Ryan's Painful Tacos

These tacos got this name from frying the taco shells crispy and getting splattered with frying oil in the process. These are a great addition for build your own taco bar, or taco night all put together.

Ingredients:
Filling: 
2 Tbsp vegetable oil or corn oil                        
2 tsp vinegar (preferably apple cider vinegar)    
1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)            
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (~1 Tb) 
2 Tbsp chili powder 
1 tsp  ground cumin            
1 tsp ground coriander 
½ tsp dried oregano 
¼ tsp cayenne pepper 
table salt 
ground black pepper 
1 pound 90% lean beef (or leaner) 
½ cup tomato sauce 
½ cup chicken broth 
1 tsp brown sugar

Shells: 
3/4 cup vegetable oil, corn oil, or canola oil 
8 corn tortillas (6-inch)

Toppings:
shredded cheese: Colby Jack; Mexican mix; Cheddar
diced tomatoes
chopped lettuce
corn
black beans
refried beans
salsa
guacamole
your choice

Directions:
Filling: 

1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. 
2. Add garlic, spices, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
3. Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with wooden spoon and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. 
4. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to simmer. 
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently and breaking meat up so that no chunks remain, until liquid has reduced and thickened (mixture should not be completely dry), about 10 minutes. 
6. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. 
7. Using wide, shallow spoon, divide filling evenly among taco shells.  

Shells: 

1. Heat oil in 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat to 350 degrees, about 5 minutes (oil should bubble when small piece of tortilla is dropped in; tortilla piece should rise to surface in 2 seconds and be light golden brown in about 1 1/2 minutes). 
2. Meanwhile, line rimmed baking sheet with double thickness of paper towels. 
3. Using tongs to hold tortilla, slip half of tortilla into hot oil. With metal spatula in other hand, keep half of tortilla submerged in oil. Fry until just set, but not brown, about 30 seconds. 
4. Flip tortilla; hold tortilla open about 2 inches while keeping bottom submerged in oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. 
5. Flip again and fry other side until golden brown, about 30 seconds. 
6. Transfer shell upside down to prepared baking sheet to drain. 
7. Repeat with remaining tortillas, adjusting heat as necessary to keep oil between 350 and 375 degrees.

Notes:

• Serves 4 
• Per serving: 330 Cal + shell 
• Serve immediately, passing toppings separately.

Tortiere

My mother, being French-Canadian, made something she called "Tut-kay" (phonetically spelled) every New Year's Eve. Apparently, I didn't like it growing up. It is a traditional meat pie. Being vegan, I won't eat it now. However, in the interim, the husband and I started making it. For whatever reason, Mom wouldn't give me her recipe. But we found this one on the internet.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lbs ground pork
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp pepper
1 cup water
medium onion, chopped
6 potatoes
2 9-inch pie crusts, with top

Directions:

1. Cook the potatoes and mash them until smooth.
2. Combine ground beef, ground pork, onion and garlic in a large pan or skillet. 
3. Cook on high, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through (no pink).
4. Add the spices and seasonings, and water. 
5. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
6. Remove the lid and simmer another 10 minutes
7. Remove the cooked meat from heat and mix in the mashed potatoes. Set aside to cool.
8. Preheat oven to 425F.
9. Once the mixture is cool, spoon mixture into your pie shells and cover each with their top crusts. 
10. Slash each top crust, making a small hole.
11. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 and back for 25 minutes more.

Notes:

• Recipe make 2 pies.
• Time to make is approximately 2.5 hours, including prep and baking.
• Pies may be prepared and frozen, but freeze before baking. Thaw before baking or increase baking time to accommodate being frozen.

Beef Hash

We used to make this all the time after having a beef roast. When the kids were small, we never finished a whole roast, and hash is a great use of leftovers, whether you had a corned beef roast, crockpot chuck roast, or plain old potroast. 

