Beef Kabobs

These are delicious!!! Whether you're on a high protein diet or are just a meat lover, then you really should try these kabobs. There's so much flavor in these, and the ones I made were so tender. I found the recipe on Pinterest: Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs. The best part about these kabobs is how easy they were to prep and grill. They might have been a little better had they been cooked on an outdoor grill with that lovely smokey flavor, but my little indoor grill definitely did a good job.

2 pounds lean beef cut into 2 inch cubes (Tri-tip, London broil, top sirloin, or top loin are good choices. If you marinate longer you could use tougher cuts of meat.)
2 Tbsp beef stock or red wine
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp steak seasoning
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves

Trim most of the visible fat from the meat and cut into 2″ cubes. 

Stir together the beef stock (or red wine), balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, steak seasoning, dried thyme, dried oregano, black pepper, and add bay leaves. 

 

Put meat cubes into the smallest Ziploc bag (or plastic container with a snap-tight lid) that will fit all the meat, then pour in the marinade. 

 

Marinate meat at least 4-6 hours in the refrigerator (or longer is fine if you’re gone all day.) When ready to cook, first soak wooden kabob skewers for at least 30 minutes. Drain kabobs while you preheat grill to medium-high. Put meat tightly on skewers and let it come to room temperature while the grill heats. Grill kabobs to desired doneness, turning as soon as you get some nice grill marks on the first side. 

 

Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat and how hot the grill is, but approximate times would be about 8-10 minutes for rare, 10-12 minutes for medium rare, or 12-15 minutes for medium. 

Let the kabobs rest about 5 minutes before serving.

Roulade

So, I've been a picky eater since I was a kid. There are a number of things I refused to eat, and some that I still do. One of those things is mustard. I'm just not a fan. Even so, I have two recipes that use mustard, and I love them both. This roulade recipe is one of those recipes; the other is ham. This roulade also has a bunch of diced onion and lightly cooked bacon... and I love it in this recipe. This roulade is a recipe that my mom made for years while I was growing up, and there is so much flavor and goodness in this recipe. I don't know where she got the recipe from, but here is how you make it.

Thinly sliced beef (the pack I get usually has 7-9 slices)
One pack of bacon (12 ounces is pretty good)
One small diced onion
Spicy brown mustard (about a 1/4 cup or so)
Season all salt
Black pepper

Lay out the beef one piece at a time. Layer 1-2 slices of bacon on it. Then slather a thin coating of spicy brown mustard.

Sprinkle with season all salt and black pepper, and then sprinkle a layer of onion.

Start at one end and carefully roll the beef up.

Secure with a toothpick. Prepare each slice of beef as above.

Heat a little olive oil in your skillet, and cook on each side.

Roll beef as necessary cooking all sides until all beef is cooked.

Pair the roulade with these delicious German Fried Potatoes for a bacon-filled meal and a side of Sautéed Spinach, and you'll have an amazing meal.

Vegetable Beef Soup

Imagine it's cold outside, and maybe even raining. What can you prepare for dinner? While chili or beans are good options for a cold winter's day meal, maybe you should give this recipe a try also. This is a soup my dad used to make, and I've taken it and made it my own. I hope you try it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family do.

2 lbs stew meat
1 large can tomato juice
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1-2 12-ounce cans tomato paste
4-5 lbs potatoes, diced
2 cans lima beans
2 cans sweetened corn
2 cans garbanzo beans
salt, season all salt, pepper

First, cut the stew meat into bite size pieces. Some will be in half, others in thirds, and still others may be in fourths. There's no science to it, just cut it up.

Place in a very large stew pot. Add 3-4 Tbsps of season all salt and 2-3 Tbsps of pepper. This seems like a lot, but you will be filling up this entire pot before you're done. Just cover the stew meat with water.

Put on large stove eye on high heat. Once it begins to boil turn down between medium and medium-high. Allow to cook until water reduces and stew meat is cooked through.

Next add the tomato juice, tomato sauce, and one of the tomato paste cans. This will thicken the sauce of the soup, but if you need the second can of paste to thicken more then add it.

Allow to cook for 30 minutes. While it cooks, peel and dice the potatoes. Add carefully to the tomato and meat mixture.

Cook on medium-high heat stirring frequently to prevent the potatoes sticking until the potatoes are fork tender. If stew is boiling too much, then turn heat down to medium. This should take 1-2 hours to get the potatoes cooked. Remember, stir often and be sure to reach the bottom of the pot. Once the potatoes seem to be getting close to done, open and drain the lima beans, corn, and garbanzo beans.

