berry desserts: Beef

Showing posts with label Beef. Show all posts

Grilled Filets with Bourbon Butter, and a Guest Post

Hey friends!

I'm doing a guest post over at Christine's Kitchen Chronicles today! I was honored to be asked by my fellow Cincinnati food blogger and jumped at the chance.

I don't post nearly enough steak recipes, you know, me being a steaknpotatoes kinda gurl and all.

So head on over to Christine's blog to see what delicious steak recipe I'll be sharing. Here's a little hint...

Oh, and while you're there be sure to check out Christine's delicious recipes... so many! I'm eyeing that S'mores Pizza with Graham Cracker Cookie Crust.

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Ranch Taco Salad

Why yes, it has been 13 days since I last posted.

Gotsta get back on my game, people! I've got a month vacation from school until I start back up late August, so I'm trying to enjoy it while I can. And that means a lot of sleeping. But I promise to make more time for blogging.

The inspiration for this taco salad came from Taco Casa's taco salad with ranch. Then I saw Tina's recipe for Ranch Doritos Taco Salad and morphed the two ideas together. No thousand island dressing for me. Ranch dressing, though? This girl loves her some ranch.

Not gonna lie, I do prefer Taco Casa's ranch dressing to the bottled Hidden Valley ranch that we used. What the heck does Taco Casa use?!? I prefer our seasoned ground beef though to Taco Casa's low grade beef mush. Plus Taco Casa doesn't have all the extra goodies on there like onions and avocados and corn. And this uses realllll lettuce, not iceberg lettuce. And ranch doritos instead of regular tortilla chips.

So there, take that Taco Casa!

Pile on the goods. Lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocado, red onions, seasoned beef, ranch dressing, cheddar cheese. Whatever your little heart desires.

Eat and enjoy.

Ranch Taco Salad

adapted from Taco Casa's version + Mom's Crazy Cooking

1 head of green leaf lettuce
1 lb ground beef cooked with Homemade Taco Mix
1/2 cup corn
5 oz (about 16) cherry tomatoes, halved and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 avocado, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced or diced
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cool Ranch Doritos

Layer ingredients beginning with lettuce, then beef, then corn, tomatoes, avocado, and onion. Top with ranch dressing and then cheese. Adjust measurements according to your liking, or add or exclude any ingredients you don't like. Serve with Cool Ranch Doritos.

Printable Recipe

How do you like your taco salad?

Aka how should I be eating mine? :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

Linking up here.

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Sloppy Joe Squares

I've got a great recipe for you, and it's not difficult at all! Don't you love those kind? I sure do, especially on week nights. This recipe is a bit time-consuming, but doesn't require much effort to make. And the parts that take the most time - simmering and baking - are steps that don't require you to stand there and babysit it so you can go about your business and get other things done.

Yep, it's a sloppy joe.... in square form. I love this idea of turning sloppy joes into a casserole. You can skip the usual buns because the rolls on top make the 'buns' in this dish.

We made some changes to the original recipe, such as upping the onion amount, cuz we are onion folk. We added minced garlic, cuz, well, garlic makes everything better. We also didn't have any brown sugar so we just substituted Sweet Baby Ray's honey bbq sauce. And we also didn't have red wine vinegar so we used apple cider vinegar instead. The mixture, while cooking in the skillet, was a bit too liquidy since we used bbq sauce, so you may want to stick to the original ingredient and use the brown sugar instead of the bbq sauce (or cut back on the water). Since we didn't like how liquidy it turned out before simmering, I've kept the original ingredient of brown sugar in the recipe below. Top those bad boys with some shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream, and you're good to go.

Sloppy Joe Squares

adapted from Life as a Lofthouse

1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 lb ground beef
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cans of Pillsbury Big & Butter crescent rolls
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese + more for garnish
sour cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add in the chopped onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the beef and cook until browned. Drain the grease.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. In a 9x13 ungreased baking pan, roll out the first roll of crescent roll dough. Press into the bottom to completely cover and also press 1/2 inch up on the sides. Pour the hot sloppy joe mixture on top and spread evenly over dough. Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese evenly over the mixture, and then cover with the other roll of dough. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before eating.

Printable Recipe

We enjoyed this twist on sloppy joes. It was a nice way to spruce up the old tried and true sloppy joe recipe. If you want the more traditional sloppy joe, then check out this recipe!

