Cow

Ingredients
2  pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups elbow macaroni noodles
30 ounces tomato sauce (The type in the can.)
2 cups chicken broth
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Cook beef in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Drain beef, leaving 2 tablespoons fat in skillet, and reserve. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic to fat in skillet and cook, covered, until softened, about 3 minutes.

2. Add macaroni, tomato sauce, broth, oregano, and reserved beef to skillet and bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve.  

Comments
On some nights, nothing beats a quick and easy one skillet meal.  This is one of those meals.  Hot, tomatoey, and warming to the whole body.  I found it in the Cook’s Country 2007 Annual when I was looking for something quick and easy to make after a night of Aikido practice.  I was not disappointed!  We tend to think of these dishes “fancy Hamburger Helper.”  

After taking the picture, I just stirred the rest of the cheese into the skillet.

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
1  flank steak
1 (1.06-ounce) packet McCormick Zesty Herb marinade (or similar)
1 ¹⁄₂ cups red wine
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped

Instructions
1. In a large zip-top bag or container, combine all ingredients. Seal bag or container. Marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 8 hours, turning occasionally. Remove flank steak from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Preheat grill, griddle, or grill pan to medium-high heat.

3. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Place steak on grate. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare to medium, depending on the thickness of the steak.

4. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. To serve, slice in half with the grain and then in thin slices against the grain.

Comments
This recipe is from Sandra Lee of FoodTV fame.  I’ve been making it for the past year on a griddle on the stovetop and looking forward to finally getting to do it on the grill outside so it wouldn’t smoke up the house!  I wasn’t disappointed at all.  The grill did a great job of cooking the steak and it turned out lovely.  One of the things I like about flank steak is that the thickness varies the length of the cut so it suits everyone’s desires for doneness.  

Shown here with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Strata.

Internet - Sandra Lee

Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
¹⁄₂ pound Italian sausage, casings removed and sausage crumbled
³⁄₄ cup pasta sauce, divided
¹⁄₂ cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried basil
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
8 slices mozzarella Cheese, divided

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook 6 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes to cool.

2. Combine meat, sausage, ¹⁄₄ cup pasta sauce, bread crumbs, egg, basil, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add onion mixture; mix well. Shape half of meat mixture into 10x5-inch loaf in a 12x9 baking pan. Top with 4 slices of cheese and remaining meat mixture. Spread remaining pasta sauce over top of loaf. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 40 minutes.

3. Remove meatloaf from oven and top with remaining cheese. Return to oven; bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts and internal temperature of loaf reaches 160°F. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Comments
I’ve always been a fan of meatloaf but it’s been hard to sell Art on it.  He loved this one.  It was flavorful, delectable and not a bit dry.  

Shown here with Amatriciana Pasta.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds lean ground beef
1 (14 ¹⁄₂ ounces) can diced tomatoes with mild green chile, undrained, plus enough water to equal 2 ¹⁄₂ cups
1 (8 ounces) box Zataran’s Yellow Rice (or similar)
1 (16 ounces) bag frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 (16 ounces) bag frozen Southwest Blend, thawed (The kind I buy has corn, black beans, jalapenos, and red bell peppers)
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Instructions
1. Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

2. Add water, tomatoes, and rice mix; mix well. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to low; cover and cook 10 minutes.  Add corn and southwest blend, cook for 10 more minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

3. Stir in cheese until melted and serve.  

Comments
This recipe originally came from one of those checkout aisle cooking magazines, I believe it was a Pillsbury one.  I’ve modified it significantly and then tweaked my modifications over time.  This is the end result.  It’s a great simple skillet meal when you’re pressed for time.  It also works well as a dip for chips.  I thaw the veggies in a sieve with some running water but they’re still cold when I add them to the dish so the corn retains a nice bite.  If you can’t find the southwest blend, you could add a can of rinsed black beans instead.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
2 teaspoons seasoning of choice (Since this recipe is from Emeril, I use Essence.  Any seasoned salt, or just salt and pepper, would be fine)
1 small white onion, chopped
16 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
12 ounces egg noodles
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Season the beef and cook in skillet until well browned.  

2. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are soft.  Add the noodles, beef broth, and parsley.  Stir well and cook, covered, until noodles are done about 7 to 8 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.  

3. Once noodles are done stir in sour cream and mustard.  Serve.  

Comments
This recipe is originally from Emeril but I’ve tweaked it to suit our tastes.  The result is a fancy (and better) version of Hamburger Helper.  The guys always have seconds when I make this and sometimes so do I!

Internet - Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 strip, rib-eye, or tenderloin steaks, about 1 ¹⁄₂ inches thick
Pepper

Instructions
1. Combine salt and cornstarch. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and rub with salt mixture. Arrange on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and freeze until steaks are firm and dry to touch, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

2. Season steaks with pepper. Grill, covered, over hot fire until well browned and cooked to desired doneness, 4 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to plate, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve.  