Ingredients:
leftover beef roast, shredded
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1/2 - 1 onion
frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

1. Brown the frozen hash browns according to instructions.
2. Meanwhile, dice onion, and brown in oil. Once soft, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. In the same pan as the onions, start to heat the shredded beef and corn. Add the onions. When the hash browns are done, add them to the pot. Heat through.

Notes:

• This can be done vegan just by substituting beefless vegan meat for the shredded roast. I skipped the beef when this was made for the vegan.

Memere's Stew

My mother's stew was one of my favorite growing up. When I moved out of the house, this was a recipe I took with me. This is also another recipe I'd put on the easy list, although until you are familiar with browning floured beef stew meat, that might be more difficult.

stew with beef

Ingredients:

2 lbs stew meat (beef or beefless)

garlic salt

pepper

bay leaves

2  4-oz cans tomato sauce

½  lb carrots

1-3 stalks celery

3 potatoes

1 zuchini

½  lb brussel sprouts

1 onion

1 cup water

stew with vegan meat

Directions:

1. Cut vegetables to desired size.
2. Flour and brown stew meat with 3 shakes of garlic salt, bay leaves, and a shake of pepper.
3. Add water and 1 can of tomato sauce.  Add vegetables. Add second can of tomato sauce.
4. Cover and cook at 150o in electric fry-pan or low on stove-top for an hour or so until fork tender.
5. Stir occasionally.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

Notes:

• Serves 4-8.
• I halved the recipe for the above images.
• I used Gardein beefless tips for my vegan stew. I normally don't like those much, but by browning them and throwing them in about 30 minutes, they absorbed the flavor of the stew really well.
• I was a little lazy and used baby carrots rather than cut large carrots up.

To Die For Crockpot Roast

Of all the crockpot roasts we've made, this recipe is by far our favorite. It's a very tasty roast, and the roast just falls apart when it's done. The au jus can be used as well.

Ingredients:

1 beef roast, any kind

1 package dried brown gravy mix

1 package dried Italian salad dressing mix

1 package dried ranch dressing mix

½  cup water

Directions:

1. Place beef roast in crockpot.  
2. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast.  
3. Pour the water around the roast.  
4. Cook on low 7-9 hours.

Notes:

• Serves 8. 
• Time: 9 hours 5 minutes (5 min prep)

Roast Beef with Gravy

Crockpot recipes are great for beef roasts. We used to make lots of crockpot beef roasts, back when they were much cheaper. 

Ingredients:

1 boneless beef sirloin tip roast (4 lbs)

½ cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 brown gravy mix

2 cups cold water

Directions:

1. Cut roast in half; rub with ¼ cup flour. 
2. Place in a 5-quart slow cooker. 
3. In a bowl, combine soup and gravy mixes and remaining ¼ cup flour; stir in water until blended. 
4. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8+ hours (until meat is tender.) 
5. Slice. Serve with hot mashed potatoes and gravy. 

Notes:

Makes 10-12 servings.

Meals that didn't make it on second round

I'm making a bunch of stuff that was originally in the Recipe Codex (the Dropbox version) and then picking up things that need to be made as well. 

Braised Beef with CaramelizedOnions & Greens Chiffonade was good the first time, but this time, the vegan says no and the two kids were not impressed this time around, so out of the Codex it came.

I had a butternut squash to make, so I tried Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash.

Beef and Pasta Bake

We've been making this beef and pasta bake for years. It's a great make-ahead meal. Just pop in the oven when you need to make dinner.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground beef

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella (divided)

5 cups hot cooked medium tube-shaped (elboroni) macaroni (3 cups dry)

Directions:

1. Brown beef, remove fat.  
2. Stir in sauce and 1/2 cup cheese and cooked macaroni.  
3. Pour into 2-quart casserole dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  
4. Bake @ 400o ~ 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Notes:

• Serves 8 or so.
• Approximately 400 Calories/serving.  Varies based on types of ingredients.
• Can make vegan by using vegan crumbles and vegan mozzarella-like cheese. (Pictured right with no cheese.)

