Lynn's Kitchen Adventures » Beef

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Red Wine

Lynn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:22:49 +0000

Today for Souper Monday we are talking stew.

Stew is one of those perfect wintertime comfort food type meals that my family loves. I love how easy it is to put in the crock pot in the morning and have it ready and waiting at dinner time.

One of the ways I like to change up stew is to add a little red wine to it. Just a little bit adds so much flavor and helps tenderize that meat. If you have never tried a little red wine in your stew, you should. It really enhances the flavor and makes it so much better.

Now, the thing is my husband and I don’t drink wine, so I never have it on hand, but I do always keep a bottle of red cooking wine on hand to use in recipes. And I know what some of you are thinking about cooking wine, but it really works well and I have used it for years.

Another reason I love cooking wine is because it is readily available at my grocery store. You see I live in a state where you can only buy wine at a liquor store and it is not usually convenient for me to go to a liquor store. Cooking wine at my local grocery store where I always shop is convenient for me, which is another reason why I buy and use it.

Now for the recipe. This is really just a basic stew recipe and you can easily add whatever you like in your stew. Sometimes I put mushrooms in it and sometimes I add other vegetables to it. You can really add whatever you want to it.

Have you tried wine in your stew before?

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Red Wine

1-2 tablespoon oil
1- 3 lb beef roast cut up or use stew meat
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1- 14 ounce cans of tomatoes
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks ( I like to cut them into large chunks)
1 lb (or so) carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup Holland House Red Cooking Wine
beef broth- we like a thick and hearty stew, so I usually just add 1 cup or so, but if you want a little more liquid you can use about 2 cups

Heat oil in a large pan. Brown meat on all sides and place in the crock pot.
Cook onion in the pan until tender, adding more oil if needed.
Add onion and remaining ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat and vegetables are done.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Disclaimer: I was compensated for my time in writing this post, but my thoughts and opinions are my own. I have used Holland House products for years and love them.

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Mexican Tortilla Pie

Lynn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:42:49 +0000

Today for ground beef Thursday I have a very good, yet very inexpensive and family friendly meal for you.

Over the years I have made quite a few layered tortilla casseroles or Mexican lasagna type meals, but this recipe today is one of my favorites.

I often do not follow an exact recipe when making a layered tortilla casserole, because I just use whatever Mexican type food I have leftover or in the pantry, but for this dish today I use an exact recipe.

And I use a recipe because I find that it turns out better when I do. My family enjoys this recipe more than any of the others that I just throw together with what I have on hand.

What I love about this recipe though is that it is still basic and simple to make. This is a recipe, but it is quick and easy and contains everyday ingredients.

Mexican Tortilla Pie

2 lbs ground beef
1 can refried beans
2 cans (14 ounce) diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups of shredded cheese, I like to use colby jack or a combo of cheddar and monterey jack cheese.
about 12 corn tortillas

In a skillet cook onion and ground beef until onion is tender and beef is browned. Drain off any fat.
Add tomatoes, beans, and spices and cook over low heat for 10 -15 minutes. This will help combine the flavors.
In a 9×13 pan or similar casserole dish place one layer of corn tortillas. You may need to cut/tear some of the tortillas to make them fit.
Cover with 1/3 of the meat sauce and 1/3 of the cheese.
Place a layer of tortillas on top of meat and cheese.
Cover with half of the remaining sauce and cheese. (This will be 1/3 of the total sauce and cheese.)
Cover with one more layer of tortillas and the remaining meat and cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Easy Crock Pot Chili Recipe

Lynn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:51:02 +0000

Today for Souper Monday we are talking chili. You may have noticed that my family loves chili and I have quite a few versions on my site, but this recipe today is one of my favorites.

I have been making this chili for close to fifteen years and it is the chili I make the most. This recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine from the the 1990′s. I still love and use so many of those old Taste Of Home recipes and this is one of my favorites.

I actually shared this chili recipe several years ago, but it was buried in a menu planning post, and was hard to find on my site. So, I decided it was time that this chili got a post of its own.

One of the reasons that I love chili so much is because it is so versatile. You can easily double a batch of chili and freeze the extra for serving later on. In fact, this recipe makes enough for about 12 servings, so for most families this recipe will give you plenty to freeze or use later in the week.

