Reuben Dip

Reuben Dip

 

We attended an Oktoberfest party last night and I wanted to take a couple of good German dishes.

My friend Kathja shared this recipe for me. 

 

It ended up being great!  I returned with an empty dish.

 

Best part - this is an entirely microwaveable recipe.

Only 5 minutes or so of overall cooking time.

 

 

Kathja is from Austria and said (in her dry German way) that this is a very typical Oktoberfest style dish.  That can be served any month at all!  She loves our obsession with all things Oktoberfest this time of year.

 

She said that she normally uses dried beef for this dish, but if you had leftover corned beef, this is a great way to use up those leftovers.

 

She let me know that men especially love this appetizer for its salty, heartiness.

I found that the ladies liked it too :)

 

I used Armour dried beef.  It's really salty, but the crackers help cut the salty taste.

Really, it was delicious!

 

 

You start by melting a little butter in a microwaveable dish for 30 seconds.

 

Then you add in shredded Muenster cheese (I used Havarti because Kroger didn't carry Muenster), cubed cream cheese, ketchup, Dijon mustard and black pepper.

 

Microwave it again for 1 minute.  Stir it and if it needs another minute, go for it.

 

Don't worry - this isn't the serving dish so don't worry about the messy look.

 

Then stir in the chopped dried beef.

At this point I covered the dish and put it in the refrigerator until we were about ready to leave.

It's not necessary though.

 

When you're ready to serve your dish, place a cup of rinsed and drained sauerkraut in the bottom of your serving dish, top with the beef mixture and stir up just slightly.

 

Microwave for 3 minutes and serve with crackers or small slices of rye bread.

Delicious and decadent!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

Guten Appetit!



Sesame and Garlic Flank Steak

Fitness Magazine

Sesame and Garlic Flank Steak

I found this recipe in the June 2011 Fitness Magazine.

We don't eat much beef, so I like to try out a new recipe from time to time.

Flank steak is really good and reminds us of arracherra (lean beef eaten with corn tortillas) from our time living in Mexico.

You start by marinating the beef for an afternoon before grilling it.

The marinade is a combination of garlic cloves, salt, honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

Place the steak in a shallow dish and cover with marinade until ready to grill.

Grill the steak on high heat for 5 minutes on each side for medium rare.

We like our steak much more done, so we cooked it several more minutes on each side.

Let steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

We served the steak with asparagus, portobello mushroom, and leftover quinoa.

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Enjoy!

Beef Stew

Sweet Pea Paula's

Beef Stew

Paula shared this recipe last year and I bookmarked it, knowing I would make it for my family one day.

Paula adapted it from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa).

Paula and Ina have never steered me wrong, so I gave it a try this weekend!

I had never made beef stew before, partly because until recently we didn't eat a ton of meat, especially beef.  But that turned the kids into rather picky eaters, so I decided a couple of years ago to learn to make more types of dishes that included all sorts of ingredients that weren't a part of our diet.

This turned out to be a great recipe, and would be terrific for a large crowd.

We served it with a long baguette of French bread, and it was really delicious.

You start by marinating the beef overnight in red wine with bay leaves and garlic.

I used a chuck roast and cut it into bite sized pieces, removing the fat.  I used a bottle of Merlot for the marinade.

The next day you chop your vegetables and brown your beef before cooking your stew for 2 hours either on the stove top (which I did), or in a dutch oven in the oven at 300*.

You start by removing the beef with a slotted spoon and dredging it in a flour/salt/pepper mixture, shaking off the excess flour, and browning the beef for several minutes in hot oil.

While the beef was cooking, I cooked my vegetables in a large soup pot in hot oil for 10 minutes.

Then I added garlic and cooked for another two minutes.

At that point I add the browned beef and 2 1/2 cups of the marinade and cooked it on high in order to deglaze the bottom of the pan.

Then I added in the chicken stock, fresh rosemary, Worcestershire sauce and cooked the soup on low for 2 hours.