Entree: Adrienne's Lasagna

I started with a lasagna recipe, and over the years have tweaked and tweaked and tweaked it. This is the current rendition of the lasagna I make. It's generally popular. This year, we had this lasagna for Christmas. This week the theme is food from this year's Christmas. I already posted the Preston Rolls for Bread/Breakfast. This time, we made the pasta noodles from scratch, so the recipe to do that is also included.

Ingredients:
12 pieces (about 8 oz) lasagna noodles, uncooked (Or fresh pasta) 
2 lb. Ground beef
6 cups (about 2-26 oz jar) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 – 15 oz container ricotta cheese
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (or Monterey jack cheese), divided
1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup spinach, chopped


Fresh pasta 2 cups flour (1/3 semolina, 2/3 all-purpose)
herbs: parsley, rosemary, basil, saffron, thyme, etc, whatever strikes your fancy as going well together 
3 eggs
olive oil 

Directions:

Drying Homemade Lasagna Noodles

Fresh Pasta

1. Combine herbs with flour. On a flat surface, make a bowl of flour, crack eggs into center. Mix eggs and flour together with a spoon. Add oil.
2. After dough comes together, knead well. Let rest 30-90 minutes. 
3. Run through pasta press until desired thickness. (Visit the Egg Pasta portion of this recipe for reference.) 
4. Boil 30 seconds, cold shock in a ice bath. 
5. Let dry 1 hour. Use same as no-boil pasta in recipe. These make more sheets, so layer pasta between each addition of meat then egg. 

Lasagna

Meat Sauce

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Over medium heat, brown meat; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and water, and spinach; simmer about 10 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, one-half mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper.
4. Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 x 2” baking dish.
5. Arrange 3 UNCOOKED pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce. Use an additional piece broken into thirds to get full length coverage of pan. Cover with about 1 cup sauce.
6. Spread one-half cheese filling over sauce. 
7. Repeat layers of lasagne, sauce and cheese filling. 
8. Top with layer of lasagne and remaining sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil.



Cheese Filling

9. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Other Details:

• There is no difference in the baking whether you use homemade pasta or no cook pasta.
• However, if you use the homemade pasta, you are likely to have a lot more pasta, so instead of layering the meat and cheese layers together, add a layer of noodles between the layers of meat and cheese.
• This can be reheated in the oven 1 hour at 350º or individual slices in the microwave.
• Serves 12 (slices) 

Entree: Quaker Oats Meatloaf Enhanced

This has been our go-to meatloaf for years. I modified the ingredients and baking procedure over the years to the current recipe. This is a good one. This is the second of three meatloafs in our recipe codex.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef 
½ lb ground pork
¾ cups oats (uncooked)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 egg beaten
½ can corn/peas/mixed veggies (drained)

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together. 
2. Pre-heat oven to 350^o. 
3. Shape mixture into loaf on rack of broiler pan. 
4. Bake one hour.

Other Details:

• Can freeze up to 3 months wrapped in aluminum foil. 
• Serves 5.
• Original Recipe 
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Entree: Ree's Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with Potatoes and Strings

Watching a cooking/restaurant show on one of the food/cooking networks one day, we saw a bacon-wrapped meatloaf on a piled of mashed potatoes topped with onion strings. This sounded so good to us that day, so I looked up a bacon-wrapped meatloaf recipe. The Pioneer Woman's recipe came up. Already loving most of the recipes she provides, we tried hers. We decided it would become 1 of the 3 meatloaf recipes in a Codex, only with a few changes. Click the link for the original recipe in other details to get hers, this one reflects the changes (in size and sauce) that we made for our own family's taste. We call it's Ree's Meatloaf (Modified).

I direct you to last week's posted recipe for Ree's Onion Strings, which top the meatloaf. I've also included here our basic mashed potato recipe, which are plated first.

