J.’s Favorite Goulash

My friend Sharon, who inspires me with her own meal planning, had made this goulash recipe successfully for her family and recommended it to me. It was an instant hit with J., and it’s great to make for a crowd since you prep it in the morning and then just let it cook all day. I am not much of a stew person, but even I enjoy this dish on a cold day.

J.’s Favorite Goulash
Adapted from Hungarian Goulash in Fix-It and Forget-It

2 lbs. beef stew meat, in 1-2 inch pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. ketchup (reduced sugar works fine)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika
1 tsp. Hungarian hot paprika
1/2 tsp. dried mustard
1 c. vegetable broth
2 8-oz. packages fresh mushrooms, sliced (I like baby bellas)

Place meat in a lined slow cooker, making sure it is evenly distributed across the bottom of the crock. Layer remaining items on top — with a final layer of mushrooms covering it all — making sure to distribute the spices evenly.

Cover. Cook on LOW 8 hours.

Using a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a serving bowl. Then ladle liquid into a fat separator and serve the strained gravy on the side.

2 comments February 17th, 2008

Circus In My Skillet

Tonight was the second time I prepared my squash, tomato & beef skillet, but I changed the vegetables a bit and it’s a riot of color. Hard to believe it’s the middle of February when you look at all those pretty veggies!

I subbed one zucchini for a yellow squash, and added chunks of yellow and orange peppers. I think I prefer the result tonight — it’s beautiful to look at, and tastes fresh but hearty at the same time. Plus, it’s a quick and easy recipe you can get on the table in 30 minutes. Cooking brown rice takes just a few minutes longer than that, and is a perfect accompaniment.

I wonder if adding a can of tomato sauce would be nice next time? It’s not a saucy dish as is, so adding some “gravy” to the mix might make it feel more unified. More like a ratatouille with meat.

5 comments February 14th, 2008

Chickpea & Beef Stew

This recipe just didn’t come together nicely for me. To be fair, the original recipe called for browning the meat before adding it to the crock, and I skipped that step. I also didn’t add salt (I never do). I don’t think either of these things would have radically changed the finished flavor of the dish, though. It wasn’t bad, just that none of the flavors melded — it tasted like a mix of wet meat, chickpeas, and carrot.

One good thing I took from the experience was how dried chickpeas cook up in the crock pot. I’d never used them before, only the canned version, and even after 8 hours cooking they were nice and firm. I would definitely try a different recipe calling for dried chickpeas based on using them here.

Also, I choose not to thicken my soups and stews with roux or a slurry, but you certainly can if you’d like.

I’m still trying to think of a way to liven up my frozen leftovers so I can serve the rest of this stew and not dread eating it. Maybe onions and green pepper sauteed in olive oil, mixed in to the warm stew? I’m open to suggestions.

Chickpea & Beef Stew
Adapted from Company’s Coming Slow Cooker Recipes

1 lb. dried chickpeas, rinsed and sorted
1 large onion, chopped
1 c. shredded carrots
1 dried bay leaf
pepper to taste
4 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
1.5 lb. beef stew meat, in 1-inch cubes
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree

Add ingredients to a lined crock pot in the order listed. Cover. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours. Adjust seasonings and serve over rice.

2 comments January 27th, 2008

I Hate My Kitchen (but Not Sausage & Peppers)

I have not been in the mood to cook this week, and the state of my kitchen is not helping. More on that in a minute. I did manage to make the sausage & peppers last night, using hot beef sausage that my butcher makes. It is really good, and I always feel a little naughty when I cook it because it seems so very not kosher. I live on the wild side, people.

Anyway, I was too lazy to chop an onion and since I knew I’d be the only one eating it (I served it to the boys, but they wouldn’t touch it; J. wasn’t home for dinner), I just took the sausage out of the casing (Merrie’s suggestion, and a good one), dumped it in a pan with cut-up green and red peppers, and cooked it until it was done. Oh, it was divine. Next time I’ll take the time to slice up an onion. Now, on to my kitchen mini drama (and really, I do know it is mini).

First, I am in the midst of a mouse detection scheme. We saw evidence of a mouse about 10 days ago — some tiny nibble marks in a bag of garbage waiting to go outside, plus a few droppings in my pots & pans cabinet. Our neighbors have had mice, and I’ve seen some outside, so this was no huge shock to me and really doesn’t bother me much. I used to keep mice (from a pet store!) as pets when I was younger. However, I do not want interloper mice in my house. We have a contract with a pest management company (old house + wood siding = stinging insect heaven), so they have baited and set traps in the basement… all the while, my pots and pans remain mostly emptied out of the cabinet where we saw the droppings. Some are in my dining room, some are in my oven, on the counter, etc. It’s chaotic and makes the kitchen feel messy. We’ll get an update Thursday when the pest guy comes back to check the bait and traps.

