Idaho-Style Finger Steaks

Found at:http://www.grouprecipes.com/97480/idaho-style-finger-steaks.html

Ingredients:

1 egg
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons grill seasoning, such as McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into 2 1/2 x 1/4 inch strips (cut across the grain!)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. Beat together the egg, buttermilk, grill seasoning, and 1/2 cup of flour in a large bowl until smooth. Add the beef, and toss until well coated. Cover with plastic wrap, and place into the refrigerator to marinate at least 2 hours.
2. Sift 2 1/2 cups flour with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper into a large bowl. Remove steak strips from buttermilk batter and allow excess to drip off. Dredge each piece with seasoned flour and place onto a baking sheet. Place in the freezer and freeze until firm, 1 hour to overnight.
3. Heat oil to 370 degrees F (185 degrees C) in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet. 4. Drop a few frozen steak pieces into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on the outside, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the frying oil, and do not allow the steak strips to thaw before they are fried. Once golden brown, remove to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Leftover roast ideas

I asked some friends about leftover roast the other day and here are the responses.  I didn’t want to forget my options the next time I have a big lump of beef in my fridge.

hash: onion potatoes in frying pan to brown, put in some (1/2 c maybe) water, cover, cook until tender. lift lid & cook off most water, add cubed beef, salt & pepper. top w/ an egg if you wanna get fancy.

fried rice, tacos

i have shredded the beef for tacos, vegetable soup, french dip, beef pot pie,

make it into a meat pot pie–use the med white sauce recipe and half it milk with meat stock or meat drippings, add mixed vegies and hash browns or left over potatoes in a pie shell. . Stroganof, Hot roast beef sandwiches.

BBQ, You just put it in a pan & heat it up with some BBQ sauce & it falls apart usually. Oh so yummy!!!

roast beef sandwhiches

homemade fajitas or a pot roast soup

beef enchiladas

french onion soup

Salisbury Steak

from Sandi’s kitchen

ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 egg
worcestershire sauce
bread crumbs
2 pkgs. instant brown gravy mixes
mushrooms some diced finely for loaves some in slices in sauce

In a large bowl mix ground beef, onion, tiny diced mushrooms, beaten egg, worcestershire, and bread crumbs. From into little loaves. Place in the bottom of a 13X9 pan. Mix instant gravy together in another vessel add the sliced mushrooms to it. Pour over loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Sauce should be thickened and loaves should be cooked through. If not I cook longer. So much depends on how the loaves are shaped.

Happy Accident?

So I bought some hamburger from Costco the other day with intentions to split it up and vacuum seal it for later but I didn’t quite get to it.  Oops.  I got it out today and decided that I would cook all 6+ lbs for various meals and put the cooked meat in the freezer.  I made a double batch of spaghetti sauce, two batches of browned hamburger ready for taco seasoning, one batch of sloppy joes, and one meatloaf that we’ll eat tomorrow.  I’m feeling pretty good about having all of that done for later!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms
6 portabella mushrooms (caps)
1 pkg. large button mushrooms

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can evaporated milk
1/2c. italian bread crumbs
3/4 c. mozarella cheese
2 cloves garlic diced
2 tsp. onion pwdr.

Brush off mushrooms take stems off button mushrooms and dice. In a skillet brown ground beef.Add in garlic onion pwdr and diced stems.Cook until beef is cooked throughly. Add in bread crumbs, cheese and approximately 3/4 of can of evaporated milk. Fill mushrooms with mixture bake at 375* for 15-20min.

Spicy Hamburger Casserole

 1 1b. hamburger
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 box Shells & Cheese macaroni
1 packet taco seasoning
1 c. grated cheese

Boil macaroni according to package directions, at the same time brown the burger. Drain burger and macaroni. Mix cheese sauce into macaroni, set aside. Add taco seasoning and water according to package directions. Then add the macaroni and rotel tomatoes, mix together and heat through. Place in casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

I’ve made this a couple times now and it is along the quick and easy route and very tasty to boot!  I like to put a little sour cream in mine and for the kids as it is a little spicy.  

Chili (my mom’s recipe)

2 cans chili beans (14 oz.)
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz.)
1 can diced tomatoes (14-1/2 oz.)
2 t. chili powder
1-1/2# ground beef
onion & garlic to taste

Brown beef & drain.  Combine all ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.

Simple, easy, and good.  Serve with a giant pan of corn bread, mmmmmmm.

Spaghetti Sauce

3/4 c. chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato juice
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 t (seasoned) salt
1/2 c dry red wine
3/4 t (seasoned) pepper
1 T dried oregano
1 T italian seasoning
1/2 t dried marjoram
2 t garlic powder
1 4.5 oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 bay leaf

1. Brown onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add everything else.
2. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. If sauce gets too thick, add 1/4 c water.

For 1 pound pasta.

I found this wonderful recipe for spaghetti sauce over at http://somethinktochewon.blogspot.com and am making it tonight. I added hamburger to the onions and garlic and skipped the dry red wine just because I didn’t have any. It is simmering now and is already yummy, I can hardly wait to serve it!

Edited to add:  This was a great sauce although I cooked too much pasta.  I made 1-1/2 lbs because the original recipe said that it would serve 1-2 lbs pasta.  It was a little sweeter than what I am used to (and I only used half or more of the sugar the recipe called for) but it still had a great flavor.  I will definately make it again.

Salisbury Steak with Gravy

from Taste of Homes Simple & Delicious

1/2 c. milk
14 saltines, crushed
2 T dried minced onion
2 t. dried parsley flakes
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar (12 oz.) beef gravy
2 T ketchup
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. pepper

In a large bowl, combine the milk, saltines, onion, and parsley.  Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.  Shape into four patties.  Place in an 8-in. square baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the gravy, ketchup, Worcestershire and pepper; pour over patties.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Serves 4

For some unforseen reason we’ve had a few meatloaf type dishes lately and this was a nice variation.  It can be altered to be very calorie-friendly, using fat-free milk, fat-free saltines, and fat-free gravy.  

Vegetable Beef Soup

from Taste of Home’s Simple & Delicious

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes
6 cups water
1 lb. ground beef
5 t. beef bouillon granules
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cups frozen sliced carrots, thawed
2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
2 cups frozen sliced okra, thawed
3 T dried minced onion

In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, bring potatoes and water to a boil.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

Add the bouillon, soup, vegetables, dried minced onion, and beef to the undrained potatoes.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Yield:  14 servings

I made this last night and it was very good.  I had some fresh white boiling potatoes so I just cubed those with the skins on, I skipped the okra (I need to put that on my list for something new to try), and steamed fresh carrots that I’d just harvested from my garden.  It was more of a stew which was great for us!  Next time I may try it with all canned veggies including the potatoes, just because we have a lot of canned items.  It does make a lot so be prepared for leftovers or invite friends.  It is perfect for a cool rainy fall day!