Ingredients:
Meatloaf
1/2 cup Milk
3 slices Bread
1 pounds Ground Beef
1/2 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/8 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
3/8 teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/6 cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
2 whole Eggs Beaten
5 slices Thin/regular Bacon (you can wrap, but on the side is good as well)

Mashed Potatoes
4-6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3-4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, parmesan, mix, any will do)
half-and-half or milk, probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup - we eyeball this

Directions:

Meatloaf

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.
2. Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.
3. With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain.
4. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)
5. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.
6. Bake for 60 minutes. 
7. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes (& onion strings).

Potatoes

1. Boil potatoes about 20-30 minutes until fork tender. 
2. Drain water. Transfer into bowl for mashing and serving.
3. Cut the butter up into a couple chunks and add to the potatoes. Add the cream (milk, half-and-half) until the bottom of the bowl between the potatoes chunks is covered about a half inch. Mash with the hand masher. Throw in the shredded cheese and continue to mix and mash. If the potatoes are too dry, add a little more cream. 

Other Details:

Meatloaf

• Original Meatloaf Recipe 
• Potatoes serve 4-8. Meatloaf serves 6-8.
• Nutrition for 8 servings on meatloaf.
• Nutrition for 6 servings of potatoes. 
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Potatoes

Entree: Braised Beef

We got the recipe for this Braised Beef from Clean Eating Magazine.

Ingredients:
16 oz lean beef stew meat
1/4 tsp sea salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise
3 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth, divided
4 medium carrots, peeled and halved (if small) or sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal
1 large turnip, cubed
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large rosemary sprig
1 small bunch turnip greens
sprinkling chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Pat beef dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil on medium-high. Working in batches, sear beef in pot, browning well on all sides, for about 8 minutes. (Note: by working in batches you'll avoid overcrowding.) Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
2. Reduce heat to low, add onion to Dutch oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until caramelized and golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup broth and increase heat to bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir in carrots, turnip, garlic, rosemary, beef and remaining 3 cups broth. Return to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 2 hours, until beef is very tender.
4. About 5 minutes before beef is done, prepare greens chiffonade: Wash greens well and remove and discard stems. Stack greens and thinly slice crosswise into strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Remove rosemary and discard. Stir in greens and season with additional salt and pepper.
6. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Other Details:

• Tip: If you have a hard time finding turnip greens, substitute chard. 
• Serves 4
• Hands-on time 30 minutes
• Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
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Entree: Soup: 5-Can Chili Enhanced

This soup has been in our recipe box for many years now. We took an original, easy recipe and added ground beef to beef it up a bit. It's a great fall meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 can (15 oz) chili with beans
1 can (15 oz) mixed veggies, drained
1 can (11 oz) whole kernal corn, drained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies

Directions:

1. Brown beef.  
2. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients, heat through.
3. Serve with shredded cheese.

Other Details:

• Serves about 6 – 2 cup serving size. 
• Approximately 395 Calories/serving.
• I can't get the nutrition right on this to give the nutrition label.
• Vegan Version

Entree: Mediterranean Steak and Pasta

During this past summer, I tried a Mediterranean-style diet, which I thoroughly enjoy. This recipe I got from the Baker's in Omaha (Kroger recipe book). These aren't published online and I got it quite awhile ago, so I cannot reference it. The entire family enjoyed this all-in-one dish. (I'm really proud of this photo. I do take all the photos posted on this blog.)

Ingredients:


4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb. Beef top sirloin, cubed OR sausage OR chicken
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch long thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Fresh oregano
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaved, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. granulated sugar
4 oz. Rotini pasta, cooked and drained
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, shaved

Directions:

1. In large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add meat and brown, stirring to cook quickly, for about 3 minutes. Remove meat from pan, drain and set aside. 
2. Using same skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and saute onion and bell pepper for about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano and basil, cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and sugar, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in rotini and meat, heat through. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Other Details:

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Serves 4 
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