Beef Stew

Serves 6
This is a very basic recipe--nothing fancy. Great on a cold winter day.

2 lbs. stew meat
2 Tbls. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove
1 to 2 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. paprika
1.4 tsp. pepper
dash ground cloves
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1 lb. small onions (optional)
1 can organic peas, drained (optional)
2 Tbls. rice flour or cornstarch, mixed with 2 Tbls. cold water

1. Heat 2 Tbls. oil in large pot over medium heat. Brown stew meat in pot with chopped onion, about 5 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf, salt, sugar, paprika, pepper, and cloves along with 2 cups of hot water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Remove bay leaf and garlic. Add carrots, potatoes, and optional small onions to the pot. (You may have to add additional water at this point; add as much as you need to barely cover the vegetables.) Simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, covered, until vegetables are tender. Add optional peas and heat until peas are warm. Add flour (or cornstarch) and water mixture and stir constantly to thicken the sauce, about 1 minute. Serve.

Pot Roast with Vegetables and Red Wine

From the Family Circle Cookbook
Serves 16

Marinade:
4 cups dry red wine
2 cups sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. leaf thyme, crumbled
1 tsp. leaf rosemary, crumbled
1 tsp. black pepper
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
3 strips orange rind

1 rump roast of beef (5 lbs)
1/4 slab bacon, cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 cups beef broth (Pacific or Imagine makes good broth)
1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 pounds carrots, pared, halved lengthwise and quartered crosswise
3 pounds small white onions, peeled
2 tablespoons dry Madeira
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Prepare Marinade: Combine wine, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary, pepper, cloves, bay leaf and orange rind in large bowl. Add meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally (or, put marinade and meat in a gallon-sized zipper bag to marinate; carefully squeeze out all of the air before closing the bag and then there's no need to turn it occasionally).
2. To cook, preheat the oven to moderate (350).
3. Drain meat and vegetables, reserving liquid, meat and vegetables separately. Pat meat dry with paper toweling.
4. Place bacon in Dutch oven large enough to hold rump roast. Saute over moderate heat until crisp. Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to a plate. Add meat to pot; brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove meat. Add vegetables from marinade; cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Return meat to pot. Add marinade, broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to boiling over high heat. Cover pot.
5. Bake pot in preheated moderate oven (350), covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender.
6. Remove meat from pot. Strain cooking liquid and discard solids; skim off fat. Return meat and strained liquid to pot. Add 2 pounds carrots, small onions, and reserved bacon pieces, if you wish. Simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
7. Transfer meat and vegetables to large platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and keep warm. Boil cooking liquid to reduce to 4 cups, if necessary.
8. Combine Madeira, cornstarch and cream, if using, in small bowl. Bring liquid in casserole to boiling. Stir cornstarch mixture into pot liquid; cook until lightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower heat; simmer sauce 5 minutes.
9. To serve: Slice meat and arrange on platter. Strain sauce into sauceboat. Spoon some of sauce over meat and vegetables. Pass remaining sauce.

Baked Ziti with Vegetables

Although I call this "baked ziti", Tinkyada (which makes the yummiest gluten-free brown rice pasta) has not yet come out with ziti. So I use their macaroni or penne pasta in this recipe. Still tastes great.



Serves 6-8
1 eggplant, peeled (if desired), diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 lb. Tinkyada brown rice pasta (penne or macaroni)
1 lb. ground beef
1 25.5 oz jar of organic pasta sauce
8 oz. whole milk ricotta*
1 tsp. salt & 1/4 pepper or more to taste
1/2 bunch fresh basil, chopped (optional)
8 oz. whole milk mozzarella, shredded*

1. Heat a large pot of water until boiling. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Meanwhile, saute eggplant, zucchini, onion, and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove vegetables from the pan to a plate when done.
4. Brown ground beef in same pan used for vegetables.
5. Combine pasta, sauted vegetables, browned beef, pasta sauce, riccotta, salt, pepper, and optional fresh basil in a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the top.
6. Cook at 350 until bubbling, about 30 - 45 minutes. (Tip: Heat pasta sauce in a small sauce pan while you are cooking the other ingredients so that it is already hot when you combine all the ingredients. It will speed up the final cooking time.)

