Chili

It’s officially chili weather! It’s taking a while for the cool weather to set in here, but we’re definitely enjoying lower temperatures.

I’ve made a few chili recipes in the past, but we always end up coming back to this one – it’s one we made up a while back, and it’s also ridiculously easy. You can easily double or triple it, freeze it if you need to, whatever.

I think I may make a BIG batch of this pre-baby to keep in the freezer, so we have it to eat later!

Favorite Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can chili-ready tomatoes
• 1 can Bush’s chili beans [or regular pinto beans]
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• Water or broth as desired, to thin

Brown and drain ground beef. Add all other ingredients, stir well, and simmer 30 minutes. If a thinner consistency is desired, add water or broth (I use broth if I’m using regular pinto beans – but water if I’m using chili beans).

Great with cornbread, cheese, Fritos, sour cream… etc.

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Oven Beef Stew

I am SO ready for fall! Temperatures are still high, but hey – no reason I can’t start making beef stew and pumpkin bread, right?

What I loved about this stew was that it was all mixed together and baked in the oven for 3 hours. You could make it in a slow cooker too, if you wanted a little longer cook time. The flavor was great and everything was perfectly cooked. I couldn’t have asked for an easier recipe to usher in the fall season!

The other plus to beef stew, and especially this one which uses a good amount of V-8 juice, is the amount of vegetables. I am NOT good at eating vegetables, so anything that gets them into me (preferably in a delicious way) gets extra points in my book.

We had this with some of the leftover focaccia bread from the other night, and it was scrumptious. Many thanks to Our Best Bites for another hit!

Oven (or Slow Cooker) Beef Stew (Recipe found here)

• 1 1/2-2 lb. lean stew beef, cut into even smaller bite-sized pieces (just pull out a pair of kitchen shears and cut anything that looks like you’d need to use a knife and fork on) – or cut up a chuck roast, which is what I did.
• 4-5 medium red potatoes, chopped
• 4-5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 12-oz. cans or 3 c. vegetable juice cocktail (V8)
• 1 10-oz. can condensed tomato soup
• 10 oz. water (just use the can from the tomato soup to measure)
• 1 tsp. basil
• 2 beef bouillon cubes (or 2 tsp. beef base)
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine ingredients in a large oven-safe pot that comes with an oven-safe lid. Cook in heated oven for 3 hours. Remove from oven and serve.

You can also cook this in your slow cooker on low for 9-10 hours (or until vegetables and meat are tender) or on high for 5-6.

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16-Minute Bean and Beef Burritos

I have thoroughly been enjoying Ree’s “boy-centric” week at The Pioneer Woman. A series of 16-minute meals that taste great? Sign me up!

This week we made the beef and been burritos, and JW declared them a smashing success. You can tweak her basic recipe however you like it (leaving onions out, for example, because you don’t feel like chopping one up), and although it looks basic and simple (and it is), it tastes beyond delicious. It’s kind of like individual enchiladas.

Here’s my modified recipe, but you can go back and look at Ree’s, or create your own version to your liking.

Ree’s 16-Minute Bean and Beef Burritos

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can Mexican tomato sauce or enchilada sauce (I used El Pato enchilada sauce)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 can refried beans
• Grated cheese (cheddar, colby, or colby-jack), one handful for the beans and more for sprinkling on top
• Burrito-sized flour tortillas

Brown and drain ground beef, and add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper if desired, and add enough sauce to make it moist but not wet. Simmer.

Heat refried beans in saucepan or microwave. Add cheese and stir until melted. Keep warm.

Heat tortillas in microwave.

Spread a small amount of beans on a tortilla, followed by meat. Fold ends in and roll up. Place on a microwave-safe plate, drizzle with additional sauce, and sprinkle with more cheese. Microwave for one minute, until cheese is melted and burrito is very hot. Serve immediately.

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Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

This was a healthy and easy dish. I thought it could have used a bit more flavor, but sprinkling some soy sauce on our individual portions was just fine. The original recipe called for asparagus, but I used frozen green beans – you could substitute any number of things. I do wish the sauce had thickened a little bit, but that may have been a result of my green beans being frozen and adding some liquid as they thawed.