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Parmesan Meatballs with Fettuccine and Alfredo Sauce

How can you make beef infused with parmesan and garlic even better? By drenching it in alfredo sauce, that's how! That's also how you can add an outrageous amount of calories. I don't think that would be anyone's goal, but if you don't mind the added calories then definitely make it like this! :)

Is it bad when I have more sauce on my plate than anything else?

I combined two different recipes to make this dish - Laurie's Parmesan Meatballs, and Jenn's Alfredo Sauce. As soon as I saw that meat-a-ball (in my fake Italian accent) recipe, with only four ingredients, I knew I had to make it! And I was also instantly drawn to Jenn's alfredo sauce because, to put it simply, I love any kind of sauce. While we did make her whole recipe for the Chicken Braciole with Alfredo Sauce once before, I wasn't too successful with the stuffed chicken part. While it tasted good, it definitely didn't look like it was supposed to. But that's another story. However, I knew that I would be making that alfredo sauce again and again. And these meatballs seemed like the perfect opportunity to use that sauce again.

So I figured that meatballs go well with pasta, and we had some fettuccine in the cabinet, and fettuccine is often used with alfredo sauce. So there we had it. Parmesan Meatballs with Fettuccine and Alfredo Sauce.

I wish I had more of a clever name for this. Parmesan Meatballs with Fettuccine Alfredo? Parmesan Meatball Afredo? Alfredo Parmesan Meatballs? Parmesan Alfredo Meatballs? It could be called so many things, but scrumptious is definitely one of them.

This homemade alfredo sauce puts the store-bought jarred to shame. And I know because I cooked another casserole last night that called for jarred alfredo sauce and it's just not the same. I just kept thinking the whole time how a homemade alfredo would have knocked it outta the park! Particularly this alfredo sauce! And it's not even difficult to make.

As you can see, we served this with some garlic bread for a quick and easy side.

Parmesan Meatballs with Fettuccine and Alfredo Sauce

1/2 a package of fettuccine, cooked according to instructions on package

for the meatballs - adapted from Cookin Up North

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 garlic clove, minced

Mix and shape into 10 meatballs. Spray a greased pan with cooking spray and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

for the alfredo sauce - adapted from Jenn's Food Journey

1 stick of butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 cups grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Let cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream. Sprinkle in cheese a bit at a time until melted and smooth. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Let simmer on very low heat until thickened. Do not let it boil!

To serve, put some cooked fettuccine on a plate, top with meatballs, and then pour sauce over top. Or you can mix some sauce in with the pasta first then top with meatballs and pour more sauce over top.

Printable Recipe

And it's been way too long since I've linked up at any parties lately, so I'm back to it!

Linking to:

What's Cooking Wednesday

Recipes I Can't Wait to Try

Show Off Your Stuff
Real Food Wednesday
What's On The Menu Wednesday
What I Whipped Up Wednesday
Cast Party Wednesday
Foodie Wednesday

Wow Me Wednesday

Drooling yet?

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Patriotic Taco Salad

I know I am bringing this to you after the 4th of July. And I apologize. But I didn't make it until the 3rd and haven't gotten around to posting about it until now. So make it for the 4th next year, or for any other patriotic holiday! Or just make it minus the flag presentation.

You could arrange the beans (or olives, if you use those) in the shape of stars if you like. I thought that was too much work, so I just piled them in the top left corner. The half-assed way to do things!

I would recommend using more chips for dipping if you are eating leftovers the next day, because the chips in the taco salad get soggy by then. But if you are eating it that day then you should be fine. You can also prep and assemble everything for the taco salad ahead of time if need be, and just serve with chips when ready.

Patriotic Taco Salad

adapted from Taste of Home

1 lb lean ground beef
1 red onion, chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained (save some for star garnish)
1.5 cups water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 recipe Homemade Taco Mix
3 cups Tostitos chips with a hint of pepperjack, plus more for dipping
4 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
sour cream for garnish, if desired

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Stir in the water, tomato paste, and taco mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Drain all liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave black beans in a bowl according to directions on the can.

Place 3 cups of tortilla chips in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Spread beef mixture evenly over top. Then add the drained, heated beans, but leaving some to make the stars garnish. Cover with lettuce. Add beans to top left corner, making stars. Spread cheese evenly over top. Then arrange tomatoes to make stripes on top. Top each portion with sour cream, if desired.

Printable Recipe

It was tasty, I'll tell ya. We really enjoyed this meal. The flavor of the meat was nice, since I used a homemade taco mix. It did need some kind of sauce to moisten it up a bit, that's why we added the sour cream. Ranch dressing would also work. You can't go wrong with taco salad, can you?