I should have added the frozen peas in at the end and cooked those before serving the stew, but I forgot!  It would have been a great addition though.

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

A Pretty Life in the Suburb's

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This recipe comes from Jo-Anna at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs.

Because I like recipes that fit in with our active afternoon/evening schedules around here, I went with packaged frozen meatballs that I thawed for 2 hours before starting the sauce.

If you want to make Jo-Anna's homemade meatballs - please see the link above!

This recipe was great and went well with rice and cauliflower/broccoli.
If you like a lot of sauce - I'd suggest doubling the recipe.
But the recipe below worked really well!

Thaw your meatballs (or make from scratch) and place in a baking dish.
Heat the other ingredients to a boil, then cook for 4 minutes while it thickens.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake at 300* for 20 minutes.

Double click to print recipe as a 5x7 card.

Enjoy!




Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs

I was not sure how Porcupine Meatballs would go over in my family, but I wanted to try them out.

First of all, because they're cute and delicious.

Second, think of the fun I can have explain they're made from porcupines!

I've seen this recipe countless times so can't really attribute it to any one source.

I've adapted it slightly as well.

You mix ground beef with rice, salt and pepper.

Then form meatballs.

Then you mix tomato soup and water and pour the sauce over the meatballs.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 1 1/2 hours at 350*.

Serve meatballs with a little sauce over the top and they're delicious!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!



Spicy Shredded Beef

Short Stop's Spicy Shredded Beef

Sarah at the blog Short Stop shares really delicious recipes.

I've bookmarked many of hers and they are always great.

Her version of Spicy Shredded Beef is delicious and one our family really likes.

We haven't always been big beef eaters, so I like to find different ways to serve it.

Thomas recently discovered Wendy's hamburgers and has found that his 6 year dislike of hamburgers is over.

You know I love an easy recipe that I can do ahead of time and this is one of those!

You trim a 3-4 lb chuck roast and place it in your slow cooker.

Then you blend a can of Hot Rotel, vinegar, lime juice, spices, and olive oil and pour it over the roast.

Then you add chicken broth and bay leaves and let it cook away!

I cooked my roast on high for about 4 hours then turned it to low to finish.

Then I used two forks to shred the beef right into the sauce.

At this point I let it simmer a little while longer and then serve up.

Thomas likes it in taco shells with lettuce, cheese, beans, sour cream and salsa.

David and I like it with corn tortillas and all the fixin's.

Brennan likes to eat his plain and then put the toppings in a tortilla and eat them separate. (?)

I think it would be fantastic on super duper nachos.

Double click on the card to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Olé



Taco Casserole

Jeanne's Taco Casserole

My friend Jeanne and her mom have shared some wonderful recipes with me over the years.
I still use the breakfast casserole recipe that they shared with me 19 years ago.
Here's Jeanne with the boys on a day trip to Louisville earlier this summer.

Jeanne sent me her Taco Casserole recipe that is a big hit in her house.
We had to try it out this week.  The boys liked it. 
David evidently loved it since he had 3 servings!

I've modified it slightly for my boys - the recipe is below.

You cook ground beef and onion with chilis, taco seasonings, taco sauce and water.
Then you layer broken taco shells, the beef mixture, and cheese.
What's not to love?!

You'll have 2 layers of shells, ground beef, and cheese.

Note to self:  puree the chilis before adding to the sauce.

We love the flavor but the boys spent time picking out the offenders.

Don't let this photo fool you - the dish was delicious.

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Buen Provecho!

Cheeseburger Cups

Michelle's Cheeseburger Cups

Michelle at Decor and the Dog shared this recipe on her blog and I happily modified it for my family.

It's a kid-friendly favorite.



You press buttermilk biscuits into muffin tins.

You brown ground beef and mix it with mustard (I use a mix of yellow and spicy), ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. 

You add the mixture to the biscuits and top with shredded cheese.



Cook at 400* for 15 minutes and voila!

This recipe makes 20-24 cheeseburger cups.

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Bon Apetit!