One Pot Meal: Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet

Heather says:

File this meal under pretty good comfort food. Mr. Heather filed it under “should make again” but he’s from Minnesota and used to consider “hotdish” its own food group. Relax, I’m just teasing to pick on my in-laws. Everyone say hi to Nan and Gramps.

Back to the food, it’s important to remember this dish calls for uncooked rice. If you have cooked rice you are looking to use, be sure to omit the water.

Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet

Ingredients

1lb Ground Beef(ground turkey works very well)	Optional Additions
1/2 med onion diced(about 1/2 cup this isn’t critical)	diced bell pepper
1/2 head of cabbage roughly chopped(if the cabbage is huge, use a 1/4)	frozen corn
1 cup uncooked rice	kidney beans
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 6oz can of tomato paste
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt - pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
optional 1 bay leaf (I’m not a huge fan of bay leaves)

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium heat, add the ground beef or turkey and cook until no longer pink. Be sure to use your spatula to break up any large chunks.

Drain the fat off.

Add the onion and cook for another two minutes or so.

Stir in the cabbage, rice, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and seasoning. Add any extras at this time, too.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 - 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

This can be adapted for a Crockpot^TM or slow cooker. After cooking the meat, transfer to the crock, add the remaining ingredients, except for the thyme (add this just before serving), and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Since brands of slow cookers vary, you may need to adjust the cooking time. This recipe assumes the setting low is about 200°F and high is about 300°F.

Beef Pepper Steak

Heather says:

Beef pepper steak is a great meal that can be prepared in about the same amount of time it takes to make rice. It’s also flexible enough to play with. Use different colored bell peppers for variety and if you’d like, toss in extras like: bean sprouts, snow peas, or mushrooms. This meal goes well with white or brown rice, rice noodles, lo mein, or even riced cauliflower. Varying the extras is a great way to make menu planning easier. Dishes like this are great to put into a rotation of once a month or so without having to hear “Are we having this again?” Lots of vegetables stretch the meat further, without relying on too heavily on starches. I am tagging this recipe as gluten free, but you must read the label of your soy sauce.  Many contain wheat but gluten free varieties are available.

Beef Pepper Steak with Mushrooms Over Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1 lb - 1 1/2lbs round steak (top or bottom) sliced in 1/4″ - 1/2″ strips. Be sure to cut across the grain*.
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1 cup beef broth or stock
• 1 small onion - sliced thinly
• 2 bell peppers (whatever colors you desire)
• 2 tsps cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium, if you would like)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; saute the garlic.

Brown the meat on both sides. You don’t need to cook it completely at this point.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and beef broth. Add any extra hearty vegetables at this time. Cover and simmer for ten minutes.

While the meat and vegetables are simmering whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch and water.

Add any delicate additions, such as mushrooms.

Add the soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil stirring constantly.   Turn the heat to low and stir occasionally until thickened.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

Oven Fried Fish and Chips

Heather says:

While I will always prefer the beer battered and deep fried fish, this version is a close second and is much healthier. Nearly any white-fleshed fish will do: cod, walleye, or whiting for example. If you would like the chips done completely in the oven, follow the directions for these potato wedges, omitting the seasoning.

Oven Fried Fish

• Four 6oz fillets of white fleshed fish
• 1/2 cup of flour
• ~ 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup white cornmeal mixed with 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 1 tsp dill
• salt / pepper to taste
• ~ 1 TBSP olive or vegetable oil

In a shallow bowl add the seasonings to the cornmeal & breadcrumb mix.
Place the flour in another shallow bowl

Preheat the oven to 500°F and grease a baking sheet with the oil.

One by one dip the fish fillets into the milk, then the flour, back into the milk , and finally into the breadcrumb mixture.

Place onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes carefully turning halfway through.

Chips

• 3 medium potatoes sliced into thin wedges
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt / pepper to taste

Soak the potato wedges in warm water for 15 minutes.  Saute over medium high heat in the olive oil for 10 minutes.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil until they reach the desired shade of brown.

Pseudo Shepherds Pie

Heather says:

Traditional Shepherd’s pie contains lamb, gravy, and vegetables, covered with mashed potatoes. Its close cousin cottage pie contains beef. This version substitutes vegetable stock for the broth used to make the gravy and contains kidney beans to provide protein. As the mashed potatoes contain milk and are topped with cheese, this one dish* meal is suitable for lacto-ovo vegetarians. If you are opposed to alcohol just use an additional 1/2 cup of stock.

*It ends up in one dish, but takes a several to cook.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium diced onion
  
• 2 cloves garlic - minced or pressed
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms - sliced
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup red wine (or substitute an additional 1/2 cup of stock)
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 cups or 1 can kidney beans (fully cooked)
• 1/2 cup frozen vegetables (use whatever you have on hand: corn, green beans, peas)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 4 potatoes - peeled, and cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 oz of cheddar cheese

Directions after the jump.

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Back to Basics: How to Make Beef Stew

Heather says:

Growing up, I thought I hated beef stew. I avoided it at all costs. Then came the day I was on complete bedrest during my first pregnancy. I had just gotten out of the hospital and my husband’s grandparents were kind enough to bring over dinner. Not knowing the depths of my loathing for stew, they brought over a large pot, enough for several meals. I certainly was not going to be rude, so I took a small serving. Wonder of wonders, I learned it was not beef stew I hated, but Dinty Moore. (Sorry mom and thank you Nana!)

Basics of Beef Stew

• 1 lb stew beef cut into 1″ or smaller chunks
• 2 TBSP vegetable or olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground  pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups beef broth or stock (you may substitute wine or dark beer for one cup of broth)
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 medium onion - diced
• a pinch of herbs such as rosemary or thyme (season according to your taste)
• vegetables cut into chunks

Directions after the jump.

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