BONNIE'S BEEF STEW

It still feels like summer in Az (91 today) but I'm once again trying to will fall into visiting us. I do this every year. Saturday I made beef stew - and decided I haven't been all that fond of my beef stew recipes all these years. I took some of my old ingredients, added some new and came up with what I think is the best beef stew I have ever made in my life! I think using beef base and wine in the broth did the trick. And not cooking wine - that stuff is NASTY! Now - I'm not a wine drinker and if you have objection to using it in your cooking, you can leave it out (the alcohol cooks out, so don't fret) but I would advise not to. It makes the broth so deep and hearty. 

 If you haven't ever used beef or chicken broth base, you should.  "Better Than Bullion" is good but Costco caries Tones and I think it's just as good. So much better than broth - and you can make it as strong or weak as you like. I make it from the container like the directions say and if you need your broth saltier, add a little more base instead of salt. More depth of flavor - once again.  I also use half chicken and half beef broth. I also cut the carrots in rather large pieces so that those picky eaters in our house there's only 2 of us and it isn't me can pick them out. 

BONNIE'S BEEF STEW

1 1/2-2 lbs. beef stew meat (I cut them smaller than they come from store)

1 medium onion, chopped

2-3  glove garlic, chopped

2-3 ribs of celery cut into chunks

2-3T olive oil

In large stock pot, heat olive oil and saute chopped onion, garlic celery and stew meat just until meat is not pink any longer. Add:

10  cups broth (I use half chicken and half beef)

1/2 cup good red wine (not cooking wine - its awful)

1 1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 T. fresh flat leaf parsley (Italian) or 1/2 T. dried parsley

1/2 t. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 t. sugar

coarse black pepper

Kosher salt to taste (I usually add more broth concentrate if it needs salt)

Bring to a soft boil, cover with a lid and simmer on low about an hour until beef is tender.  Add:

1 1/2 lbs cubed red potatoes (don't peel them)

4-5 medium carrots cut into 2 inch chunks

Continue to simmer just until potatoes and carrots are tender.

If you like your broth a little thicker, mix 2 T. cornstarch with a little cold water and quickly stir into hot soup, stirring continually so you don't get chunks.  We like our broth soupy, so I don't thicken it.

GRILLED LONDON BROIL

It is still hotter than blazes here in AZ so I am trying to use my oven as little as possible. The kids all went back to school this week (sadly, mine are all grown now) and I know there are lots of happy moms. I get it--it's nice to have a break and be back on a schedule for a while.  I have experimented with several marinades for London Broil and this is what we love the best.  It seems like a lot of ingredients, but most of them you will already have.  Serve it with a nice green salad and some crusty bread. Or a baked potato if you really want to turn on your oven!!

1-2 lb. London Broil steak

1/3 c. olive oil

2 T. red wine vinegar

1-2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. honey

Juice and zest of one lime

1/4-1/2 t. red chile flakes (depending on how you like the "heat")

1 T. tomato paste

1 t. coarse black pepper

1/2 t. dried leaf oregano

Whisk all ingredients except meat together in a medium bowl until well mixed.  Place in a large resealable plastic bag and add meat.  Marinate at least 4 hours in refrigerator or up to 12 hours.  

Preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium. Remove steak from marinade.  Pour marinade in small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Set aside.

Grill steak on medium heat for desired doneness.  6 minutes on each side for rare.  Transfer meat to a place and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Cut steak into thin slices on the gross grain in diagonal slices.  Serve with the extra marinade. 

Carne Asada Tacos

Like I've said before, Albany doesn't have a lot of mexican restaurants to choose from.  With Cinco de Mayo being last Saturday, I was craving tacos and guacamole.  I fulfilled my taco craving but I'm still waiting for my avocados to soften to make the guac.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.  The marinade is full of flavor and spices.  It satisfied my craving for good tacos and made my husband happy.  He loves steak.  Muy bueno!

Carne Asada

• 3 pounds flank steak
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Place steak in a shallow dish or ziploc bag.  Mix all ingredients then pour over steak.  Marinate for 4 to 8 hours or overnight.  Cook on grill or grill pan.  Cut into thin slices.  Serve as tacos with pico de gallo, cheese and guacamole.

