Category Archives: GROUND BEEF OR GROUND POULTRY RECIPES

WEEKNIGHT TAMALE PIE

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Ok, now that you have my real Tamale Pie recipe, I am going to share my weeknight tamale pie recipe with you. This recipe is especially helpful for working parents.  In fact, this recipe helped save my sanity many times over the years when I would arrive home from work, having already exhausted every fiber in my body, and there was still work to be done, i.e. dinner to fix, laundry, baths to oversee….you know the drill! For all the years my kids were growing up, this was my “I’m too tired to cope and basically I hate everything and everybody” go to recipe. (I’m sure, as a parent, you’ve never experienced that kind of a feeling, but if you ever do, this recipe will be just the thing to help you make it through!) And the best part, Weeknight Tamale Pie is really tasty. Everyone in your family will love it. Now granted, this is not gourmet food, and will never make the likes of Gourmet Magazine or Bon Appétit. Also, it will not win you the “best working mother or father nutritional achievement award”. But I say who cares. It contains enough good, nutritious ingredients for occasional simple dinners; plus your little darlings will love it. And truly, after an exhausting day, do you really want to spend the evening arguing with your children about broccoli or Brussels sprouts? Save those battles for days when you have even a remote chance of winning! So, on the days when it seems that everything that could have gone wrong did, remember this recipe. When you first get home from work, take a package of ground beef out of the freezer and place it in the microwave to defrost. Then change your cloths, tell your family how happy you are to see them, and that you would appreciate their patience while you prepare them a wonderful dinner. Take the meat out of the microwave, place it in a large covered pan, and pour yourself a wee dram of something delicious. Doesn’t even have to be an adult beverage, although why not? Then sit down to dinner with your family and relax. That hideous pile of laundry can wait!

  • 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
  • 1 small onion, chopped or ¼ c. dehydrated chopped onion
  • 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 1 pkg. taco seasoning or 2 T. bulk taco seasoning (or to taste)
  • 1 (16-oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 (6-oz.) can black olives, drained and halved
  • 1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • tortilla chips
  • sour cream, opt.
  • salsa, opt.

Fry ground beef in a heavy covered Dutch oven or sauce pan. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Add tomato sauce, taco seasoning, corn, and black olives. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat as far as possible.

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Remove lid and sprinkle with cheese and enough tortilla chips to hide the cheese, cover and let sit on low heat until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Do not stir. Serve as soon as cheese is melted with additional tortilla chips, sour cream, and salsa.  Note: I serve this dish as a stand-alone dish. It may not be as well balanced a meal as it should be, but some nights I’m not as well balanced as I should be either! And do yourself a favor. Since this is a dish that contains mostly pantry ingredients, stock up on cans of tomato sauce, black olives, corn, etc. when they go on sale. And never be without ground beef in your freezer. Or tortilla chips in your pantry.

 

TURKEY MEATBALL SOUP

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This is probably the best healthy low fat soup I have ever tasted. I made a few changes (well of course I did) to the recipe that I found in Bon Appétit magazine about 10 years ago, and we have been enjoying this delicious soup ever since. It is comfort food, without the guilt. Is there really anything better than that?

  • ¼ c. dried breadcrumbs (either plain or Italian)
  • ¼ c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper ( a few grinds))
  • 1 egg
  • 2 T. milk
  • 16 to 20 oz. ground turkey (or chicken) meat
  • 8 c. chicken broth or stock
  • 1 large carrot, finely chopped
  • ¾ c. orzo (rice shaped pasta)
  • 4 c. coarsely chopped kale
  • grated Parmesan for garnish, opt.

Combine breadcrumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, egg, and milk in a medium large mixing bowl. Gently stir in ground turkey. (Mix only until combined. Do not over mix.) Form into 1 inch meatballs (I use a small ice cream scoop) and place on a lightly greased rimmed baking sheet. Bake meatballs in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, carrot, and a few more grinds of black pepper in a large, heavy pot. Cook until carrot pieces are fork tender. Add orzo and kale and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until the orzo is tender. If meatballs are not done at this point, just put a cover on the pot and turn off heat. When meatballs are done, remove from oven and add to stock. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into pan. Carefully scrape up any crusty bits that might have formed while the meatballs were baking. Carefully pour meatballs and water loosened bits into the broth. Adjust seasoning and cook 5 more minutes, just long enough to blend flavors. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Note: This is a very healthy and delicious way to get veggies into your diet (and your children’s diet). Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and reasonably rich in calcium. Parsley is an excellent source of vitamin A, several B vitamins, vitamin K, and contains more vitamin C than most citrus fruits.

