veal chops was just the thing to change it up a little. I grilled the meat and then made a red wine sauce to go over it. Simple fast and easy – even for a busy work or date night.
Ingredients:
- 2 veal chops
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 shallot
- sage leaves
- 1 cup red wine (like cabernet sauvinon)
Brush veal with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill on a hot grill pan (or on the grill). In the second pan, melt butter. Slice shallots and throw into hot butter along with the sage leaves. When the onions are soft and carmelized, add the red wine. Simmer until …
Steak and Roasted Corn Salsa Stew(p)
March 7, 2010 - Written by DianaI found a bag of roasted corn in the grocery store that inspired this stew/soup. Salsas always make me think of summertime, sitting on the deck reading a book and snacking on salsa and chips. Well, the deck is being used to stain wood right now, and my husband’s hands got really cold while he worked, so a warm meal was in order. I had some chuck roast that I diced and sautéed with onions and peppers, before cooking the rest of the way in a beef broth and adding the rest of the ingredients. This is a quick soup to make, and was on the table in about an hour. If you double the ingredients, you can freeze a batch for another meal. I dolloped sour cream on top to mix in, which my son thought was great – and oh by the way dear daughter, we do not have any avocados in the fridge like you promised – those are limes! I would have chopped up some avocados to place on top with the sour cream if I had some – I was assured that I did. Even without the avocados this was a fantastic stew(p). Summer and …
Crockpot Ribs in a Tomato Port Sauce
February 12, 2010 - Written by DianaSnow days are a good day to haul out the Crockpot. With all of the shoveling and running in and out of the house, starting a meal in the Crockpot makes sense. Today I couldn’t get online with my day job right away, which meant I might need to work later to make up time. I had Beef Short Ribs that I bought the other day waiting, and a bottle of port wine too. I wanted my ribs to be fall off the bone tender, which requires quite a while of cooking time for ribs. This sauce is barbecuey, with a little tiny bit of heat. If you like more heat, chop up the hot peppers and throw them in. We grew these peppers over the summer and froze them for later use. I threw them into the Crockpot whole and pulled them out so that no one got a mouthful of hot pepper, that would not be good, but a little bit of heat is a nice thing. When I served the ribs, I pulled all the meat and the veggies out into a glass pan, then I used a gravy skimmer to try and get only the sauce …
My Superbowl Pick – Steak Sandwiches and Parslied Potatoes
February 8, 2010 - Written by DianaI’ve been posting lots of superbowl recipes lately, but dinner tonight is my pick for a nice easy to eat sit in front of the tube dinner. (We never actually do that at home – just so you know.) My son was going out, so I just wanted something quick and easy that we could munch down on. Weird little tidbit – when my son is gone, my husband and I usually fill only one plate with food and share instead of separate plates. Hey – at least he’s not eating out of the pot, like he would if I weren’t around. I made a steak sandwich and parslied potatoes that were so filling, and delicious. Some of the potatoes are put away for tomorrows breakfast, because it was too much food. I added some Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon to the steak bits, and some beef broth, to make a nice sauce for the beef. I bought french bread from the grocery store that needed to be toasted and didn’t slice it open, but baked it closed, so that the soft insides would sop up any juices. The steak was round steak cut into four smaller steaks. If you have …
Holiday Gift Guide: Certified Humane Beef – and Win a Sampler Too!
December 6, 2009 - Written by Deb NgWhen the Meyer Natural Angus people contacted me and asked if I’d like to try and give away a sampler of their Certified Humane Angus Beef, I was intrigued. “Certified Humane” sounds like something I should know about – and something I’d approve of.
Indeed it is…
To quote the Humane Farm Animal Care Website:
The Certified Humane Raised and Handled program is the only farm animal welfare and food labeling program in the U.S. dedicated to improving the welfare of farm animals from birth through slaughter for the 10 billion farm animals raised for food each year.
I’m all for that. I’m not a vegetarian, I do enjoy a nice steak or even some chicken. However, I do believe in treating our animal friends with respect and dignity and not tending to them in an inhumane manner simply because they’re being raised for food.
What does it mean when meat or poultry is Certified Humane?
It means the animals have a good life. They are raised to enjoy life on green pastures and not in slaughter houses. It means they aren’t injected with chemicals or hormones and that they’re not subjected to pain. They’re raised with resting spots, shelter and in …
Clive Berkman’s Sirloin Steak
July 31, 2009 - Written by DianaI love steak but don’t need a whole bunch of stuff on it. My husband’s way used to be aluminum foil packs for everything, but I’m converting him. I followed Clive Berkman’s Empty Bottle Moments recipe for Sirloin Steak for dinner. It’s a simple preparation, but I think brings out the best flavors in the steak – bison steak at that. I love cooking with bison it comes out very tender with very little fat, but lots of flavor.
Ingredients:
1-inch or 2-inch thick cuts of steak
Rub the meat lightly with garlic-marinated olive oil
Cut the fat vertically at 1-inch intervals
Start cooking over high heat for 1 minute, then turn the steak 45 degrees and cook for another minute. Turn the steak over (using tongs, not a fork) and repeat the same process. Turn the grill to love(or use another section of the grill that’s on low) and cook with the lid covered for 3-5 minutes. Allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes. …
Steak Sandwich and Chard Taters
June 21, 2009 - Written by DianaI didn’t do a lot of cooking this week that was memorable, in fact, it was probably just this. Tomorrow is Father’s Day, and if my husband can assemble his new present, we will be a grillin. If we can keep the heat out of the air conditioning, that will be nice. I look forward to trying new things out and I might even let him use the grill once in a while. 
Here’s a really filling meal, easy to fix, and delicious. I started out with two flank steaks and divided the meat up into 4 servings – these aren’t Philly cheese steaks, but they are my version of a steak sandwich. The side is a smashed potato & chard. The Emmental cheese with salami added a little bit of smoky cheese flavor and was really good with both the steak and the potatoes. So without further adieu – Steak Sandwich and Chard Taters.
Steak Sandwich
Ingredients:
- 2 Flank …
