Meatball and Spinach No-Sagna Remix

Today’s blog is simple.  Visit the original Meatball and Spinach No-Sagna post for a look at a remix of this favorite Krista Kooks dish.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Roast Beef with Mushrooms and Tomatoes

I’ve prepared one other crockpot/slow cooker beef recipe to share with you on Krista Kooks in the past. I haven’t really ever tried another recipe as the previous one was so delicious!  I’ve made it a couple of times since that first post. 

That being said, I wanted to bring you a gluten-free crockpot beef recipe.  Jen (Beantown Baker) did a guest post on the Novice Chef with this terrific Roast Beef!  As Jen mentions, this is an amazingly easy recipe to throw into the crockpot.  I agree with Jen that more tomatoes should be added to this recipe.  I’m constantly looking for recipes that use up some leftover wine, as well.

Ingredients

1 beef roast (about 4lbs)
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup red wine
12 button mushrooms
6 large cherry tomatoes (Krista Kooks suggests using more)
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried thyme

Directions

Place meat in slow cooker (trim or remove any extra fat off the meat). Add mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Add wine and chicken stock. Toss in the dried thyme. Cover and set on to LOW. Cook for at least 8 hours. Remove meat and vegetables and transfer sauce to pan. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce. Add 1 tbsp. cornstarch to 2 tbsp. Cold Water and mix in a bowl. Add mixture to sauce pan. Bring to a boil and let thicken. Carve meat , drizzle with sauce.

Cheesy Barbecue Casserole

I know, I know.  Could I have been gone ANY longer?  It feels so crazy to not have posted in over a month.  I’m so sorry!  I have some more fun stuff coming up, so hopefully I can redeem myself :) I know I’ve never really discussed my obsession with BBQ on this blog, but I can assure you that I join several other Southerners in the “I could just eat BBQ sauce only” club.  I love it on everything!  Thankfully, my cooking interest has led me to understand that their are flavors outside of BBQ sauce.  Nonetheless, this recipe was calling my name when I opened up this cookbook. The sous chef and I really enjoyed this recipe!  There were no leftovers :)  I also substituted ground turkey for ground beef for a healthier option.  Oh….and I may have increased the amount of BBQ sauce that the recipe called for ;)

Betty Crocker Cheesy Barbecue Casserole
Ingredients
3 cups uncooked ziti pasta (11 oz)
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup milk
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)


Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

Stir pasta, 3 tablespoons of the parsley, the milk, barbecue sauce, mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese into beef in skillet. Spoon mixture into casserole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.

Bake uncovered 30 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Surf and Turf Salad

Trying to eat light is a much more frequent thing in our household.  Sure you’ll still see me make sweets, but we are making an effort to eat less meat and increase the amount of veggies and fruits that we eat.  Spotting this recipe in Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Get Real Meals was perfect to add to my shopping list!  We both truly enjoyed this recipe and the salad dressing is really great!

Ingredients

2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced or grated
3 tablespoons Tamari (dark aged soy sauce)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (1/3 palmful)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1 1/2-2 pounds flank steak
1 bunch scallions
16 medium shrimp, peeled, tails removed and deveined
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
4 ounces baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley (a couple handfuls), chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped

Dressing:
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Salt and pepper
Directions

Pre-heat a tabletop grill, grill pan, or outdoor grill to high.

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat flank steak in mixture and reserve for 10-15 minutes.

Trim ends and one inch of tops off of the scallions. Drizzle EVOO over both the scallions and the shrimp and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Grill scallions and shrimp for two minutes on each side. Remove from grill and reserve.

Place flank steak on grill pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate, tent with foil, and let juices settle for five minutes.

Combine greens, red onion and parsley leaves on a large platter or individual plates. Cut reserved scallions into 1-inch pieces. Scatter over greens and then evenly distribute the grilled shrimp over the greens.  In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk in three tablespoons EVOO. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and drizzle it back and forth over the arranged greens and scallions and shrimp. Slice the steak very thinly against the grain on an angle with a sharp knife and arrange it over the salad.

Johnny Garlic's Grilled Peppered Steak with Cabernet Balsamic Sauce

So, somehow we obtained more wine than we can handle in our household, and I really needed some recipes to use it all up.  I just don’t drink that much wine, although I do enjoy a few sips every now and then.  Most of you already know I’ve made quite a few Guy Fieri recipes lately, also.  This recipe used up a whole cup of wine and allows me to make a really great flank steak.  I was so excited about this recipe, and rightfully so: this steak was absolutely delicious!  We don’t have a grill, so I had to cook these on the stove and used a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

2 pounds flank steak or tri-tip, cut into 8-ounce pieces
4 tablespoons black peppercorns, lightly cracked
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

Preheat grill to high heat.

