Sauerbraten

Quid and I spend a lot of time texting each other while watching food shows on TV.  Not long ago the topic of Sauerbraten came up.  I commented I'd never eaten it, so Quid e-mailed me a recipe she found online and I tried it last weekend.  Well, considering it has to marinate for three days I actually started it mid-week, but I cooked it on Saturday.   Even though it was delicious (and the left-overs were great!) it was fairly labor-intensive, so I doubt I'll make it again any time soon. 

This recipe comes from Alton Brown of the Food Network.



Ingredients



2 cups water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional for seasoning meat
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
12 juniper berries
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) bottom round
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
18 dark old-fashioned gingersnaps (about 5 ounces), crushed
1/2 cup seedless raisins, optional


Directions


In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.


Pat the bottom round dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides. Heat a large saute pan over high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.


When the marinade has cooled to a point where you can stick your finger in it and not be burned, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour over the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 3 days. If the meat is not completely submerged in the liquid, turn it over once a day.


After 3 days of marinating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.


Add the sugar to the meat and marinade, cover and place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until tender, approximately 4 hours.


Remove the meat from the vessel and keep warm. Strain the liquid to remove the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Add the raisins if desired. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

Meatloaf

Such a pedestrian dish and not one I often crave. However, I recently had a large package of ground beef that I needed to use and decided to see if I could come up with a decent recipe from what I had in the pantry. I didn't even think to take a photo of it. After all, meatloaf just looks like meatloaf. It was delicious, though, so I figured I'd better write down how I made it in case I ever want to have it again!

1 large package ground beef (2.25 to 2.5 pounds)
3 eggs
2 small (5.5 oz.) cans V-8 vegetable juice
1 small onion, diced
1-1/2 cup old fashioned oats
seasoned salt
pepper

Mix together all the ingredients and pat into a 7 x 11" glass baking dish. Bake uncovered in a 350F oven for approximately an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.

Lazy Girl Stew

Isn't it fun when you rediscover an old recipe that you'd forgotten about? Although I continued to prepare meat dishes for my family during the eight years that I was a vegetarian, this is one of the recipes that fell by the wayside. It comes from the cookbook our church music department published in 1974. The church organist at the time contributed this recipe. I'm so glad I remembered it!


Lazy Girl Stew

2 pounds cubed stew meat
1 can small peas (drained)
2 or 3 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 can water
2 potatoes, diced
Bay leaf

Throw it all into a Dutch oven and bake for 5 hours at 275F, or cook it 8-10 hours in a crock-pot.
(we like to serve it with a scoop of white rice)

Game Day Chili

Chili is one of those dishes that I often use a pre-packaged seasoning mix to make. Just add meat, tomato sauce, beans and you're done. When I found this recipe in the January issue of Southern Living magazine I knew I had to give it a try. It's definitely been chili weather lately and this was perfect chili to serve!


Game Day Chili



Ingredients

2 pounds ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 (14.5-oz.) can beef broth
1 (12-oz.) bottle dark beer
3 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (15-oz.) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (4.5-oz.) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Cook first 3 ingredients in a 5- to 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well, and return to Dutch oven. Add chili powder and next 3 ingredients; cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, and cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 2 hours.



Meat Loaf Wellington

I clipped this recipe from Simple & Delicious and it turned out to be quite good. It was credited to "Kyana44" on the Tasteofhome.com Community. The only changes I made were to use seasoned bread crumbs instead of plain and substituting cream of onion soup for golden mushroom.


Meat Loaf Wellington

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 lbs. lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup soup, onion, ketchup, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into a 9-in. x 5-in. rectangle and place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake uncovered, at 375F for 40 minutes. Unroll crescent dough; seal seams and perforations. Drape dough over meat loaf to cover top, sides and ends; seal ends. Bake 12-15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160F and crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small microwave-safe bowl, combine sour cream and remaining soup. Cover and microwave on high for 30-40 seconds or until heated through. Serve with meat loaf.