Chili's Fajitas

 My husband and I have lived in a few states where good Mexican food is hard to find.  So, we usually end up eating at Chili's for chips and salsa and fajitas.  Although, we are now quite fond of Chipotle.  But that's beside the point.  I've had this recipe in my file for years and finally decided to pull it out and make us a fajita dinner.  It says it's the recipe Chili's uses for their fajitas.  Whether that's true or not, I'll never know.  What I do know, is that these fajitas were fabulous!  We absolutely loved them and could.not.stop.eating.them.  Husband said they are the best he's ever had.  That's big time.

Chili's Fajitas

2 lbs. flank steak, skirt steak or sirloin steak or chicken
1 red bell pepper
2 green bell peppers
1 onion

Marinade:

1 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 cup water
3 1/2 Tbs. honey
4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground ginger


Combine all ingredients for marinade in a bowl.  Put meat in ziploc bag and pour half of marinade over meat to cover.  Seal and let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  Can do overnight as well.  Slice onions and peppers and cook over medium heat in a saucepan until tender.  Pour a few tablespoons of marinade over onions and peppers to flavor.  Cook meat on stove in a skillet or grill pan until done.  Place meat and vegetables in tortillas and top with sour cream, cheese and guacamole.  

Fajitas

I saw this recipe on my cousins blog and knew I had to try it. My husband didn't think he was going to like it by the picture he saw, but he did admit after we had it for dinner that he really liked it. I think the noodles add a fun new twist instead of using tortillas.

Red bell pepper, julienned


Green bell pepper, julienned (I used yellow)


1/2 onion, sliced


2 Tbls olive oil


1/2 bag fajita meat (or full bag depending on how big the bag is) (see picture below)


1 can Original Rotel


Angel hair pasta


*Cook pasta according to directions. Saute bell peppers & onions in olive oil. Add meat for the last 5 minutes. Add Rotel. Drain water from pasta and add to fajitas. Mix well & Enjoy!


**This meat can be found at your local grocery store, but you get more bang for your buck at Costco/Sams Club.

The Best Pot Roast

This is the pot roast that I made on Father's Day.

It really was the best.

It's no secret that we the people of Becoming Betty are not food photographers or food stylists...just food lovers.

So instead of posting my not-so-appetizing picture, I'm just going to linky-dink you on over to Hold the Onions where I got the recipe.

Try it!  You will love it.

Pepperoncini Shredded Beef Tacos

Cinco-de-Mayo is tomorrow and you should make this. You won't be sorry. (I am however sorry about the picture taken with my phone, I couldn't find my camera. Don't be deceived by the picture these tacos are dang good!)

3 lbs roast (I love the 7 bone roasts, I'm never let me down with tenderness)

1 onion chopped

1 package Good Seasons All Natural Salad Dressing

32 oz beef broth (I get anything organic to stay away from the MSG)

1 8 oz jar pepperoncini pepers (slightly drained).

Saute the onion in some olive oil. Then throw into the crock pot. Next, salt and pepper the roast and then sear it in the same pan. When finished throw the meat and the remaining ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat falls apart with fork. Shred the meat and keep it in the juices (you can discard the pepperoncinis if you want).

Serve on flour or corn tortillas (I fried mine in coconut oil) with salsa, tomatoes, spinach or shredded cabbage, pepper jack cheese and this sauce:

Sauce

4 oz cream cheese (softened)

2 T coarsely chopped cilantro

1/4 to 1/2 t cumin

1 T lime juice

Shish kabobs

Spring has finally sprung hear in Utah which means it is time to BBQ. Oh how I love summer foods. This is a family favorite, and would be a fun Easter dinner. I guess a good indicator that these are good is that every single time I make them at a BBQ, some calls and asks me for the recipe. My husband will eat ten kabobs before I make him stop. Not kidding.



Here he is sneaking a bite, while wearing his favorite jersey.

Just cut up a bunch of your favorite vegetables; bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and then pineapple (I usually soak this in a little brown sugar for an extra delicious kick). Sometimes we just make all pineapple kabobs, it tastes like you are at Rodizio Grill.
The key to these yummy kabobs is the marinade. You can make this with any kind of steak (our favorite is rib eye) or chicken.

