Italian Beef "Sammiches"

 I love that I grew up just outside of Chicago, although I don't think I really appreciated it until I moved to Indianapolis. Indy is great, and I don't foresee myself leaving anytime soon, but there are things I miss. The food one of those things.  There was rarely a family gathering, a sports banquet, or a weekend take out meal where Italian Beef Sandwiches ("Sammiches" if you're from the Chi) weren't served. I'm especially proud of this Chicago staple because they were "invented" on my side of town, the sout side (the h isn't pronounced).  My meal this month is an easy way to make that Windy City delicacy.  When you order one in the city, you're asked if you'd like it wet or dry.  Dry is just as it sounds...just the meat on the bread with the toppings.  If you'd like to try it wet, dip the assembled sandwich in the broth.  Both ways are delish although I prefer them wet!
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
 1 - 1 1/2 lbs roast beef (from the deli)
1 envelope of dry Italian dressing
1 can of low sodium beef broth (I use about triple the amount of broth.  The wetter the better!)
 4  French bread rolls - I know...WHAT?  Italian beef on french bread?  Yes!  It is all in the bread people.  French bread is soft and crusty, but firm enough to stand up to the "juice". 
Optional traditional toppings:
mozzerella cheese
banana peppers
hot peppers

Preparation:
-  In a large pot, mix the broth and the Italian dressing
-  Submerge the beef in the broth
-  Simmer on LOW for an hour
-  Assemble sandwich
- To dip or not to dip?  That is the question. Seriously, dip it.  You will not be sorry. 

There is an official beef sammich eating stance too!  Hold the sammy with both hands and rest elbows on the table.  Lean away from the sammich so you don't dribble on your shirt.  You're welcome.

Da Bears.

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs

It's here! The 4th annual Diva "Ball" theme! We love us some spherical food. For this month's meal, I am making Hawaiian Meatballs that you can conveniently make in your slow cooker.





Ingredients:

32 oz. package of precooked, frozen meatballs
13.5 oz can of unsweetened pineapple chunks (put juice aside)
1 large green pepper, diced
1 cup of brown sugar
2 Tbl. cornstarch
2/3 cup of white vinegar
2 Tbl. Soy sauce
Rice

Preparation:
Place meatballs in crock pot and top with green pepper and drained pineapple chunks. In a separate bowl, mix reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour sauce over meatballs, pineapple and green peppers. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through.

Prepare the rice and serve with the meatballs on top.

Does it get any easier??

Meatloaf Braciole

This is my favorite meatloaf recipe ever, and so far it's won over some non-meatloaf people! It's based on a Rachel Ray recipe (I made a few of my own modifications) and the "braciole" part just means it's rolled up. I would recommend not just using ground beef, because then it basically tastes like a fancy hamburger. I try to use at least two different types of ground meat.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, pork and/or veal mixture
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 small white onion, grated
3 tablespoons grated cheese, Parmigiano or Romano
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup baby spinach
6 slices prosciutto di Parma (the thinner sliced, the better)
6 slices deli sliced provolone
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix meat and next 7 ingredients (thru parsley) as if you were making meatloaf. Flatten meat out on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet into a thin layer: 1/2-inch thick, 12 inches long by 6 to 8 inches wide. Cover meat with spinach, prosciutto and cheese then roll the meat, using the waxed paper to help roll up into a large log, working across the 6 to 8-inch side, resulting in a 12-inch long log. Drizzle the log with extra-virgin olive oil to coat lightly.

Roast meatroll 20 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices, 3 pieces per portion, and serve. Make pasta while meat is in the oven.

*Another note, I had to roast mine longer than 20 minutes. Just make sure the internal temperature reaches 160 before eating. (I like to cook mine until about 155 and then let is rest a bit before slicing.)

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef


PF Chang's takes me straight back to my early 20's. It was always a popular place for girl's nights and first dates. Besides the lettuce wraps, I almost always ordered the Mongolian Beef. It's great served over rice or rice noodles!

