Ye Olde Goulash

     Yesterday morning, I got up, fed Pippy, made the bed, emptied the dishwasher, and took Pippy outside to use the bathroom. Every morning, it's the same; the only thing that changes is the meat I pull from the freezer to thaw for dinner.  Last night, the decision was between chicken breast, ground beef, or top round. We had chicken the night before, so I pulled out the top round and let it begin thawing. Once it was thawed (around 2pm) I put it in the refrigerator and then it hit me. I don't have enough time to make anything with this! 
     See, top round is a tougher cut of meat. This is because the area that this cut comes from is well exercised and contains a lot of connective tissue. It tends to be extremely tough if it isn't braised for a long period of time. So, at this point, I'm trying to figure out what I can cook in a short period of time. I won't be able to utilize my slow cooker unless I want to have dinner ready around 10:30 P.M. I had to improvise a bit and do something on the stove top that could cook low and slow for at least an hour and a half. 
     The recipe that I have written out is meant for ease and convenience (somewhat). I used a packaged rice that had beef seasonings, but you can also cook the rice in a separate 2-quart pot and add either 2 cubes of beef bouillon or 1 tablespoon of it. 

Ye Olde Goulash
Yields: 4 servings

2½ tbsp. butter, unsalted
1 lb. top round, 1" cubes
1 c. onion, chopped
1 lb. waxy potatoes, cubed
1 c. water
1½ c. beef broth
2 tsp. salt
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package of rice with beef seasonings, if desired

In a soup pot, melt the butter over high heat. Add the steak and onions brown on all sides. Resist the urge to continue stirring the meat! This will allow the meat to develop a nice color and this is where much of the flavor is!

 After about 6 to 8 minutes, add the potatoes, water, beef broth, and salt. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 1½hours, stirring occasionally.

At this point, add the tomatoes and the packaged rice (or boil separately), uncovered for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Note: This tastes GREAT the next day as well!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 713.8

• Total Fat: 25.7 g
• Cholesterol: 84.1 mg
• Sodium: 599.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 53.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 11.0 g
• Protein: 39.6 g

Pasta e Fagioli- YUMMY!

     It's a cold and rainy day here in North Carolina, very rainy. We had dinner at Michael's parent's house tonight; pot roast, green beans, and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were rich and creamy, the roast was tender and juicy. Dinner was absolutely delicious; sometimes it's nice not to cook dinner and just enjoy it with family. Even though I didn't cook dinner, I still have a recipe to provide you with that is one I'm sure you will enjoy! It's absolutely perfect for cold and rainy days and is very tasty.
     Whether you like Italian flavors or Italian restaurants, this dish is sure to please! The acid of the tomatoes balances perfectly with the herbs, beans, and pasta. Choose whichever cut of pasta you prefer, but I will recommend choosing a short cut pasta and I chose rotini because there's something about those little twists that I absolutely adore! 


Pasta e Fagioli
Yields: 6-8 servings

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (14.5oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15oz.) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 c. vegetable juice

1 tbsp. vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. oregano

1 tbsp. basil

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans beef broth

1/2 pound pasta al dente, uncooked

Start with browning 1 pound of ground beef in a large stock pot over medium high heat, drain excess fat.  Add the prepared veggies to the browned meat. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce,  vegetable juice, vinegar, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and thyme. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Add the kidney beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour then add 1/2 pound of pasta cooked al dente. Simmer 10 more minutes and serve.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 10
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 289.0

• Total Fat: 10.4 g
• Cholesterol: 34.0 mg
• Sodium: 1,823.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 34.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.5 g
• Protein: 15.8 g

Beef Tips.

     Beef tips served over rice is one of my boyfriend's favorite meals. I happen to think the dish is pretty tasty as well. It's beefy, hearty, and loaded with flavor! I had made a dish similar to this one before, but it was baked in the oven, which I thought was strange. The meat was a little more tough with a lot less flavor. Delicious, nonetheless, just lacking something. This recipe is amazing and I can not wait to have it again! (: We'll just give it a few weeks so I can experiment elsewhere! 

Beef Tips

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1½ to 2 lbs. stew beef, 1-inch cubes

4 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)

2 c. water

¼ c. soy sauce

¼ c. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 (.75 oz.) packet dry brown gravy mix

1 c. water

Depending on your butcher, you may not have to do this step...I did, however. My stew beef was cut VERY roughly and very large - about 3-inch chunks. I prefer much smaller pieces, due to ease. I cut my meat into approximately 1-inch cubes.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Sauté the onion until almost translucent. 

    

Once onion has become slightly translucent, add the stew beef and brown on all sides on high heat. For me, this took about 3-4 minutes. At this point, I added about 4 ounces of sliced button mushrooms. I browned them for about 2 minutes. Then, pour 2 cups of water, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in. Allow to return to a simmer. Once simmering, stir in garlic 

powder, salt, and pepper.

 

Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and let it simmer for approximately 2 hours. During this time, the meat will tenderize and literally begin to fall apart! (: It's delicious! About 5 minutes before the simmering time has completed, whisk together the dry gravy mix and 1 cup water thoroughly. Pour into the skillet and return to the boil. The sauce will thicken slightly. 

If you want the sauce to have a little less movement, you can do one of two things: 1) create a corn starch slurry with 1 tbsp. corn starch and 1-2 tbsp. water or 2) gently simmer and let it reduce down a little. I simply left mine to simmer while I cooked the rice I was serving it with and it worked just fine!

Happy Cooking!