*A word about ingredients: Dairy products are best consumed raw. However, occasionally the super-sensitive Shipe household makes an exception and actually cooks some cheese and enjoys its ooey, gooey, melty deliciousness.

Beef & Vegetable Kabobs

Serves 4-6

2 lbs steak, cut into cubes
3 bell peppers in a variety of colors, cut into chunks
1 large red onion
2 tlbs seasoned rice vinegar
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls soy sauce*
Green Rice**

1. Assemble kabobs on skewers by alternating cubes of steak with peppers and onions.
2. Combine vinegar, oil, and soy sauce in a separate bowl. Brush over kabobs.
3. Cook on a hot grill for 5 - 8 minutes until the beef is cooked to medium. Serve with Green Rice.

*San-J has a Wheat-Free soy sauce
**Click on the "Potatoes Rice and Grains" label for the Green Rice recipe.

Thai Beef Salad with Cucumber Dressing

From The Treasury of Creative Cooking
Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 red pepper, cut in thin strips
2 green onions, diagonally cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce*
salt & freshly ground pepper
lettuce leaves
6 ounces rice pasta(vermicelli or linguini), cooked according to package directions**
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Cucumber Dressing (recipe follows)

1. Prepare cucumber dressing; set aside.
2. Brown ground beef in medium skillet. Drain. Add red peppers, onions, and garlic; cook until tender. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves on four plates. Top with cold noodles and ground beef mixture. Garnish with cherry tomatoes. Serve with dressing.

Cucumber Dressing
1 medium cucumber, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon diced jalapeno or green chili pepper
Pinch of salt

Place cucumbers, onions, cilantro, garlic, peppers, and salt in food processor container; process 1 minute. Spoon mixture into small bowl and serve.

*San-J has wheat-free soy sauce
**I use Thai Kitchen noodles; they are gluten-free

Chili Con Carne

Serves 4

This is a classic recipe from my mom. I think it might have come from the old Betty Crocker cookbook.

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
16 oz. can diced tomatoes
16 oz. can dark red kidney beans
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1 bay leaf

In heavy skillet or pot, cook meat, onion, and green pepper until meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove bay leaf.

Shepherd's Pie with Butternut Squash and Potato Topping

Serves 6-8

Squash and Potato Topping:
1 med. butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, pared, and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 lrg. red potatoes, pared and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 T unsalted butter
½ c whipping cream
¼ c chicken broth (or ½ c and ¼ c cream)
1 ½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
¼ t ground nutmeg
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 egg
paprika

Filling:
2 T olive oil
1 lrg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 T dried basil
1 T dried oregano
1 t ground cumin
1 t salt
½ t leaf thyme
¼ t pepper
1 lb frozen green beans, steamed 3 minutes
1 can (28 ounces) Italian style plum tomatoes, diced

1. Prepare topping. Drop squash and potatoes into a lrg. pot with enough salted water to cover them by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Drain squash and potatoes, dump in mixer bowl. Add other ingredients for topping except egg and paprika. Mash until fuffy. Cool slightly.
3. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare filling: Heat oil in lrg. skillet over med. heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Remove to plate.
4. Crumble beef into skillet and cook over med. heat until browned. Stir in spices and onion mixture. Add tomatoes and green beans. Cook 10 minutes. Spoon into 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish.
5. Beat egg into squash mixture. Spread evenly over filling. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake until bubbly (about 40 min.) and top is golden brown. Cool on rack 20 minutes before serving.

Pizza Hamburgers

Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
fresh grated mozzarella cheese
fresh grated mild or medium cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven 425. Mix all ingredients except sauce. Add half the tomato sauce to the meat mixture. Make hamburgers and form little craters (like a dish to hold the sauce), and put the rest of the sauce into the craters of the hamburgers. Cook hamburgers 20 minutes, add cheese on top of each burger and cook another 5 min.
(Serve with baby green beans.)

Variations:
1. Red Wine Vinegar - Lessen tomato sauce to 6 oz. and add 1/8 cup of red wine vinegar to the meat when mixing in the sauce. Add 1/2 tsp. basil and pepper to taste.
2. Gluten-Free - Replace 1/2 c. bread crumbs with 1/4 c. corn meal.
3. Dairy-Free - Do not melt cheese on the burger.