Cut flank steak into 8-ounce portions and lightly tenderize with mallet. Dust with crushed black pepper and kosher salt. Press salt and pepper into steak with the palm of hand. Transfer steaks to a baking dish and place in the refrigerator. Let marinate for 4 to 8 hours.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil and onions and lightly saute until onions are caramelized. Add garlic and cook until garlic begins to turn brown. Deglaze with wine and balsamic vinegar. Add sugar and let simmer and reduce for 20 to 30 minutes until mixture reduces to 3/4 cup.
Place steaks over a hot grill. Move once on first side to mark the steaks, cook for 5 minutes and flip, again only moving once to mark steak, cook for 4 minutes. When desired doneness is achieved, remove steaks from grill and let rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
Strain wine mixture and return to heat to reduce for 5 more minutes or until thick syrup is created. Serve with the steaks.

Beef Fajita Crescent Braid

Wow, I know I’ve been out of touch for a while, but I can assure you I have still been cooking!  I’m finally sitting down to catch you up on some of the things that have been ‘kooking’ in my kitchen :)

Recently, fajitas were very on sale at our favorite grocery store (HEB), and I cooked the entire package one day for lunch.  Of course I cannot eat several pounds of meat in one meal for myself, so I decided to browse around for a way that I could use up the rest for dinner when my sous chef came home.  While this recipe didn’t call for beef, I decided to adapt it to work for beef.

Beef Fajita Crescent Braid
Adapted from Chicken Fajita Crescent Braid

INGREDIENTS
2 cans (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent rolls
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 to 1/2 pounds of freshly cooked Fajita meat
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green or red bell pepper strips (2x1x1/4 inch)
1/4 cup your favorite salsa 
2 cups shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)
1 egg white, beaten

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°F.  Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray or use a baking stone.

2. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper strips, chili powder, cumin, mexican spice blend, salt and garlic; cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  Add in freshly cooked fajita meat; cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, making sure vegetables are tender and meat is cooked to your desire. 3. Layer each crescent as shown in the picture above on a cookie sheet or baking stone.  Spoon fajita mixture in 4-inch strip lengthwise down center of dough. Top with salsa;  sprinkle with cheese. Alternately cross strips over filling; press edges to seal. Brush with egg white. 4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices. The sous chef very much enjoyed this recipe!  I think that because this recipe has ingredients he’s a little more accustomed to, he wasn’t so bewildered to eat it :)  I can imagine this would be huge kid favorite especially if you served it around Halloween and called it something ‘Mummy’ like.  Right?!

Tex-Mex Gooey Casserole

Am I doing better? I'm trying not to make it 2 weeks again before you see another post from me :)

As I browsed for recipes one day involving stew meat (they had it on sale at H.E.B.), I was surprised to find this recipe for Tex-Mex Gooey Casserole. I just was not expecting to find anything Tex-Mex when I started searching for stew meat recipes. Now, as you look at this recipe, you'll notice that, unless you were out say...chopping trees all day, there's really no health value in this recipe. That said, I still thought it looked good. Plus, I don't make a lot of Emeril's recipes, so I thought this would be fun to try.

Ingredients

Yield 6 servings (Krista Kooks was able to make 8-10 servings from this recipe)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 pound ground beef (Krista Kooks used Ground Turkey)
1 pound diced stew meat
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste (Read this on Tomato Paste)
4 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
3 cups beef stock
10 flour tortillas
2 cups grated Medium Cheddar cheese
2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9 by 2-inch square baking dish. In a large skillet, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the diced meat and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste. Stir in the tomatoes and stock. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and cool. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the chili mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay two tortillas on top of the chili mixture. Sprinkle the top of the tortillas with the Cheddar and Jack cheese. Repeat the layering process until all of the chili, tortillas and cheese are used. (The final layer should be cheese) Place the pan in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before slicing.

Ooeey gooey goodness!

This was one of those recipes that was great as leftovers, that's for sure. Also, I didn't read the comments on this recipe before making it, but it definitely taught me to read the comments before making a recipe, if comments are available. A lot of people suggested using corn tortillas instead of flour; I can definitely see that being tasty, but I liked it just fine with flour. The reason for wanting corn tortillas has a lot to do with the meat mixture being soupy;flour tortillas soak up that juice a lot quicker making the casserole soggy. Well, I saw that one coming while making the recipe, so I strained the meat mixture as I spooned the mixture into the pan. Thus, our casserole wasn't soggy. Also, my sous chef and I didn't think this mixture was very "Tex-Mex" as there wasn't the same sort of spice as you would expect from tex mex. I think some red chili pepper flakes or fresh jalepenos or something should be added to the meat mixture.