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, sliced on the diagonal into one-inch lengths

Preparation:
1. Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat.
2. Don't get the oil too hot.
3. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.
4. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
5. Remove it from the heat.
6. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices (Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts).
7. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.
8. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
9. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil).
10. Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
11. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.
12. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.
13. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.
14. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.
15. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.
16. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions.
17. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.
18. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Cheesy Meatloaf (by the Big Cheese!)

I used to HATE when Mom would make meatloaf. Now, I really appreciate the flavors coming together and the stick to your ribs feeling you get after eating the hunk of meat. So, for March 2012 Diva, I was given "something you bake". I couldn't resist the yummy cheesy meatloaf. Num Num Num!!!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
handful of flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground beef chuck
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 cup ketchup

What you do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet or the bottom half of a broiler pan with foil.

Combine all ingredients, minus the ketchup (this is the fun part!) together and mix with a fork or your hands until evenly blended, but don't over mix.

Damp hands with water and pat the meatloaf mixture into a loaf shape on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, the brush ketchup over the top of the meatloaf. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Let meatloaf rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and a fresh dinner roll. Yummy in my tummy!

Crock Pot - Polynesian Roast Beef

1 boneless beef top round roast (3-1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons Browning sauce, optional
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can (8oz) unsweetened sliced pineapple
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium green pepper, sliced

1. Cut roast in half; brush with browining sauce if desired. Combine the flour, salt and pepper; rub over meat. Place onion in 3 qt. slow cooker; top with roast.
2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; refriderate the pineapple. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and ginger; whisk in the broth, soy sauce, garlic and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
3. Add pineapple and green pepper. Cook 1 hour longer or until meat and green pepper are tender.

Chili & Cheese on Rice (By: The Big Cheese!)

If you ask me...it's officially Slow Cooker season! Praise the heavens above!!!!!! For my September Diva Meal, please enjoy this easy and yumm-o recipe that I found in my "Fix It and Forget It" Cookbook.

What you’ll need:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
16-oz. can light red kidney beans
15 ½ oz. can chili beans
1 pint stewed tomatoes, drained
cooked rice (whatever amount you desire)
grated cheddar cheese (whatever amount you desire)

What you do:
1. Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Season with basil and oregano.
2. Combine all ingredients except rice and cheese in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
4. Serve over cooked rice.
5. Top with cheese.

Pastie Pies (By Gourmet Diva)

You may be thinking, "I've seen this post before".....you are correct. This is a previously posted recipe, but it also happened to be my "Original Diva" recipe for this month. Enjoy!

Pastie (pronounced past - y) pies are a family tradition in my house. I will try to retell the "background story" my mom used to tell us as kids. According to Scandanavian tradition, wives would bake these early in the morning for their husbands to take with them for lunch at the coal mines. The husbands would put them in their pockets and they would stay warm until lunch. (I have no idea how much truth there is to this story...but it's what I grew up with, so I thought I'd share!)

Ingredients:
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 TBSP salt
1 cup crisco
1 cup cold water

Filling:
1 lb ground chuck (I reccomend 90% lean)
4 medium potatos (cut into small squares)
1 medium onion (chopped small)
butter (you will use several small pats for each pie)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Crust
Sift flour and salt. Add Crisco and work in with fork (this will take a few minutes, be patient!). Add water and stir to form soft dough. Refridgerate overnight, or at least a few hours to reduce stickiness. (the longer you refridgerate the easier it will be)






Divide into 5 or 6 balls, roll into circles a little bigger than a small plate. When rolling, add flour to reduce stickiness. Then drape each circle over a small plate with a little hanging over the end.



Filling:
In the center of your circle place a layer of meat (pull apart with your fingers), a layer of potato, a layer of onion, salt and pepper to taste, and a small pat of margarine. Repeat all layers again and end with a layer of meat.



Fold the edge of the dough over the top of the filling and crimp edges. Poke the top of the pies with a fork to release steam during cooking. Flop the pastie into your hand and transfer to a lightly greased pan (use a cookie sheet or pan with sides, as you will have some juices escape during cooking.




Cook in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Then turn oven down to 375degrees and bake 20 minutes or until golden.



Serve with ketchup to dip your bites in. It sounds strange, but the ketchup totally completes this delicious meal!