Sesame Beef Stir-Fry (Recipe found here)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 10 oz top sirloin, thinly sliced across grain
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup onion, sliced
• A couple handfuls green beans, or other preferred vegetable
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Spread sesame seeds on a large plate. Sprinkle beef slices with salt and pepper and then coat with sesame seeds.

Heat vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add onion and stir-fry 1 minute. Add green beans, stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add beef and stir-fry until brown, about 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Add water and hoisin sauce. Cook until sauce is bubbling and coats beef and vegetables, tossing often, about 2 minutes. Stir in sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over hot rice.

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Ina Garten’s Meatloaf

I apologize for the quality – or lack thereof – of this photo. We were super hungry and ready to eat, and I snapped a quick picture before putting everything on the table.

That said, meatloaf is rarely photogenic.

Ina’s original recipe (plug for Ina Garten here, love all her recipes!) is for turkey meatloaf, which I would definitely like to try. I used ground sirloin because it’s what I had, and my muffins (as you can see) were so moist they fell apart quite easily. Turkey tends to be a bit dryer, and that extra moisture would balance out nicely.

Ina’s recipe also originally called for 5 pounds of meat, which is just a bit much for two people So I hunted around and found this recipe at You’re Gonna Bake It After All, which is a nice scaled down version of Ina’s.

I have to say, we really enjoyed it! Meatloaf can be hit or miss, but I will definitely be making this recipe again. I would also prefer to make it in a loaf pan, but I ran out of time last night and went with the muffins.

Ina’s Turkey Meatloaf

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 pound ground turkey (1.25 lbs is okay, or can use ground sirloin)
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until onions are translucent but not browned.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Mix well. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, egg, and onion mixture. Add ground meat and mix until completely incorporated.

Press into muffin cups. Spread ketchup on top. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165F and the meatloaf is cooked through. (This takes about 1 – 1 1/2 hours for meatloaf in a loaf pan and much less time, about 35 minutes or so, for the muffins).

Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

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Meatballs

I honestly don’t know why more people don’t make meatballs. Plenty of people make meatloaf, which takes just as much effort. And there’s something about meatballs in your spaghetti that can’t be accomplished by just using ground beef.

We invited friends over a couple weeks ago for spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve adapted the meatball recipe from the original found in Culinary in the Desert’s Italian Wedding Soup (which I’ve posted about before). These meatballs are a little more moist, wonderfully seasoned, and are a perfect accompaniment to pasta and marinara sauce.

Italian Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 8 oz. Italian turkey sausage, casings removed if applicable
• 2/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 Tablespoons milk or water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients and form into 1″ balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Stir into sauce and serve with spaghetti.

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Enchiladas

I debated whether or not to put this recipe up, for a couple of reasons.

(1) My enchilada recipe changes based on what I have on hand.
(2) There’s not much of a “recipe” involved, you roll up whatever you want in the tortillas and pour enchilada sauce over them.
(3) These are really the best if you can get handmade tortillas – which you can get in the grocery stores here in Texas, but I KNOW that is not typical in most areas of the country.

But I decided to post it for one reason only.

(1) JW declared these the best enchiladas I’ve ever made.

There is one more reason for sharing this recipe. See how nice and melty and gooey the cheese looks? I’ll tell you a secret: it’s low-fat cheese! I’ve recently learned the trick to getting low-fat cheese to melt really well is to buy it in a block instead of pre-shredded. If you grate it yourself it melts so much better and just looks beautiful.

Now on to the recipe… all ingredients are optional or alterable as desired.

Ground Beef Enchiladas

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• Flour tortillas, preferably handmade
• Enchilada sauce (your favorite)
• Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef and onion together; drain (and rinse if desired). Add back into pan with taco seasoning and a little water – don’t use as much as the package calls for, just enough to get it all mixed up together.

Spoon a bit of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Spoon meat into a tortilla, roll it up, and lay it in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas, until (1) pan is full, (2) tortillas are gone, or (3) meat is gone. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of tortillas. Spoon sauce from the bottom of the pan onto any dry tortilla parts.

If you have leftover meat, you can add it on top of the enchiladas.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot.

We had this with lemon-cilantro rice, guacamole, and tortilla chips. JW was in heaven

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