And when serving chili leftover think of other ways to serve it. Things like Frito Pie, over baked potatoes, or frozen in small containers for lunches are all ways I use leftover chili.

What is your favorite way to serve leftover chili?

Slow Cooked Chili

2 pounds ground beef
2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
2 medium onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt, optional
1 teaspoon pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional

In a large skillet, cook beef, onions, and peppers over medium heat until the meat is done and onions and peppers are tender. Combine cooked beef mixture and the remaining ingredients, except cheese, and place in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Serve with cheese.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Fiesta Macaroni

Lynn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:42:53 +0000

Today for Ground Beef Thursday I have another quick, easy, and inexpensive dinner idea for you. This is one of my family’s favorite quick and easy meals. It is similar to my taco pasta, but has a different flavor. And we love this just as much as we do the taco pasta.

This is one of those ground beef recipes that is truly quick and easy, budget and kid friendly.

Fiesta Macaroni

3 cups macaroni noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 -16 ounce jar salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can -15 ounce chili beans

Cook macaroni noodles according to package directions.
In a skillet cook ground beef, until browned and done. Drain off fat.
Combine cooked beef, cooked noodles, salsa, 1 ½ cups cheese, and chili beans.
Place mixture in a 9×13 pan and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cook at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Serve and enjoy!

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Porcupine Meatballs

Lynn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:12:54 +0000

Porcupine meatballs are not exactly gourmet food. They are more of a down home everyday type meal. And they are not a very pretty meal, or a very photogenic one as you can tell from the picture above, but they are so good.

And not only are they good, they are an inexpensive and kid friendly meal that is so easy to make.

The first time I made porcupine meatballs was back in 1995. I had only been married about a year and I came across a recipe in a Taste Of Home magazine and knew I had to try it. It looked easy to make and I had everything in my cupboard to make them. I also knew that I could get ground beef on sale and this was a meal that would make that ground beef stretch.

You see those were our poor days, or at least back when my husband was trying to finish up college and money was very tight. If it was not on sale, or extremely cheap, we did not eat it.

It was also back when meat was a treat for us to eat. It was rarely the star of the meal because I had to make it stretch and these meatballs worked great for that because we always served them over rice which allowed me to stretch this one meal into two or three meals.

Now I know they have rice in them, but I could make them stretch even farther if I served them over rice also. And because I served them that way so often years ago, this is the way we have continued to eat them.

Rice was one of those inexpensive things that we ate a lot of during those years and I loved to find creative ways to use it so that it did not feel like we were just eating rice all the time.

The first few months after we were married, we lived in an apartment near some Asian markets where you could get some really good deals. And I quickly learned that buying rice by the 25lb bags from the Asian Market was much cheaper than I could buy it anywhere else and so we ate a lot of rice. And when I say we ate a lot of rice, I do mean a lot of rice.

And do you know what, rice is still a staple in our house because it is still an inexpensive and easy dish to serve and it is easy to change up and serve many different ways.

So, feel free to serve these how you want to. And if like them with lots of sauce, feel free to double the sauce, I like to do that sometimes and it gives it more sauce if you are serving it over rice.

Porcupine Meatballs

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground beef
2-8 ounce cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl combine rice, water, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ground beef.
Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. In a large skillet, brown meatballs and drain off any fat. (If you use really lean beef than you may need to add some oil to the pan.)
Combine tomato sauce, water, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and pour over meatballs. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meatballs are done.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Frito Pie

Lynn — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:35:22 +0000

Today for ground beef Thursday we are talking pie, Frito pie that is.

Frito Pie is something that I had never heard of until moving to Oklahoma, seventeen years ago. It is definitely not something that we grew up eating in Oregon.

I remember mentioning to someone that I had never had my chili served with Fritos and they looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Chili is not chili without Fritos.”

So, I quickly learned that Fritos and chili do indeed go together. And once I tried it, I actually thought it was very good.

Frito Pie seems to be a regional thing, at least from what I can tell it is mainly in the Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas area that it is popular. (But feel free to let me know if I am wrong on that. )

The wonderful thing about the internet though is that regional food is really not that regional anymore. Through the internet people all over the US, now know and love dishes like frito pie. That is the beauty of the internet and cookbook world of today.