TO FREEZE:
Very important tips if you freeze these!
1. I reccomend wrapping each individual pie in wax paper before freezing. If you don't the dough tends to stick together and it's hard to get them apart!
2. YOU MUST COOK THIS STRAIGHT FROM THE FREEZER TO THE OVEN. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT thaw first. (never ever thaw a frozen potato...just ask Saucy Diva...it's not pretty!)

Sidenote: This dough is awesome. Get creative with calzone recipes, etc. :)

Also, if you are in a pinch for time, you can make it as a true "pie".





-Gourmet Diva

Marinated Steak Kabobs (from Saucy Diva)

[This is a repost of a previous recipe...it was so good we had to have it again!]

This was my contribution for the April DTD meeting. The weather is starting to get nice and these are perfect noms for the grill!
* thanks to www.tasteofhome.com for the great picture!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/8 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning
2 oz lemon lime soda
1 pound beef sirloin steak cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
a variety of veggies and things to "kabob" (I used mushrooms, green peppers, onion, cherry tomatoes, and pineapple)

PREP:
1. Place meat in a large ziploc bag. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, garlic pepper, and soda in the same bag. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Chop veggies into big pieces.

3. Preheat grill for high heat

4. Assemble kabobs by threading steak and veggies onto a skewer.

5. Lightly oil the grill grate. Cook kabobs on the prepped grill for 10 minutes
or to desired doneness.

Goes great with a cold beer!!

Beef Stew Galore (from Spicy Diva)

Ingredients
2 lbs stew beef, cubed
2 potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 onions, quartered
2 c. cocktail vegetable juice
1/3 c. quick-cooking tapioca, uncooked
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbap salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper

Arrange beef and vegetables in a 5 quart slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and pour them into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high setting one hour, reduce heat to low setting and cook for 7 hours. Enjoy!!!

Sweet Crockpot Meatballs (from Dessert Diva)

It's January! Do you know what that means for the Dinnertime Divas? It's our annual balls themed Supper Club. Here is the recipe for my contribution this month.

This is one of the easiest and most delicious appetizers or dinners around. I came across this combination for the sauce by accident. My mom always makes her meatballs with BBQ sauce and grape jelly. Unfortunately, I didn't have any grape jelly one time so I substituted cherry preserves instead. The result was an even sweeter sauce that we liked even more than the original. I've never made it with grape jelly since!

Ingredients
1 - 1 lb. bag of frozen meatballs
1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/3 jar cherry preserves

I usually don't even measure out any of the ingredients so add or subtract according to your own taste.

Directions
Place the frozen meatballs in a slow cooker. Add the BBQ sauce and cherry preserves. Give it a stir. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until meatballs are heated through.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. It is definitely a go-to meal when I need something in a pinch, since I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

Pizza Casserole

This is my "comfort food" for this month. Its super easy and super delicious. When you use healthy/lean/low-fat products, it's not TOO bad for you :-) Because my grocery store had NO meat, my DTDs got extra fancy, ground ANGUS. That's how we roll up in here ;-) Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

1 ½ Lbs ground beef
1 oz package of spaghetti noodles (or other pasta)
1 can Cheddar Cheese soup
1 jar pizza sauce
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Brown beef and drain fat.

In a large bowl combine cooked pasta, cooked beef, cheese soup, pizza sauce, and cheddar cheese. Mix until thoroughly combined. Place in 9 x 13 pan. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 40-45 min, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Slow-Cooked Chili (from Dessert Diva)

I know, I know...I've been M.I.A. for quite some time now. I've been just a tad bit busy...being sick. You see, our next Baby Diva is due at the beginning of April and so far, pregnancy has not agreed with me. Now that I'm beginning to feel better, I hope to start posting more recipes!

I'll start with the recipe for the meal I'm taking to our next Supper Club on Monday...slow-cooked chili. What better way to celebrate fall and football season than cozying up with a nice, hot bowl of chili?

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
2 - 16 oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 - 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Directions
Brown beef in a nonstick skillet; place in slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover; cook on high 4 hours or on low 8-10 hours. Garnish with cheese or whatever makes it a great bowl of chili to you!

Enjoy!