Autumn Splendor

I had a flash of recollection while walking past the jams and jellies at the store last week: another meat dish I had "forgotten to remember" since giving up my vegetarian ways. I prepared it using some of the beef from our own pasture and it was just as delicious as I remembered!

Autumn Splendor

Golden Glazed Flank Steak

1 envelope onion soup mix
1 (12 oz.) jar apricot preserves (I use the "spreadable fruit")
1/2 cup water
1 flank steak (about 2 pounds) cut into thin strips
2 medium peppers (green, red or yellow), cut into thin vertical slices
Hot cooked rice

Heat broiler. In a small bowl combine soup mix, apricot preserves and water. Mix well. In a large, shallow baking pan arrange steak and peppers; spoon soup mixture evenly on top. Broil, turning once, until steak is done to taste. Serve over hot rice.

A new year

My husband and I welcomed in the new year in our usual way. We gathered with two other couples, ate entirely too much food, laughed, talked and played boards games. We've done it for years and years and always have a good time.

Today we slept in, had a late lunch of Black-Eyed Pea Soup and Mexican Cornbread, then headed to the movies to see Avatar. Considering my attention span is sometimes a bit short I wondered if I would enjoy an almost three hour movie. I did have to shift around in my seat and peek at my watch a couple of times, but the movie was wonderful and I really liked it!

When I finish here and shut down my computer for the evening I plan to settle in with my handwritten journal to make my annual New Year's entry. I'm not always good about writing on a regular basis throughout the year, but I always write on New Year's Day. It's my time to look back and reflect on how well I met the goals I set a year ago and to decide what I want to work on in the coming year. First, though, I'll share a few recipes from our New Year's eating.

Eggnog Tube Cake

Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Mary Ellen Severance of Biggs, CA

1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. rum extract

1-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp. rum extract

3 to 4 tsp. eggnog

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix. pudding mix, eggs, eggnog, oil, extract and nutmeg. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into a well-greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350F for 38-41 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract and enough eggnog to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Contributed to American Profile by Joyce Gates of Clovis NM

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 pound Polish sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

2 (15 oz) cans black-eyed peas with jalapenos, undrained

1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 oz) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

1 (4 oz) can chopped mild green chilies

1 to 2 medium jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups water

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onions and cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover tightly. Simmer 45 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Reheat before serving.

Mexican Cornbread

(my mother's recipe from when I was growing up)

Sift together:

1-1/2 cup cornmeal

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Add in:

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs, one at a time

1 cup sour cream

1 (no. 2) can cream-style corn

1 cup grated cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (I sub dried, chopped chives)

Bake in a greased, square glass dish at 425F about 45 minutes.

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini is NOT a favorite of mine. I prefer yellow crookneck (summer) squash. My family insists they can't tell the difference, but I sure can. Maybe it's just in my head.

Last summer one of our yellow squash plants turned out to be a zucchini instead. Purchased in a six-pack from the feed store, the plants looked exactly the same while growing. It wasn't until the first blooms turned to squash that we discovered the intruder. Naturally the zucchini was ten times more prolific than the yellow squash! I researched recipes, gave away sacks full and made it through the summer without too much grumbling.

As we readied our small garden this spring we saw a small plant coming up right in the center of the patch. It was soon evident that it was a squash plant. I hated to rip it out in case it was a yellow squash. No such luck. It now dominates our garden and is inundating us with zucchinis!

Here's a recipe I tried last night. It was in a recent issue of Simple & Delicious magazine. Since my daughter won't eat beef, I substituted ground turkey. My family loved it! (I ate something else)

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium zucchini

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 egg

3/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Additional marinara or spaghetti sauce

• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells.


• Place shells in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. microwave-safe dish. Turn off microwave turntable setting. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.


• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the egg, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese.


• Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into filing reads 160 degrees and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce. Yield: 4 servings.