Archive for the ‘Meat’ Category

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Beef and Bean Tamale Pie

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

I got this slow cooker cookbook at a yardsale a while back, and now I’m ready to start trying out the recipes.  Winter is the perfect time for crockpot recipes.

The first recipe I tried out was “Beef and Bean Tamale Pie.” Basically, it’s chili with cornbread on top. You cook the whole thing in the crockpot, and the chili juices soak up into the bread. It turned out great!

Beef and Bean Tamale Pie

Beef and Bean Tamale Pie

I changed the recipe around a bit. First of all, they called for cornbread mix, but I made my bread from scratch. Also, I wanted more fresh ingredients than they called for, so I added a pepper and some tomatoes. Also, the recipe was originally for a 3 1/2 to 4 quart cooker. Mine is bigger, so I increased some ingredients. So here goes:

Beef and Bean Tamale Pie

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 15-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 10-oz can enchilada sauce (I used a “tomato and chiles” sauce)
  • 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, juice included
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked. Drain and place in slow cooker. Stir in beans, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and bell pepper.

  • 1 1/2 c cornmeal
  • 1/2 c flour (gluten-free folks can probably substitute cornmeal)
  • 1 t sugar
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/4 c butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 c buttermilk (or milk with vinegar)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c cheddar cheese
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (include the seeds if you want it more spicy)

Mix all ingredients except cheese and jalapeno together, beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Stir in cheese and pepper. Pour into slow cooker over top of beef mixture.

Cook on low setting for 5-6 hours, or until bread is done. Cornbread is done when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Serve topped with sour cream and chopped green onions.

Posted in Meat, Mexican, Recipes, Rice, Grains, and Beans | 2 Comments »

Growing Up

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

I’ve been trying to get at least 3 servings of veg into my diet every day.  It’s harder than it sounds.  Maybe it’s not, but it is for me.  That means I have to have 1 serving for lunch, 1 serving for snack, and 1 serving for dinner.  Snack is easy: carrots and hummus.  Lunch is always leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, so… I mostly just have to make sure I eat some veg in my dinners.  I made lettuce wraps early on this week.  I was doing quite well with those.

Then I saw this come up on my google reader.  For starters, I don’t make anything fancy.  I take fancy and make it casual.  It’s what I do.  I’m good at it.  So “Fancy Sloppy Joes” isn’t really my style.  But do you know what is?  Sneaking veg into sloppy joes.  So I ran by the grocery store on my way home from work, all prepared to pick up some carrots and zucchini to put inside of them.

Sloppy Joes

These are a bit on the spicy side of things, but feel free to modify them to your taste.  I wouldn’t at all frown on you if you wanted to use a spice pack, either.  I was going to, but the only brand I could find put all kinds of gluten into it.  Dumb.

I ate it on two slices of Rudi’s multigrain, and while the flavor was great, the texture wasn’t quite right.  The bread fell apart in my hands so I went at it with a fork.  Manageable, though not ideal.

Sneaky, Sloppy Joes:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 zucchini, shredded
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • dash red pepper flakes
  • salt to taste (I probably used a couple teaspoons)

Cook the ground beef and onions over medium high heat.  Drain off any excess grease.  Mix in veg, water, tomato paste, and the remaining ingredients.  Cook until veg is soft and cooked through and excess liquid has thickened.

Posted in Comfort Food, Gluten Free, Health, Meat, Recipes, Sandwiches, Veggies | 1 Comment »

I really do have recipes!

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

This meal was made pre-gluten free days, but aside from that little biscuit off to the side it totally fits the bill.  And it was AMAZING.  No joke.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

I have this steak marinade recipe that came from my brother’s roommate’s mom.  Did you follow that?  It’s really good.  But what I realized is that it’s really good even if you’re missing half the ingredients.  So here’s the deal.  You should make steak sometime.  And when you do, use garlic, vinegar of some sort (red wine, white, balsamic, whatever…), brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce (if you have it; I didn’t).  Marinate half an hour.  Then make your roommate grill them to perfection while you finish off the mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Then eat like a pig.  It’s the only way, really.

Posted in Gluten Free, Meat, Recipes, Veggies | No Comments »

Reinvention

Friday, January 21st, 2011

My official least favorite programmer phrase is “no need to reinvent the wheel”.  I’ll let Val explain it to you.

That said, I like reinvention.  It’s fun.  It’s familiar.  But only sort of.  It’s perfect.

Remember the time I made empanadas?  They were really good.  Seriously.  Whoa.  This time, I made them like this…

  • 1 lb. chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 zucchini, shredded
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 cups shredded cheese

I roasted the cauliflower, then mashed it up with my potato masher.  It felt good.  While that was roasting, I shredded the zucchini in Lola, and sauteed it just a bit with the onion.  I set aside the onion/zucchini mixture, and cooked up the chorizo.  Now this is very important: I drained the chorizo of all that disgusting greasiness.  Then I mixed it all together.  And into my beautiful little dough it went.  Baked as usual.  Then I totally snarfed it.  All by myself.  That’s a lie.  I ate with other people.  But still… I would have made these even if nobody had told me they were “dank”.

Posted in Comfort Food, Health, Meat, Mexican, Recipes, Veggies | No Comments »

Salt: my worst frenemy

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Yes, I did just use the word “frenemy”.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

I never really think of salt as being part of a recipe.  It’s in there, sure, and I take it pretty seriously in baking.  But I can’t remember the last time I actually measured salt into a recipe, whether baked goods or mashed potatoes.  You just kinda dump some in, right?  That’s looks like a teaspoon, right?  Right?!

And sodium freaks me out.  There’s so much of it.  Everywhere.  And it’s not good for you.  So I buy low sodium anything they have at the local grocery.  I drain and rinse my canned beans because so much of the sodium is in those tasty juices.  I often under-season my soups, and if I don’t, I feel like I’m going to die from some sort of sodium overdose.  Sodium is scary stuff, and salt… well, we’re not exactly the friendliest.

But I made this chili the other night.  It’s adapted from Jennifer’s adaptation of two other recipes, so I’m pretty sure the original recipe is completely unrecognizable now. It went like this:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 cans kidney beans
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes (I used “petite” so they were smaller)
  • 1 can hominy (you could use corn, too)
  • 1 bottle of a full-bodied beer (Jennifer uses a stout, but that’s a bit too much for me to ever have around the house)
  • 1/2-1 cup of water (to desired consistency)

And I browned the meet with the onion, garlic, and pepper.  I added the spices, and then the cans of stuff.  Lastly, the beer and the water.  And I let it simmer for awhile.

And then I tasted it.  And I was not happy.  It needed more.  A lot more.  So I started thinking through which of these spices and how much to add.  The chipotle could be good.  And chili powder would certainly help.  And you know how much I love cumin.  And I was about to start throwing in more spices when I saw a note at the bottom of the sheet of paper Jennifer had given me.  Salt.  She added 2 tablespoons.  I opted for one.

But it was a big step for me.  I think I often add more spices, when a little salt would be more appropriate.  And boy oh boy, did the chili taste better for it.  I crumbled cornbread into it.  Topped with cheese.  Amazing!  Try some.  For reals.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Also, look at what Rebecca did to my cornbread:

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

It was amusing at the time.  I’m pretty sure it still is.

Posted in Comfort Food, Gluten Free, Health, Meat, Recipes, Rice, Grains, and Beans, Soups and Stews | No Comments »

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