Beef Tenderloin Bites on a Bed of Arugula

Guess who's back, back again? Saucy's back, tell a friend...

First of all, my apologies for my lack of posting lately. School started, camera broke, stuff happens. In my efforts to be a regular poster and not get the diva boot, I joined a cookbook club. It is a collection of wonderful bloggers that all make the same recipe once a month and blog about it. This month we are cooking from a Rachel Ray book and the recipe is Italian stuffed shells (pssst, Saucy, look at the title of the post, there are no mention of a stuffed shell). I know. I've been a little stuffed shelled out lately. I made my own Italian stuffed shells not too long ago, and the Big Cheese made some scrumptious Mexican stuffed shells last month.


Luckily, the creator of the cookbook club offers an alternative recipe. Hence, Beef Tenderloin Bites on a Bed of Arugula! It was fantastic! I made it after a busy workday, and it was a light but delish meal that hit the spot. One note: Make sure your beef is cut in cubes similar in size. I rushed a little and some of my smaller pieces were way over done.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs, eyeball it
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it, plus some for drizzling
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tenderloin steaks, 1 inch thick, cut into bite sized pieces
Salt and pepper
5 to 6 cups arugula, chopped
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Preheat broiler to high.

Mix bread crumbs with parsley, cheese. Warm the oil and garlic over low heat to infuse flavor, 5 minutes. Pour oil into bread crumbs and combine to distribute equally and moisten the bread crumbs.

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Coat the meat in bread crumb mixture to coat evenly. Spread meat onto baking sheet and broil until crisp and meat is tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Serve meat on bed of shredded arugula. Give a squeeze of lemon juice over the beef and arugula.


Another note about the picture: Remember the broken camera? Still broken. So thank you to the Rachel Ray website for the picture!

Easy Meatloaf (from Saucy Diva)

Grandma Gert is one of my favorite people. She's brave, sweet, and above all hilarious. She's not what one would call technologically savvy, however her friend is. When he showed her this blog she thought it was the pretty neat. During our regular Sunday night chat, she threw in how she had this really easy meatloaf recipe that I should put on our...and I quote... "internet recipe thingy". If you knew Grandma Gert, you wouldn't be able to say no either.

Made it. Ate it. Liked it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef
1 box of chicken flavored stuffing
2 eggs
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of bbq sauce
Extra bbq sauce for the top of the meatloaf

Prep:
1. Coat a 13x9 baking dish with non stick spray
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients; mix together until well combined (go ahead, use your
hands, I dare you)
3. Form meat into a loaf and place in baking dish
4. Coat the top with bbq sauce
5. Bake for an hour and 15 min at 375 degrees

Baked Ziti (from Saucy Diva)

This was my contribution to "Casserole, err..I mean Bake" Night. It's very hearty and freezes well!

(serves 3-4)

Ingredients
1/2 lb ziti pasta
1 cup of chopped onion
1/2 lb ground beef
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
3 oz (about 5 slices) of provolone cheese
3/4 cup of sour cream
6 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese

Prep:
1. Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Brown meat and onions in a skillet. Drain and return to skillet.
3. Add sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Layer as follows in medium casserole (I mean baking) dish; 1/2 the pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce. Sprinkle the top with parm.

At this point you can either cover and freeze or bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. If you freeze, thaw completely before baking.

Mangia!

BBQ Meatballs (from Saucy Diva)

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 cup of oats
1 cup of milk
3 tablespoons minced onions
1 teaspoon of salt
black pepper to taste

For Cooking
all purpose flour
cooking oil

Sauce (Saucy Diva...holla!)
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons minced onion

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. combine all the ingredients for the meatballs
2. roll into medium sized balls and place on a cookie sheet
3. place cookie sheets into the fridge to set for 5 minutes
4. heat oil in skillet on medium high
5. dredge set meatballs in flour
6. cook meatballs only until browned; place in a baking dish
7. prepare sauce by mixing together all ingredients
8. pour sauce over meatballs
9. bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes

I served with buttered noodles and corn. Comfort food at its finest! This is not a supper club recipe but was given two thumbs up by Saucy Hubby.

This delicious dinner was inspired by our hero, P-dub.