Otherwise, this is a yummy and tasty family recipe!

Flank Steak over Corn-Kernel Polenta

Again, beef lovers, you may not enjoy this post, but if you like Polenta, stick around. That said, I’ve now discovered that I do not like Polenta!!! As I read this recipe, prepared this recipe and even smelled this recipe, my mouth was watering. I could not wait to try this yummy stuff that I had never had before! I’d watched it being prepared on TV so many times, but I’d never tasted it. I thought a recipe containing actual kernels of corn would taste even better! Um… no. I was wrong. I despised this Polenta. I had 3 quarts of it and threw it all in the trash. Gross.

That said, if you like Polenta, this might be your kind of recipe. It just wasn’t for me.

On the other hand, the directions for preparing this flank steak and its accompanying sauce were TERRIFIC!!! I’ve since made this sauce again. I can’t sing it’s praises enough! I thought it was completely bizarre that I was making a steak sauce beginning with a cup and a half of alcohol, but I no longer think it’s weird at all. Please, if you love flank steak…do your taste buds a favor and treat them with this amazing steak and sauce.

Source: Food & Wine

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups fresh (cut from about 3 ears) or frozen corn kernels
1 1/3 cups coarse or medium cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup brandy or bourbon

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water, 1 3/4 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme to a boil. Stir in the corn and cook until tender, 5 minutes for fresh, 1 minute for frozen. Add the cornmeal in a slow stream, whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until very thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter.

2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Sprinkle the steak with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Add the meat to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Turn and cook to your taste, about 5 minutes longer for medium rare, depending on the thickness. Remove.

3. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon thyme, the wine, and the brandy and stir to dislodge any brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Boil until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Slice the steak across the grain and on the diagonal. Serve the steak over a bed of corn polenta, with the sauce drizzled over all.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Pepper and Black Olive Sauce

I know I’m a tad crazy for wanting to make this recipe, simply because of the cost of the meat I purchased, but oh my goodness was it oh so good! If you are not a beef fan, I’m sure this post doesn’t look so appetizing, but, if you are, WOW! Surely you can just look at it and see the tenderness of this tenderloin, right?!

Source:

Click here for the recipe.

Anyhow, the sauce for this tenderloin was made in my trusty Magic Bullet, as are most recipes that call for a food processor or blender. I do own a blender, but I do not own a food processor. Rather than use my blender, I prefer to use my Magic Bullet because sauce clump and cake up at the bottom of a blender; you don’t encounter this problem with the Magic Bullet!

Here’s our delicious meal with the Parsley-Paprika Potatoes and the Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Pepper and Black Olive Sauce.

Saucy Buttered, Smothered Steaks with Spinach Gratin

I don't know about you, but I've never had a "buttered" steak before. To me, steak goes with steak sauce. How about you? That said, after making this recipe, I'm changed! This really is a delicious way to have a steak, and you can't say you don't like it until you've tried it! This recipe came from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals cookbook.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons E.V.O.O.
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen spinach, defrosted, squeezed dry of excess liquid
¾ cup chicken stock or broth
4 oz plain cream cheese
1 cup (4 to 6 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs (optional)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
8 oz unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
4 (10 oz) sirloin strip steaks - 1 inch thick

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the spinach gratin, heat a medium skillet with 2 tablespoons of the EVOO over med-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and reserve in a small mixing bowl 3 tablespoons of the cooked onion mixture to use in your saucy butter. To the remaining onion in the skillet add the squeezed spinach, stirring to distribute the onion in the spinach. Next, add the chicken stock and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese, stirring to distribute. Transfer mixture to a small baking dish. Mix the shredded Swiss cheese with the plain bread crumbs. Top the spinach with the Swiss cheese mixture and transfer to the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

For the saucy butter, add the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper to the reserved onion mixture. Mix to combine, then add the soft butter. Mix to combine again and reserve in the refrigerator.

For the steaks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Liberally season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Add the steaks to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side. Remove from heat to a platter and top each steak with a rounded tablespoon of saucy butter. Allow the meat to rest and the butter to melt for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve steaks with the spinach gratin.