Comments
This recipe is also from the August/September 2009 issue of Cook’s Country.  Apparently the thing that makes restaurant steaks so delicious is that they’re dry aged and cooked over very high temperatures.  I got the BGE grill up to 650*F, followed the freezing instructions of this recipe, and was rewarded with perfectly delicious filet mignon steaks.  If I wasn’t sold on grilling before, this pushed me over the edge.  The steaks were tender, flavorful, and juicy to boot!  

Shown here with Cherry Tomato Caprese Pasta Salad.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ cups balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
6 filet mignon steaks (each about 1-inch thick)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces soft goat cheese

Instructions
1. Boil the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to ¹⁄₃ cup, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes.  Keep warm prior to serving or it will be closer to the consistency of taffy than syrup.  

2. Meanwhile, preheat the grill or griddle. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook the steaks to desired doneness, about 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare. After turning steaks over, spoon a small dollop of goat cheese on top of each one.  The cheese will melt while the second side cooks.  

3. Transfer the steaks to plates. Drizzle the balsamic sauce around the steaks and serve.

Comments
This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis via the Food Network site.  I was looking for a way to prepare filet mignon that would be Italian inspired in order to go with Carbonara and this seemed to fit the bill.  It was delicious, the goat cheese was soft and melty.  The glaze was sweet and strong.  I did make the mistake of letting the glaze cool a little too much so it stuck to our teeth, but I’m not planning on telling my dentist.  

Shown here with Gwen’s Carbonara.

Internet - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (I use the most humanely raised and leanest ground cow I can get)
¹⁄₂ cup dried bread crumbs (Seasoned are fine)
4 large eggs
¹⁄₂ cup milk
³⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ cup onion, minced
¹⁄₄ cup garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ cup fresh parsley, minced
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, minced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray or place a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet.  

2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If mixture seems a little wet add more bread crumbs.

3. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop meatballs onto the lined baking sheet.  If you don’t have a disher, roll meatballs into balls about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through.

Comments
One day I was watching an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Food Network.  He challenged a meatball expert and the expert won with this recipe.  I never really cared for meatballs; I often find them to be dry and tasteless.  

These meatballs are neither of those things.  They are moist and extremely flavorful.  They freeze perfectly as well which is always a bonus!  I’ve made them in muffin tins as well which makes them turn out like little meatloaves.  I’ve even given them as gifts to people I’ve visited.  They’re perfect.  

Shown here with Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Internet - Food TV

Ingredients
4 shallots, sliced in thin rings
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 flank steak (1 ¹⁄₂ pound)
1 tablespoon butter, cold

Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the shallots in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until lightly caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the red wine and reduce by half. Add the broth and reduce by half. Check for seasoning, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm on low heat.

2. Meanwhile, brush the flank steak on both sides with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the center of grill (or griddle) and sear 5 to 8 minutes per side for rare to medium rare.  Remove from the grill (or griddle) and allow to rest, loosely covered with aluminum foil, 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the flank steak on the diagonal and place on a serving plate.

3. Finish the sauce by swirling in the chunks of cold butter, then top the steak with some of the sauce and serve the rest on the side.

Comments
I have no idea where I found this recipe, but it’s the one I used the first time I ever made flank steak.  A year later I’m still making it because it’s fantastic.  The shallot pan sauce is delicious and flank steak is an extremely flavorful cut of meat.  The only problem I have with cooking this is the smoke detector… flank steak combined with a griddle on high heat makes for quite a bit of smoke in the house.  

Shown here with Okra Cornmeal Fritters.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 filet mignon steaks, trimmed and 1-inch thick
¹⁄₄ teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄₂ cup red wine
¹⁄₂ cup beef broth
1 tablespoon butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Instructions
1. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Rub pepper evenly over steaks. Sprinkle salt over bottom of pan. Add steaks to pan, cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove steaks from pan; set aside.

2. Stir in wine and broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium. Return steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan. Cook until liquid is reduced to ¹⁄₄ cup. Remove pan from heat. Add butter to pan; stir with whisk until melted. Drizzle sauce over steaks.

Note: If serving more than four people do not be tempted to crowd the pan with more than four steaks, they won’t really sear correctly if the pan is crowded.  I know this from experience.   :|

Comments
I’ve been cooking this recipe for 5-6 years now and, if memory serves me, it comes from a Cooking Light Annual.  I haven’t got a clue which one!  It’s a great, easy, and relatively quick way to prepare delicious filet mignon.  This is my “go to” recipe for filet mignon, in fact.  When you make this, be sure to reduce the pan sauce more than you see in this photo.  I was impatient.  

Shown here with Roasted Beet Risotto.

Cooking Light