Meat Marinade for the Kabobs
½ cup apple juice
¾ cup sugar
½ soy sauce
½ cup oil
1 clove garlic
½ t ginger
½ onion chopped

Marinate meat as long as desired (a least an hour). While these are marinating soak skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Cut in strips and put on a skewer with the veggies and pineapple then grill on the BBQ.
Here is a fun side to stick with the kabob theme;
If you want to continue even more with the kabob theme you can make strawberry shortcake kabobs by just cutting up some angel food cake and strawberries and throw them on a skewer. Then dip them into whipped cream. Really you can cut up and put just about anything on a stick, we have also done breakfast kabobs, get creative! Happy Spring!

Jo Lene's Taco Salad

There are a few reasons why I married into the Gibb family. This, my friends, is one of them. My mother-in-law's taco salad. It is full of flavor and goodness. And it comes with it's own special dressing. It is the number one requested meal at Gibb family gatherings. Enough said.

Taco Salad

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup dry onions
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
3 cans water (use tomato sauce can)
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. accent (I don't use this)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 cup cooked rice

Brown meat and add onions. Pour in rest of ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. accent (I don't use this)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt or powder

Put all ingredients in blender and mix well.

Crock-pot BBQ Beef

A few weeks ago, while visiting my aunt in Utah, I came across this recipe while browsing through one of my grandma's cookbooks.  It was a Rival crock-pot cookbook and had lots of good recipes.  We have a favorite bbq sauce that we buy (Sweet Baby Ray's) but it was fun to try out a homemade sauce and it was really good.  We liked the flavor a lot.  Perfect for feeding a big group during this Fall season of parties and gatherings.

1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 Tbs. worcestershire
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

*Mix well and pour over a roast in the crock-pot.  Chuck roast is my favorite for shredded beef.  Cook all day on low and serve on warm rolls.

Father's Day Sandwich

Doesn't this look like something a guy would love to eat?

We had these last night and I have to say that I loved them, too.

I am a sucker for a steak and cheese sandwich with lots of onions and peppers.

Definitely a winner in the summer since you don't have to turn on your oven.

your favorite steak, sliced into thin pieces

Lawry's seasoning salt

1 onion, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

provolone cheese slices

sandwich rolls

butter

worcestershire sauce

tabasco sauce

*Melt 2-3 Tbs. of butter in a large saucepan on stove. Brown onion and green pepper slices until nice and golden. Remove onto a plate. Melt a couple more Tbs. of butter and brown your steak that you have seasoned. (I used a really thin sirloin tip steak). Add some worcestershire (maybe 1/4 cup) and a few drops of tabasco while cooking. Cook until done and then add back in the onions and peppers. Meanwhile, butter your sandwich roll halves and brown them on another pan until golden brown. Add steak mixture and a couple slices of cheese to each roll.

Marinated Flank Steak

this is so yummy! its pretty easy and everyone loves it.

1 or 2 beef flank steaks ( i buy them from costco)
1/4 C soy sauce
3/4 C veg. oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 T vinegar
3 T honey
6 green onions chopped to include stems

The recipe says to put everything (except onions) in sauce pan until honey is melted and then add the onions. I skip that step- I just throw it altogether without heating it.
Marinate in fridge for at least 24 hours. Grill on BBQ over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, basting with marinade and turning once. slice the steaks diagonally into thin slices to serve.

Stew Over Potatoes

I saw this recipe on Hold the Onions last year and thought it would be so perfect for a Sunday dinner. I kind of forgot about it and then came across it again recently while looking at that fun blog. I was so excited to give it a try. Really simple, really filling and really delish. Go here to get the recipe and directions.

Carne Asada and Pico de Gallo

I was walking through the meat section of my Walmart neighborhood market, minding my own business, when I saw this beautiful package of already diced up carne asada meat. If you knew how much my husband loves carne asada burritos, you would know that I had no choice but to buy it. Then I scoured the internet for a recipe that looked delicious, but still somewhat easy, and this is what I found.

1 1/2 pounds diced up steak

1 whole lime, juiced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 whole onion, chopped

3 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

3 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. worcestershire sauce

1/2 whole jalapeno, chopped and seeded

*Combine all ingredients in a big ziploc bag and let marinate overnight in refrigerator. Cook in a skillet on medium-high heat until meat is done. Serve as tacos or burritos with pico de gallo, avocado, and cheese.