I halved the recipe and only cooked 2 steaks and half of the spinach gratin. That way we didn't have leftovers! Anyway, as you can see above, if you halved the amount of steaks, that leaves you with 2 10 oz. steaks. Clearly, I should have been thinking a little clearer. Haha! I would suggest, if you are going to half this recipe, you might want to get 6 or 8 oz. steaks per person. 10 oz. was just too much for us.

It also mentions that the bread crumbs are optional, and I would suggest leaving them out. I don't think they really add that much to the recipe and why add the extra carbs if you can't really tell the difference?

The saucy butter is really delicious, so I don't suggest cutting that out at all!

Anyway, this was a terrific meal and one that we both totally recommend! Happy cooking!

Meatball and Spinach No-Sagna

Check out the remake of this dish at the bottom of this post!

MAKE PLANS FOR THE GROCERY STORE NOW! This was an amazing dinner. I'm honestly frustrated that I halved the recipe. What was I thinking?! We could have eaten the whole recipe! Granted we would have eaten the rest for leftovers another day, but still. I think my sous chef gave me wife of the year for this recipe. :) This is a low-carb meal, and be sure to read below the recipe for the little bits that I did to make this recipe ours.

I took a trip back to Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Get Real Meals cookbook for this recipe, and it's part of the 'Well-Rounded Square Meals' chapter.
Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (you can eliminate this for a lower carb meal if you'd like)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley (a fistful of leaves), chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano (a couple of generous handfuls)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons E.V.O.O.
1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
1 can (14 ounces) chunky-style crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded provolone cheese or Italian 4 cheese-blend

Spinach
2 tablespoons E.V.O.O.
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 10-ounce boxes chopped spinach, defrosted
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
A generous grating of fresh nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon ground
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat the broiler.

Place the ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl and punch a well into the center of the meat. Fill the well with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, half of the chopped garlic, half of the parsley, the Parmigiano and Romano cheese, and a little salt and pepper. Mix the meatball ingredients until well combined yet not overmixed. Divide into 4 equal parts, then roll each part into 5 balls. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Scoot the meatballs to the side of the skillet and add the remaining garlic and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, mix to combine. Shake the skillet to coat the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more. While the meatballs are simmering, start the spinach.

Heat the medium-size skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. While the onion is cooking, transfer the defrosted spinach to a clean kitchen towel and wring all the liquid out. Add the spinach, chicken stock, and cream to the skillet. Season with nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick. Spread the spinach mixture over the bottom of the baking dish.Top with the meatballs and tomato sauce. Top that with the shredded provolone or Italian four-cheese blend. Place under the preheated broiler about 6 inches from the heat to melt and evenly brown the cheese about 3 minutes.

Remove no-sagna from the broiler and garnish with lots of torn or shredded basil.

Doesn't that look completely delicious?!?!?! Ok, so I already told you that I halved the recipe. Well, in doing so, I obviously halved the amount of tomates. Well, as I did, I noticed there just wasn't enough tomatoes to the meat even though I halved the meat, too. So, I ended up using the entire can of tomatoes instead of half of it. If you are making the full recipe, you should probably buy 2 cans of the tomatoes. Also, I found that 'Hunt's Diced Tomatoes in Sauce' were absolutely perfect!

 

For the cheese, I actually bought a bag of Kraft cheese that was a 5 cheese blend instead of 4. It was very very tasty, and I would suggest buying that bag! As for the nutmeg, I used ground nutmeg, and it tasted fine.

Extremely delicious meal! Make it and tell me what you think :)

January 24, 2011

As promised above, here is a remake of this dish!  After finding out that I have Celiac Disease and need to live gluten-free, I challenged myself to go back and make some of my favorite recipes on Krista Kooks that were gluten-ful yet make them gluten-free.  This was an easy choice!  Of course, I could simply leave out the breadcrumbs, but that’s no fun!  Instead, I simply had some gluten-free bread on hand in the freezer that I popped in the toasted oven to dry out for use as breadcrumbs.

In order to make them Italian, I used some Italian seasoning that I’d made previously for some other recipe.  Adding several teaspoons of this seasoning provided me the Italian season breadcrumbs I needed.

Other than this slight modification, you just need to be sure that your chicken broth or stock is gluten free.  Those should be the only ingredients you need to watch out for in making this recipe gluten-free.

The sous chef and I agreed that this recipe was just as good, if not better, as we remembered it.  There’s been some peaked interested in this recipe lately (yes, I can see you visiting ), so I hope this provides a new and interesting way to make this low-carb and now gluten-free meal!  It’s definitely a Krista Kooks favorite for many!