Brown Mushroom Gravy

On Tuesday, we had NY Strip with some corn-on-the-cob and potatoes (with Za'atar seasoning). After discovering we were out of steak sauce, the hubby requested a mushroom gravy, so I found this one--best one I've ever tried, by the way! I think the key ingredient is balsalmic vinegar. It was so good. Don't really need to say much about it other than, wow!

https://www.daringgourmet.com/best-brown-mushroom-gravy-from-scratch/

Cabbage Rolls

I had an excess of cabbage this week so I decided to try cabbage rolls for the first time. The hubby was blown away by how delicious they are. However, some lessons learned - They blew up like ballons in the oven, so, apparently, I shouldn't have rolled them so air-tight. I will probably poke a hole in the tops next time. Secondly, they weren't very tender. I will probably do the crockpot rather than oven method next time or boil the cabbage longer. Otherwise, I have a feeling I will be making these quite often. Next time I might add in some sausage with the beef.

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/stuffed-cabbage-rolls/

Cheeseburger Casserole (Tex Mex style)

Tonight we had several avocados that needed to get used. I had a package of ground yak meat as well, so I literally typed "hamburger and avocados" in Pinterest and this is what I chose mostly because the picture looked like what I wanted. I made a lot of changes though to fit what I was in the mood for:
1. The "green" in the picture became avocados instead of pickle; diced the avocado and tomatoes and soaked them in lemon and lime juice before adding them to the pot.
2. Added fajita seasoning to the yak and cooked a yellow onion (from our garden) with it
3. No tomato paste
4. No dijon mustard
5. Used Rigatoni instead of rotini

It turned out awesome! Very fresh tasting. We both gobbled it up. :)

http://togetherasfamily.com/2016/05/cheeseburger-casserole/

World's Best Lasagna

I'm on a bread-making journey thanks to the hubby buying me a stand mixer and the Mixer Bible . I decided it was time to try the breadsticks. I'll actually post that one separately. It had been a long time since I'd made traditional lasagna so, while browsing the internet, I found a recipe that claimed to be the "World's Best Lasagna". Ok, you have my attention. I decided to give it a go. My only mistake was adding ALL of the noodles. I remembered (after the fact) that I usually only added 1/2 to 2/3 of the box. This recipe was a little sweeter than I would have liked too. Next time I'll taste the sauce and try to decrease the level of sweetness. The breadsticks were not bad for a first try, but I clearly have work to do to perfect that one. ;)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/23600/worlds-best-lasagna/

Korean Style BBQ (Bulgogi) Non-spicy

While scrolling Facebook, I came across this one. Traditional Korean BBQ is very spicy, so I appreciated this non-spicy version. I did add red pepper flakes and broccoli and served with rice. The hubby added Sriracha to his for the kick he enjoys. I'll definitely make this one again. A fun recipe to serve guests. :)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1889978077881530&id=1737181656494507

INGREDIENTS
700 grams rib eye steak, or any other well-marbled, tender cut
½ onion, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic
½ pear, peeled and cut into chunks
1 spring onion, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
½ onion, cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 spring onions, sliced into ½ centimeter rounds, to garnish
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, to garnish
Rice, to serve
Korean side dishes (banchan), to serve (optional)

PREPARATION
Slice the beef as thinly as you can, then set aside in a large bowl. Having frozen or cold beef makes the slicing easier.
In a blender or food processor, blend the onion chunks, garlic, pear, spring onion pieces, brown sugar, pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth.
Pour the marinade over the beef, add the onions, then mix evenly. Cover with cling film and marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Heat canola oil in a skillet over high heat.
Being careful not to crowd the pan, sear the marinated beef and onions until browned, then sprinkle with the spring onions and sesame seeds.
Serve with the rice and side dishes!

Pizza with Swiss Chard and Bacon

So the hubby bought me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for Valentines Day and I immediately bought "The Mixer Bible". It's been my goal since we moved here to Colorado to conquer Bread and dough recipes that require yeast. A separate blog will be posted about the pizza dough, but for this piece I want to focus on the toppings. After the hubby's trip to the grocery store, I find that we have a refrigerator full of various greens, including chards. Usually I cook them up with lemon juice, onions and mushrooms, but today we asked the question--"Can you put Chards on pizza?" So I looked to google and found out that chards and bacon make great toppings together on pizza. Earlier today we had also purchased pepper bacon at the deli. In addition, I had some hamburger meat, and added yellow onions and cremini mushrooms as well as a red pepper alfredo sauce I already had on hand. I made a 16" pizza and sprinkled mozzarella on top. It turned out more like a pie or a hand-tossed crust because the recipe was actually for (2) 12" pizzas. We usually prefer thin crust, but the hubby said it was the "best pizza toppings and crust" he had ever had. Success!!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pizza-with-swiss-chard-and-bacon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0778804666/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mushroom Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy

So tonight was all about comfort food. When given the choice today between steak and meatloaf, I about fell over when the teenager said "Meatloaf!". He's not a big fan of sweet sauces, so he was pretty excited to learn that this was a gravy meatloaf. The hubby has recently informed me that when it comes to meatloaf and beef stew, he prefers gravy vs tomato. This recipe is now going into my go-to for meatloaf. You will definitely wow your family or guests if you serve this one :)

http://www.mushroominfo.com/mushroom-meatloaf-with-mushroom-gravy/

Chicken (and/or) Beef Enchiladas

This website said it was the "Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever" and I had a little bit of ground beef and turkey left over from the week. I added onion to the ground beef, found some awesome corn tortillas (buy-one-get-one-free) at our local health food store (one pkg white corn, one pkg green chili corn). The sauce is what made this so amazing. I'll never buy sauce in a can again. If you ever find yourself with leftover meat, this is a winner. [I actually used the smaller tortillas and didn't have any black beans or green chili and put cilantro inside with the meat, sauce and cheese, but it still tasted dee-licious!]

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/best-chicken-enchiladas-ever/

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/

AIP Beef and Broccoli

We had bought a roast for this week, but since we just had pot roast (in the slow cooker) last week, I wasn't feeling it. So, I cut it in half and then sliced each half into thin pieces. Tonight is the second half and, in keeping with the fun of autoimmune paleo, I found this wonderful recipe for Beef and Broccoli. I actually skipped the marinade, let the beef simmer for a while, then added the sauce and finally throwing in the broccoli at the last minute, it turned out perfect! This was my first time with using arrowroot, but it was an amazing substitute for cornstarch or flower for thickening. I also didn't have coconut soy sauce, but I did have balsamic soy, so I combined it with regular soy. Because the teenager raises an eyebrow when I mention AIP, I added rice for his youthful pleasure. :)

http://gutsybynature.com/2014/01/26/paleo-beef-with-broccoli/

Grilled Ribeye with Balsamic Caramelized Pears

"Stay dates" are our favorite--when we stay home, cook a fabulous meal and watch a movie. Saturday night, we picked out a couple of ribeyes and I had a couple of pears that were getting too ripe. So, I decided to google steak and pears and found this amazing recipe which I substituted for ribeye. I paired it with sweet potato fries and a glass of merlot. Rosemary rub on steak combined with carmelized onions and pears is so delicious!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/74140/grilled-pork-chops-with-balsamic-caramelized-pears/

Spartan Tri Tip Chili

As I continue my quest for tomato recipes, and in combination with the hubby's weekly manager's special finds in the meat department, I found this awesome tri tip chili recipe (also known as Texas chili). It has over 20 ingredients (plus I added black beans), but it was well worth it; onions and tomatoes were from our garden. Cut up the tri-tip into cubes and put everything in the crockpot  the night before. It was our first cold and rainy day of the fall season, so it really hit the spot when we came home from work. Topped with a little cheddar cheese, avocado and sour cream, this one gets a thumbs up and perfect for any party. Plus, I just like the name "Spartan chili"--a man's chili. :D

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/230778/spartan-tri-tip-chili/

Baked Swiss Steak

The hubby went to the store this weekend and it looks like another week of "manager's special surprise" (meats).  Tonight it is going to be tenderized steaks (pre-seasoned) and the lucky winner is---Taste of Home for their baked Swiss Steak recipe. I think the teenager is just happy it's a zucchini free night, although he managed to wolf down the zucchini disguised as brownies. :)  This one would be an easy slow cooker meal; if I ever get this surprise meat again, I will probably try other variations. *The onions and tomatoes came straight from our garden--yum!
[The hubby doesn't like green peppers which is traditionally what I associate with swiss steak, so I have to think outside of the box.]

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/baked-swiss-steak

Marinated London Broil

So yesterday's random choice meat brought to you by "hubby surprises" was london broil. Food Network had a great marinade and I ended up broiling (rather than grilling). And, since we have SO much zucchini, (if I don't end up freezing some), I will use Pinterest and try to get creative. Last night I paired the London Broil with One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta (see next blog). Tasted like we went out to a 5 star restaurant but managed to keep our money in our pockets. :)  We also added my favorite merlot and his favorite craft IPA beer. Tonight it's pizza with a zucchini crust and I have zucchini bread (with molasses) in the oven....more blogs to come. :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-marinated-london-broil0.html

Pillsbury's Taco Crescent Ring

So the poor teenager has been subjected to quite a bit of kale and "rabbit food", so I promised him a break. A lot of my recipes are from facebook scrolling and Pillsbury has some really fun ones for kids/parties, not to mention, this one was really pretty when it was done. Now, the boy liked it, but the hubby thought it would have been perfect as an Italian type of Stromboli. Agreed and likely will be my next recipe down the road. Tonight I'm going to see if the teenager will like Kale Sausage Lasagna....:)

Also--I substituted sour cream with plain fat free yogurt and homemade salsa (I made earlier in the day). 

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/taco-crescent-ring/a52fade5-13ce-483a-b1d6-55c22aeb5c5a