Pico de Gallo:

roma tomatoes

cilantro

white onion

serrano pepper

garlic clove

1 Tbs. lemon juice

salt

*Dice up 4 or 5 tomatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients, chopped up, to your liking. I used about a half an onion, lots of cilantro, a tiny bit of serrano pepper, 2 garlic cloves and probably a 1/2 tsp. of salt. You can make it how you like it.

Beef and Broccoli

I found this recipe last week while flipping through my mom's issue of Good Housekeeping. Don't you love that magazine? The picture in the magazine looked so delicious, so I ripped it out and put it in my purse. We tried it out the other night and it was really good. Two kids ate the broccoli and rice and two ate only the steak. As long as there's something for everyone, right?

1 beef sirloin or ribeye steak, 1 inch thick

1 cup jasmine rice

2 green onions, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. sugar

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1 lb. broccoli florets

*Place refrigerated steak in freezer for a few minutes so it's easier to slice. Prepare rice as label directs. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 1 Tbs. sliced green onion, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 2 tsp. sesame oil, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Set aside. Take steak out of freezer and cut into very thin slices. Toss into a bowl with 1 Tbs. soy sauce, white parts of sliced green onion and remaining garlic. Set aside. In a 12 inch skillet, pour 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add broccoli and cook a few minutes until tender. Drain well and then add broccoli to first bowl of oil mixture and toss. Heat 2 tsp. sesame oil in same skillet and cook beef until you like it. Stir in remaining green onions and some salt and pepper. Then stir in remaining soy sauce. Serve with rice and broccoli.

Roast Beef Au Jus

I was talking to my friend, Jen, the other day and she told me about these sandwiches.

She said they were easy and yummy, and that's what we're all looking for, are we not?

We tried them out for dinner tonight and she was telling the truth on both accounts.

roast beef, sliced thin (Sprouts has good roast beef)

dinner rolls, cut in half

onions, sliced and sauteed

provolone or swiss, sliced

Au Jus gravy mix (in a packet)

*Saute sliced onion in some butter. Set aside. Make Au Jus sauce according to package directions. Set aside. Slice dinner rolls in half and place sliced roast beef and cheese on one half. Broil in oven until cheese is melted and empty rolls are golden brown. Add onions, put other half of roll on top and dip in sauce to eat.

Crockpot Stew Meat

I got this recipe out of my Cooking Bible, aka my ward cookbook.
Is there anything better than a good ward cookbook?

My only regret is that I didn't discover this recipe sooner. I love crockpot dinners...especially on Sundays, when everyone comes in the door from church starving like they haven't eaten in weeks. This dinner filled us up and made us all happy.

1 1/2 pounds stew meat

1 envelope brown gravy mix

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken

2 cups water

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

*Put in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Mix well before serving over mashed potatoes.

Shredded beef tacos

I am forever searching for crock-pot recipes that involve burrito/taco meat. We love Mexican food at our house, as I'm sure most of you do, and there's nothing better than slow-cooked, shredded meat. This recipe is a combination of a couple of other recipes that I found. It could easily be used with pork, too.2-3 lb. Chuck roast

1 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup Coke

2 small cans green chilies

a few shakes of garlic salt

*Cook all day on low and serve in a flour tortilla as a burrito or on a corn tortilla as a taco.

Taco topping

shredded cabbage

cilantro

lime juice

salt

*Toss together in the amounts that you like. Sounds simple, but is seriously heavenly.

Steak Marinade

This marinade is for flank steak, but we used it for 2 ribeye steaks and we loved the flavor.

1/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbs. vinegar

3 Tbs. honey

6 green onion, chopped to include stems ( I only used 2)

*Heat all ingredients, except onions, in saucepan until honey is melted. Stir in onions. Pour over steaks and marinade in fridge for 24 hours before grilling.

Teriyaki Beef Bowl

I got this yummy recipe from my friend Susie (I get all my good recipes from her, well and this blog of course:). It is super easy and oh so good!

About 2 cups chopped carrots
About 2 cups chopped broccoli
Steak cut into strips
8 oz Pasta (the recipe says linguini but I used the cute curly macaroni cause it's cute:)
¼ c Italian dressing
¼ c Teriyaki sauce
1 t ginger
Cook pasta, when there is about 7 min left add fresh vegetables. Drain when done. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 t oil in skillet, add steak and brown. Stir in Italian dressing, teriyaki sauce and1 ginger. Cook until sauce thickens then toss everything together.