 

 

CHEZ CARR CHILI CON CARNE

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When I think about fixing chili, I usually (thankfully) don’t remember the chili my dear departed parents used to serve when I was a child. Some of you had the pleasure of knowing my parents, but most of you did not have to dine (and I use the term very loosely) in their home. While their food was not burned or awful tasting, it certainly didn’t bear any resemblance to the food most of us enjoy in our homes today. Please allow to me to give you an example and thereby prove my point. Their “recipe” for chili consisted of one can chili (I think there was only one brand available when I was a child) and one can of water. Heat until warm (not even hot, mind you) and serve with saltine crackers. Yep – that was their idea of chili. Why the can of water you ask? Good question. It’s not like my parents couldn’t read. My dad had a masters in English and my mom wasn’t any dummy either. But for whatever reason, that can of water was added. (Perhaps they just assumed chili was just like any other canned soup and never bothered to read the label.) Regardless, it was pretty much unpalatable. After I grew up and started making chili for my own family, I taught my dad how to make chili from scratch. He never looked back.  So if you too need a good, solid recipe for chili, this is about as basic and easy as it gets. And if you are even remotely thinking about trying my parents “recipe” for chili – don’t! Believe me, there are only three people in this world that liked my parents chili, and then only if it was added to a prepared package of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. My three younger children thought that this was the best food in the world when they were little. They always loved when grandpa and grandma babysat them, because they were going to get to eat this yummy concoction. (And no, please don’t try my parent’s “recipe” for Macaroni and Cheese Chili either. There are just going to be times when you have to trust me, and this is one of them!)

  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 2 lbs. lean ground beef
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 qt. chicken stock
  • 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
  • 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 2 T. dried parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
  • 7 T. mild chili powder
  • 2 T. ground cumin
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • kosher salt
  • 2 cans chili beans
  • finely chopped red onion, garnish
  • grated sharp cheddar cheese, garnish
  • sour cream, garnish

Heat oil in a large, heavy, covered pot. Add ground beef and fry until the meat is very, very dark brown and sticking to the bottom of the pan. (It’s those lovely caramelized brown bits in the bottom of the pan that you really need to give your chili the deep rich flavor.) When the meat is good and brown add the chopped onions, garlic, and green pepper and cook uncovered until the onion is translucent and you have scraped all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, cloves, chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt to taste, and chili beans. Replace lid and continue simmering for an hour. Stir occasionally. Adjust seasoning and serve topped with red onion, cheese, and sour cream.

 

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

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So OK, I’m not Swedish, not even remotely Swedish. I am French with a little bit of German thrown in for interest. I think. Actually, the part of France my maternal grandfather’s family came from was the area around Strasbourg, France. (What were they thinking leaving the beautiful area around Strasbourg to settle on the mid-western plains? But I digress……) At one time Strasbourg was a town in old Germany.  Strasbourg lies in the heart of Europe just 240 miles from Paris, Geneva, Munich and Brussels. So am I more German than French on my mother’s side, who knows? And as to what actually flows through my veins; it could be one of the five French “mother” sauces, Tomat, Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole or Hollandaise with a small addition of the classic German sauce Grie Soβ, or any combination thereof. Matters not, I like them all! On my father’s side, his forefathers immigrated from the French part of Switzerland also to the mid-west. (All my ancestors were apparently crazy!) So, like I said – I am not Swedish. However, my former husband is, so I learned a few Swedish dishes along the way. (After all, with step children named Eden, Sven, and Ursala, you are pretty much obliged to learn something from the Scandinavian cuisine!) So along with pickled herring and Glögg (and yes I know I have very eclectic tastes), Swedish meatballs were a common main dish in our household. Of course my meatballs bear very little resemblance to anything I was served when I was visiting Sweden, but for now let’s just keep that our little secret. Skål! (Cheers!)

  • 1/3 c. dehydrated onion
  • ½ tsp. granulated garlic
  • 2 T. parsley (dried or fresh)
  • ½ tsp. ground savory
  • ¼ tsp. paprika
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
  • ¼ tsp. dried rosemary
  • pinch nutmeg
  • ½ tsp seasoned salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 T. milk
  • ¾ c. uncooked oats
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. seasoned pork sausage
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 tsp. beef base
  • 2 c. low fat sour cream

Combine the onion, garlic, parsley, savory, paprika, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, pepper, eggs, and milk in a bowl. Add the oats, ground beef and pork sausage. Forms into balls with a small ice cream scoop. Place on a low sided baking pan and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Meanwhile whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, beef base, and sour cream. When meatballs are out of the oven, layer them with the sour cream mixture in a covered casserole. Cover dish and bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking an additional 15 minutes.

Side dish suggestions: Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes, Noodles Romanoff or

buttered wide noodles, Green Beans

Wine pairing: A nice buttery Chardonnay