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Cassie's BBQ Beef Shepherd's Pie

You know the saying... "If it aint broke, don't fix it." Don't mess up a good thing. That's how I feel about Cassie's recipes. I pretty much want to try them all, and I usually don't have to make big, or in this case, ANY changes to them because her recipes are already spectacular as is. I like to tweak recipes a bit to make them more of my own... it makes me feel like I had some part in creating the recipe. But I find that I rarely have to do that with her recipes... it's like she's tailoring the recipe already for ME. But obviously not for me, we just have similar tastes in food I guess!

I don't know about you guys, but when I was younger and used to think of shepherd's pie, I didn't have pleasant thoughts. It was kind of like meatloaf in my mind, just not something I wanted to try. But then again, many things turned me off as a child. I'm amazed at what I thought I didn't like. I'm so glad that my taste buds have flourished and I am able to enjoy more foods now which I never would have liked or tried as a child. If my waistline had a mind of its own, I'm sure it would disagree. It's the one suffering the bulging consequences, after all. But obviously, it doesn't have much say so when it comes to my eating habits. Hey, I like to eat.

BBQ Beef Shepherd's Pie

from Cassie Craves

1 lb lean ground beef
1 (11-oz) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 cup barbeque sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lb baby red potatoes, unpeeled
Butter and milk, for mashing potatoes
1/4 cup sliced green onions (about 4)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp ranch dressing
4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

Cook ground beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. Drain well. Stir in corn, chiles, and barbeque sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low to keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes to fork tender in boiling water. Drain and mash to desired consistency with salt, pepper, butter, and milk. Stir in green onions, cheese, ranch, and bacon.

Spoon beef mixture onto plate or bowl and top with mashed potatoes. Serve.

Printable Recipe

This recipe is a modern take on the classic shepherd's pie, with a few fixins and additions from Cassie. I love the addition of bbq sauce, corn, chiles, and ranch. I think all of those ingredients make this a comfort meal that we like to make often, and I bet you will too.

Oh, and it has bacon. Did you guys know I like bacon? :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Cookbook Review: Chili for Two from Taste of Home Down Home Cooking for One or Two

Yes, I am posting a chili recipe in May. No, I didn't just make it though! I've been meaning to blog about it for awhile now... so no better time than now. My man and I am always looking for different chili recipes. I like to take different concepts from different recipes and discover what we consider to be the best chili.

And I've been trying to use my cookbooks more. With the internet, I get so caught up in making recipes from other food bloggers. But I seriously have so many cookbooks that need to be used up! So I figured that I would try to make as many recipes as possible from a single cookbook before I move on to the next, and give you guys a review of the recipes I make from each cookbook! So I'm starting with Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two. The longer I am in the food blogging world, the more I learn obviously. And I am learning that these Taste of Home cookbooks aren't anything high quality like ones you'd find from well-known celebrity chefs or seasoned pros. They are more basic cookbooks for the average person who just needs to make a simple, quick meal for the family... or in this case, for one or two people! I thought this was a perfect cookbook to start with because it suits our needs... quick and simple recipes that don't call for a lot of ingredients, and they are already scaled down to our portion size. So I hope to be making more recipes from here coming up!

We started with this quick chili recipe - Chili for Two. What a creative name. I want to change it, I really do. That's no name for a recipe! But I didn't make the recipe so who am I to say what it should be called? So yeah, we're talkin a pretty basic chili recipe. Nothing special from any other chili recipe you can find anywhere. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't fantastic. Not THE BEST CHILI ever! I did like the small batch and not having to bust out my math skills to convert measurements. But it could use some more ingredients to spruce it up, that's for sure!

Chili for Two

from Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two

*Yields 2 servings

1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15.5 oz) can chili beans, undrained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp sour cream, divided, for garnish
2 tbsp cup shredded Monterey Jack and mild cheddar cheese, divided, for garnish
2 cilantro leaves, divided, for garnish

Cook beef, onion, and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Serve in two bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tbsp shredded cheese, and 1 cilantro leaf.

Printable Recipe

Rating: 3 out of 5 forks

I will be linking this up to:

These Chicks Cooked

Foodie Friday @ Designs By Gollum

Family Friendly Fridays

Foodie Friday @ Little Brick Ranch

Cookbook Sundays

So there you have it. Not the greatest chili of my life, but still tasty!

