Meals/ RECIPES

Quick Dinner – Korean Beef Over Rice

A Flavorful Dinner Staple

It is so fun to stumble upon an easy, healthful and delicious dinner that I know will be a weeknight staple around here. This recipe will be in our rotation because it pleased every single person in our family, which is not an easy thing to do!

The flavor of this dish is very, very similar to Mongolian Beef, it is sweet and salty and just darn good! Using ground beef makes it quick dinner that you can making in minutes. It is amazing how developed the flavor is in such a short time!

To Substitute Or Not Substitute

It is key to use certain ingredients in this recipe, so be careful with substitutions. The sesame oil adds a flavor that is impossible to get with anything else. The green onions and ginger are also ‘must-have’s’ in this recipe. We are not huge onion fans in this family, but when cooked right, in the right dish, they are amazing.

The substitutions I might make the next time I make this dish is brown rice for white rice, and maple syrup instead of brown sugar — just to make it a bit more healthy.

Fresh Ingredients

You just can’t go wrong with a recipe that has such great, fresh ingredients like garlic, onion and ginger. Yum! They are not only full of flavor, but also full of amazing nutrients for the body.

Grass Fed & Organic Please!

I highly recommend using grass-fed beef from a farmer you trust. I cannot tell you the difference in flavor when I buy ground beef from my local co-op, where I know exactly what farm the cow came from. My family can even tell when I substitute cheaper ground beef for organic, grass-fed beef. It is worth every penny of the extra cost. Flavor and peace-of-mind is priceless.

My Favorite Rice Maker

I use and love a handy-dandy rice maker. This is the model I have. It never fails to produce the perfect texture of rice.

Recipe

Korean Beef Over Rice

1 cup uncooked brown or white rice

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed (or maple syrup)

1/4 cup soy sauce ( I used tamari)

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

1/2-1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 pound ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions.

2. Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, & ginger in a small bowl. Set Aside.

3. Brown ground beef in a skillet, set over medium-high heat. Once cooked, drain off an excuse fat. Add garlic to skillet and saute for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Stir in sauce and half of green onions. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes until well coated and heated through. Garnish with remaining green onions. Serve over rice.

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What About You?

What is a dinner staple in your house?

What do you think of the sound of this recipe?

Meals/ RECIPES

Coconut And Chicken (Or Beef) Curry With Noodles

{photo does not show it, but this recipe makes a lot of delicious, creamy sauce for the noodles}

Wow-sa! This recipe was good! I loved that it was a recipe that my whole family liked. My daughters do not like coconut, but that was no problem because this does not have a strong coconut flavor. It has coconut milk in it, which gives it a slightly sweet flavor and makes it creamy! They also do not like red peppers, but they are necessary in this recipe for flavor, color and health! I made them each eat one pepper strip, and this had to be done before they could dig into the rest of their meal. It is amazing how this simple rule can make eating certain veggies that are not their favorite, a fast and simple process.

When cooking dinner, I try to pull at least on of my girls into the kitchen with me. I want them all to be comfortable with cooking, and I love the quality time I get with each of them while doing it. I rarely pull my oldest in, because she frets and complains about it. She does not like to cook. I made sure I had all the ingredients out and everything set before bringing my grumpy girl into the kitchen, and I was determined not to let her grump get to me:)

Didn’t she do a lovely job of slicing the red pepper? She grumped about a cut on her finger that the pepper juice stung, but she got through it!

I cut up the raw chicken and the onion–I know to pick my battles wisely. I knew she would not come close to the raw chicken, but she did she did squeeze the lime and saute’ the chicken. She also seasoned the chicken, made the noodles, opened the coconut milk, sauteed the veggies and did all the stirring.

I was a proud mama.

Her frown eventually turned upside down.

Funny how the smell of goodness cooking,

and a mom who chooses to remain lighthearted can do just that.

I give us both a pat on the back. 🙂

Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast: 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day

This recipe came from Everyday Food:Fresh Flavor Fast. I am really loving this cookbook. Every recipe has a full page photo, all of which are simple gorgeous. The recipes are healthy, fresh and simple.

This recipe is actually Coconut And Beef Curry With Noodles in the book, but I had chicken on hand so that is what we used.

Coconut and Chicken (or Beef) Curry With Noodles

Salt & Pepper

8 Ounces vermicelli (rice noodles) or angel-hair pasta (I used whole wheat)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)

1 pound of chicken, cut into 2 inch strips (or beef sirloin)

1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves (I only used about 1/3 cup-all I had)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

——————-

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt. Cook noodles until tender according to package instructions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Season chicken or beef with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook, until chicken is no longer pink, or beef is to desired doneness. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add onion, bell peppers, and the water to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Add curry paste; cook, stirring and scraping bottom of skillet, until fragrant and combined, about 1 minute.

4. Return chicken or beef and any accumulated juices to skillet; add coconut milk. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and lime juice, and season with salt and pepper.

Serve meat mixture over noodles.

Enjoy!

Meals/ RECIPES

Best Ever Classic Beef Pot Roast

{Photo Credit}

We have been limiting red meat to just a couple times a week, so when we do have it, I want it to taste AMAZING! This recipe is just that–amazing! I have looked high and low for a good pot roast recipe. When I was going through chemo and we had meals made and delivered from our church, this recipe was one that made a huge impression on me. I HAD to have the recipe, and I can’t wait to make it!

The wine gave it such flavor, and the herbs seasoned it to perfection. It was the perfect comfort food!

Thanks, Scott family!!

{From MyRecipes.com via Cooking Light}

If you’re looking for a traditional pot roast recipe, try this 5-star, no-fail version. Cuts of beef that perform well for pot roasting go by many different names: Blade roast, cross-rib roast (or shoulder clod), seven-bone pot roast, arm pot roast, and boneless chuck roast are all acceptable cuts.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 3 ounces roast, about 3/4 cup vegetables, and about 3 tablespoons cooking liquid)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 cup dry red wine
4 thyme sprigs
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350º.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.

Return browned roast to pan. Add the red wine, thyme sprigs, chopped garlic, beef broth, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.

Add carrots and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf from pan; discard. Shred meat with 2 forks. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:: 307 (31% from fat)
Fat:: 10.4g (sat 3.5g,mono 4.8g,poly 0.5g)
Protein:: 28.6g
Carbohydrate:: 23.7g
Fiber:: 2.8g
Cholesterol:: 85mg
Iron:: 3.9mg
Sodium:: 340mg
Calcium:: 34mg

Meals/ RECIPES

Crockpot Beef Stew

It’s been cold and snowy here in Nebraska. I was aching for a bowl of beef stew so I brought up the Allrecipes.com website and found this simple recipe, and hoped for the best. What I got was a very easy, flavorful stew. It hit the spot… ooooh yeah…yum.

If you want to read reviews and nutrition information, go to AllRecipes.com

Crock-Pot Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.