There are a lot of recipes out there for Frito pie, but most people I know in Oklahoma do not really make a special recipe. They take a basic ground beef chili recipe and just serve it with Fritos.

Technically Frito pie is where you take a bowl and line the bottom of it with fritos. Then you pile chili and shredded cheese on top. Often though, I just serve chili with Fritos on the side and let everyone layer it how they want.

Frito Pie is a great meal to serve a crowd since it is basically just Fritos and chili. Chili is always a popular dish and fritos are an easy side thing to pair with it.

Here is my version of frito pie. I like to cook chili in the crock pot. Cooking it low and slow really help the flavors blend together, so plan ahead for this recipe.

Have you ever heard of or eaten Frito pie?

Frito Pie

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 can tomatoes, (14 ounce)
1 can tomatoes with green chilies (rotel type)
2 cups beef broth
1 can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 bag Fritos (for serving)
shredded cheese for serving.

In a pan brown ground beef and onion until beef is browned and onion is tender.
Drain off any fat and place meat and remaining ingredients, except Fritos, into a crock pot.
Stir well and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Place a few Fritos in a bowl and pour some chili on top.
Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy!

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Ground Beef Taco Rice Dinner

Lynn — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:01:08 +0000

With all the holiday posts that I have done lately, my ground beef recipes and Souper Monday series have not been as regular as I had hoped, but after the first of the year, they will both be back as weekly features. I am really excited to continue both of these series next year.

Today though I do have another ground beef recipe for you and it is perfect for the busy holiday season. Ground beef taco rice dinner is so quick and easy to make. It contains pantry ingredients, and is great leftover as a burrito or enchilada type filling.

Ground Beef Taco Rice Dinner

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (like rotel)
1 ¾ cups water
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 package homemade taco seasoning (or use homemade)
½ teaspoon salt
optional ingredients for serving: sour cream, chips, cheese etc.

In a skillet cook ground beef, onions, and green pepper until meat is done and onions and peppers are tender.
Drain off any fat and add tomatoes with green chilies, water, rice, taco seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover and cook 10 or so more minutes or until rice is done.
Serve and enjoy!

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

A Few Ground Beef Recipes

Lynn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:33:39 +0000

As I mentioned last week I love ground beef recipes because they are usually quick and easy recipes that contain everyday ingredients.

Today I thought I would highlight a few of our favorite ground beef recipes.

Enchilada Rice is a quick and easy kid friendly meal.

Chili Cornbread Bake is a fun way to change up a family favorite.

You cannot get much more simple than Beef and Bean Bake. So easy and yet so good!

Mexican Beef and Beans is another delicious take on beans and ground beef.

If you are looking for a crock pot ground beef meal this Chipotle Beef Tacos is really good.

If you are looking for an easy asian twist on ground beef, Ground Beef Stire Fry might be just what you are looking for.

And Quick and Easy Beef and Rice is probably one of the least expensive meals on my site and yet it is still very good.

What is your favorite way to serve ground beef?

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Oven Tacos

Lynn — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:08:59 +0000

I am so excited about the ground beef recipes series that I am starting on Thursdays. The response to this series from all of you has been more than I imagined. I had no idea you all loved ground beef so much.

All this time I thought ground beef was boring and too basic to share, but it turns out that you all are just like me. You are looking for quick and easy, family and budget friendly meals. And you all love ground beef recipes as much as I do.

So for our first ground beef recipe, we are starting with one of my new favorite, go to recipes.

Mexican type foods are one of my family’s favorite foods. They are usually quick and easy to make. Not only that many of them contain ground beef and beans, which are both inexpensive ingredients to serve.

A lot of times when people think of ground beef and beans, they think they are boring because they are often served in the same ways over and over again. The number one tip I have for making your family love basic meals is to change them up. Change the seasonings, change the cheeses, change how you make them. Serve the same foods in new ways.

That is exactly what I have done with these oven tacos. They are really just a basic taco served in a different and fun way.

My family loved these and thought that they reminded them of something we have had at a Mexican restaurant. They could not remember exactly what dish it reminded them of, but they remembered it being a dish they loved. And can I just say that I enjoy hearing that something I made tastes like something that was more expensive and came from a restaurant. I take comments like that as quite the compliment.