Once the potatoes are tender, add the corn, garbanzo beans, and lima beans. Cook for 30 minutes to an hour until beans are cooked and tender.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in your favorite bowl with a heaping pile of saltine crackers.

Savor and enjoy!

Rigatoni Pasta Bake

Rich, hearty meat sauce... stringy gooey mozzarella... perfect pasta... I mean, really, what's not to love? I found this recipe for Rigatoni Pasta Bake on Pinterest, and because it looked so yummy, I decided to give it a try. I would like a bit more sauce to pasta ratio, but all-in-all, it turned out very good.

12 oz Rigatoni pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 lb Italian sausage
2 (15 oz cans) tomato sauce
28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I didn't use this)
1.5 Tbsp tomato paste
1.5 cups Mozzarella cheese
½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsps Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente.

In a large saucepan, brown ground beef and sausage until crumbly and cooked through. Stir in crushed tomatoes (if using), tomato sauce, and tomato paste.

Stir in garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer 3-5 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine. Gently stir pasta into sauce.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add half the pasta and sauce mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and parmesan over the pasta. Repeat with a second layer.

Bake in preheated 325 oven, covered with foil, for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Taco Soup

While perusing Pinterest one day a few weekends ago, I saw a picture for a Slow Cooker Taco Chili, and it looked goooood! So, I finally got the ingredients, and gave it a try today, with a few minor adjustments. Well, one big one... I just used a pot on the stove and not the crockpot. And not only was it quite easy, but it was very tasty!

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (15.25oz) sweet corn (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) black beans (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) red kidney beans (don't drain)
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 cup salsa (I used a thick and chunky style)
3 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 tsp salt

In a large soup pot, cook the ground beef until brown. Drain if needed - I use a 90 percent or 97 percent beef, so I usually keep what little grease is left to add flavor. Add corn, beans, salsa, tomato sauce, salt and taco seasoning. Make sure to add the liquid from all your cans of corn and beans. Give a quick stir to combine the ingredients. 

Simmer on low/med-low for an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.

Top as desired. I used cheddar cheese and Fritos. You can add avocado, sour cream, cornbread, or anything else you like.

Empanadas

I love Mexican food. It is a staple of my diet. And it is definitely one of my comfort foods. This is a recipe I started making several years back when I lived in South Carolina. I found it in a hand-me-down cookbook from my mom. I completely hijacked it and changed it, because I tend to like simpler recipes, and I am very picky on what goes in my food. I'm fairly certain that most anyone of Mexican descent would be horrified at my calling these empanada Mexican food, but it works for my family. They are tasty and reheat very well (can we say lunch?).

1 lb ground beef
1-3 jalapeños, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 can refried beans
cumin, cayenne pepper, season all salt

Brown the ground beef, with season all salt added, over medium-high heat and break into small pieces. Just before the ground beef is completely cooked, add the jalapeños and garlic. Add the taco seasoning, and any of the other spices that you'd like depending on how spicy you want it. Add the water and stir occasionally until it cooks down over medium heat. Add a can of refried beans and stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Shells
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter or margarine
8 Tbsp crisco
12-16 Tbsp water

Use a pastry cutter to blend the butter and crisco into the flour and salt until you have a crumbly mixture and you can't see any chunks. You can test it by pinching the mixture between your fingers and if it hold the shape, it's ready. Add the tablespoons of water and with a fork toss dough until it pulls away from the side and all of the dough is incorporated.

Take a small piece of the dough, about the size of a golf ball, and cover in flour. Place in a tortilla press and flatten.

Get a small bowl of water, and gather your pressed dough and mixture close together. Take a circle of dough, dip your finger in water and lightly wet 1/4 of the edge of the dough. Fold dough in half and seal the half that is wet. With a small spoon, scoop mixture into the dough pocket packing it as much as you can while leaving sufficient room to finish sealing the empanadas. Wet your fingertip again and wet one side of the other half of the dough and seal completely. Once they are all filled and sealed, take a fork and poke three holes on each side.

Add oil to your skillet. Cook on both sides until a light golden brown color. I usually have to stand them up for a minute in the oil to ensure that the bottom gets cooked well. As with most of my recipes, this one is not very difficult, it just takes time, but they are so worth it! When my daughter got home today, she walked in and said, "Mmmmm. Empanadas???" That's why I do this. :-)