One down, many more to go!

Check out my other review from this cookbook, Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two.

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Guest Posting at Jenn's Food Journey!! Filet Mignon with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Hey yall! Today I am guest posting over at Jenn's Food Journey! Yay... my first guest post! I am over there sharing a delicious steak recipe today, which I will tell you about below.

I am super excited and honored that Jenn has asked me to be a guest blogger for the day! My name is Desiree, but you can call me Desi. I'm a steak n potatoes kinda girl, if you couldn't tell, but to be honest I don't get to make a lot of steak recipes because I love my filet, and well... it's pricey! But I do love steak (and potatoes, and bacon, but that's another story for another time) so I thought, why not share a recipe that reflects my name?

Anyone who follows my blog knows that I love me some mushrooms. I could probably eat them on ANYTHING! It's obvious that they go well with steak. And anyone who follows my blog also knows that, like Jenn, I am a sauce girl! Again, I could pour sauce on just about anything. That's why Jenn and I are foodie soul sistas!

So this one's for all the steak lovers, the mushroom huggers, the sauce addicts! Run to the store and buy your fave steaks NOW, cuz it's about to get delicious in here!

Filet Mignon with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
adapted from Taste of Home

3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
5 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
6 filet mignon steaks, about 4-6 oz each *we used only 2 steaks but still made all of the sauce

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms in 3 tablespoons of butter for 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until blended. Gradually add the cream, small amounts at a time, stirring between each addition. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in parsley; set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in another large skillet, heat the remaining butter over medium-high heat. Cook steaks for 7 minutes on each side, or until meat has reached desired temperature. Serve with mushroom sauce.

Printable Recipe

*The recipe does make plenty of sauce, I just didn't want so much sauce on my steak this particular time because I was watching my weight, and well this sauce is loaded with heavy whipping cream and butter. I know there isn't much sauce in the picture... I served myself mostly mushrooms with a bit of sauce. But believe me, the recipe makes plenty of sauce and you can slather your steak in this sauce if you really wanted to (like I used to). So don't let the picture fool ya. :)

I am linking up to:
Make a Food-"e"-Friend Monday

...and to Mangia Mondays

...and to a new linky that doesn't have a name yet! Over at Big K, Little a

Of course, I want to thank Jenn for the opportunity to share this recipe with all of her readers. It's been fun!

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Katie Lee's Logan County Burgers

I don't know much about Katie Lee except that she is Billy Joel's much younger and cuter ex-wife (I actually thought she was his daughter!) and a celebrity chef of course. Oh, and I know about her Logan County Burgers! These thin burgers were inspired by her grandmother, who grew up during the Depression in Logan County, West Virginia. That is more than I knew a few minutes ago. Good ole google.

So now that we know a lil more about Katie, let's get to know these burgers! First, you wanna combine the beef, egg, grated onion, and seasonings in a medium or large bowl. Mix it up all good. You know the deal. My "grated" onions weren't really grated... more of diced. Next time we will definitely grate them - they would have anchored the beef together more and kept it from falling apart better.

Then form the mixture into super thin patties. The original recipe says this makes six burgers. We made it into four burgers.... two burgers for each of us (although there is no way I can eat two!). So maybe ours weren't as thin as Katie's.

Once patties are formed, you can spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. We will come back to the bread in a bit...

Then in a large skillet, cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side on medium-high heat, or until cooked to your liking. See all of that excess grease from the burgers? Please drain that! Drain those burgers on paper towels, and drain the grease from the skillet... because now we are gonna brown the bread!

So in that same skillet, place four slices of bread, butter side down. Then top each with a slice of cheese, some sliced onions, and a burger patty. Then top with remaining cheese slices, and bread with the butter side up. Cook em about 2 minutes or so on each side, until golden brown and cheese is ooey gooey!

Katie Lee's Logan County Burgers

Slightly adapted by SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl

*Makes 4 burgers

1 pound lean ground beef
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, half grated, the other half thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 slices white bread
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 slices American cheese

In a medium bowl, combine beef, egg, grated onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.

Form into thin patties. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers about 3 minutes on each side or until done. Drain on paper towels. Drain the grease from the skillet.

In the same skillet, place four slices of bread, butter side down. Top each with a slice of cheese, some sliced onions, and a burger. Top with remaining slices of cheese, and bread with butter side up. Cook each sandwich until golden brown and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes per side.

Printable Recipe

We served these with some Sauteed Green Beans with Mushrooms and Onions.