We eat a lot of tacos in our house and since we loved these so much, we all agreed that these tacos should be on the menu plan often. They were a nice change from regular tacos. And I think these would be perfect to serve at a kid’s party or to a bunch of teens. Quick and easy, budget friendly food always work well for serving large groups.

Oven Tacos

2 lbs ground beef
1 can refried beans
8 ounce tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning
1 ½ cups shredded cheese
18-20 hard taco shells
lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc for serving.

Brown ground beef. Drain off any fat and add refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
Spoon mixture into taco shells.
Place filled shells into a 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.
Enjoy!

Note: For those of you with a smaller family you may want to half this recipe. You could also easily stretch this for a larger group and get a few more tacos out of it by adding extra beans.

Add this recipe to ZipList

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here

Would You Like To See More Ground Beef Recipes?

Lynn — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:02:38 +0000

Be sure to subscribe to Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures so that you do not miss any ground beef recipes from this series.

My family eats a lot of ground beef. In fact, we eat it at least once a week, sometimes several times a week. I recently realized though that many of my favorite ground beef recipes are not on my site.

I started to wonder why I had not shared these recipes and realized that many of them are very quick and easy. Most of them are simple and not fancy at all. They are what many would consider basic and pretty plain recipes. Many of these recipes have not photographed well at all, so I changed my mind and never posted them.

All these reasons have kept me from sharing some of my family’s favorite meals.

But I am realizing that some of my most basic and most simple recipes have become the most popular recipes on my site. Recipes like my Tater Tot Nachos, my Taco Pasta, Mexican Pizza, and Mexican Beef and Beans are the recipes that you all love.

Yes, you all enjoy the desserts I share, but even with those it is the simple desserts, that contain everyday ingredients, that you all love best.

As I have been thinking about all of this, I realized that you all are just like me. You are busy. You might love to cook, but don’t have a lot of time. Many nights you need quick and easy dinners, but you also need them to be kid and budget friendly. You need home cooked meals that you can get on the table quickly, using ingredients that you already have on hand.

You like the quick and easy, budget friendly recipes, because that is what you cook. And the reality is that is what I cook most of the time.

I also know that some of you may be new to cooking or do not like to cook, so you are also looking for quick and easy recipes that contain ingredients you are familiar with.

The fact is that many of the quickest and easiest recipes to fix for dinner contain ground beef or other ground meat.

Earlier this week I asked this question on my Facebook page.

Do you all cook a lot with ground beef and other ground meat? I am thinking of posting more ground beef type recipes if you all are interested. I realized that a lot of our family favorites for ground beef have never been put up on my site. I love them because they are usually quick, easy, and inexpensive type recipes. Do you want to see more ground beef recipes?

I put that question up on Facebook without putting much thought into it. I just wanted to find out how many of you would be interested in more ground beef recipes. I could not believe the response I got. I had 51 comments and 120 likes on that question. You made it clear that you all love and use ground beef and other ground meat a lot.

From your response on Facebook, I think you all would love me to share more ground beef recipes. I also know that you like quick and easy recipes that are also budget and family friendly.

The good news is that most ground beef recipes fit into the quick and easy, budget and kid friendly category. Ground beef is one of the cheapest types of meat you can buy. It is readily available and works well in all sorts of casseroles, soups, and skillet dinners.

Ground beef is also very versatile. You can give it a Mexican twist one night and change it up for an Italian type meal the next. You can use it for so many things.

Because we all love and use ground beef so much, I have decided to start a weekly day/series where we focus on ground beef. This will be similar to the Monday Soup Day series that I am doing this fall and winter.

Starting next week, we will focus on ground beef every Thursday. I will share ground beef recipes, tips for using ground beef, recipes from around the web, and even highlight a few recipes that have gotten buried in the archives of my site. My goal with this series is to share with you ground beef tips and recipes that work for everyday life.

By starting this series now, I am starting it right before the holidays and all the holiday baking and cooking posts I have planned, so there may be a few weeks that get skipped. I will get in as many as I can during the holidays and then after the first of the year it will be a weekly Thursday series that will continue for a few months or until I run out of ideas.

What do you think? Is a day a week to focus on ground beef a good idea?

Download your FREE Christmas Recipes Ebook From Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. This offer for subscribers only. Click Here