In the middle of all this, I started a kitchen project: Again, very old house and nothing is flush or plumb. There’s a gap between our counter back splash and the wall, and the previous owners just slapped enormous quantities of spackle on the space and called it a day. It used to be fairly inconspicuous but it is now starting to crack, crumble, and discolor in several places, and makes the kitchen feel dirty. So I’ve been chipping away at these heavy layers, which is dusty and time consuming. Then when it’s all clean, we’ll seal the gap and caulk it up. It already looks much better, so I’m glad we’re doing it, but it is just adding to my not wanting to be in the kitchen at all right now.

Finally, the light bulb on our microwave went out — the one that illuminates our cook top (the microwave is mounted over the stove). I have to go the hardware store to buy a special replacement bulb, and then I basically have to dismantle the lower half of the microwave to install the new. Until then, I’m basically cooking in the dark. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to replace it tomorrow, before I start the Great Tofu Cooking Experiment of 2008.

3 comments January 15th, 2008

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

See that serving bowl? It’s one of my favorite pieces of all time — it was a bridal shower gift from my friend LP (who was also once my boss!). I just love the color combination of brown and blue, and the polka dots. But on to the food…

I am not a huge fan of beef stews in general, so while I thought this recipe was nice it’s not a meal I’d crave. My mother-in-law and grandma-in-law thought it was excellent, though, and J. even ate it as leftovers, which is high praise coming from him. I served it with barley that was mixed with sauteed onions, plus some Brussels sprouts — perfect accompaniments, I think. I omitted the carrots and potatoes in the original recipe and made it all about the mushrooms, using a mix of baby portobellos (cremini), shitake, and oyster mushrooms. Next time I’d try it with mushroom broth to enhance the earthy flavor.

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew
Adapted from Crock Pot Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut in 1-inch pieces
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. vegetable broth
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1/2 c. red wine
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 pints wild mushrooms, in large pieces
1 c. fresh parsley, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the flour, pepper, and thyme. Add beef to the crock pot and toss to coat with seasoned flour. Combine the broth, tomato paste, wine, and garlic. Mix well and pour over beef. Add mushrooms on top of beef, but do not mix in.

Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Do not lift lid during cooking! (I know you want to. But don’t.) Mix with chopped parsley before serving.

2 comments January 11th, 2008

Squash, Tomato & Beef Skillet

Read Circus In My Skillet for updated thoughts on this recipe.

The original recipe called for a topping of cheese, which I left off to make the dish kosher. By eliminating the cheese, this becomes a one-pan (plus one bowl) dish rather than a baked casserole, but it is still hearty and easy. Plus it’s a great way to get lots of veggies into your main dish. Next time I would add even more squash, or perhaps some zucchini too.

Squash, Tomato & Beef Skillet
Adapted from Mexican Squash and Ground Beef Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 yellow squash, in 1/4″ slices (don’t peel)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. hot paprika
ground pepper

Brown beef, drain, and set aside in a bowl (it does not need to be cooked through). In the same skillet, saute onions and garlic in oil until slightly softened. Add sliced squash and continue cooking until the squash is just barely tender. Add the beef, tomatoes, and seasonings back into the pan. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

2 comments January 2nd, 2008

Poppy’s Spicy Steak Rub

Poppy is J.’s grandpa, much beloved but so sadly no longer with us. He loved to cook and I cherish the recipes he passed on to me and the rest of the family. These are the rub proportions he liked, and it’s wonderfully spicy and a good contrast to the fattiness of the meat. Makes enough to liberally cover two rib-eye steaks.

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. hot paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Brush steaks lightly with olive oil. Combine all seasonings in a small bowl. Sprinkle over steaks (both sides) and press mix gently into the meat. Grill or broil steaks as desired.

1 comment December 24th, 2007

Pepper Steak

I buy my meat at a kosher butcher, and he has a “pepper steak” cut that I used for this dish. I wasn’t happy with how tender the meat was, so I think I’ll cut my own next time. I’ve seen other pepper steak recipes call for flank steak or sirloin. If you like a thicker sauce, go ahead and add a bit of cornstarch at the end. I think the thin sauce is fine, as it’s soaked up by the rice on which it is served.

Adapted from Maria’s Pepper Steak at Allrecipes.com

1 medium onion, sliced thin
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
3 green peppers, sliced thin
2/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce
4 packets Splenda, or 2½ Tbsp. sugar (to taste)
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
1½ pounds steak of your choice, cut into thin strips

Saute onions in a drizzle of olive oil, cooking until softened and lightly golden. Add peppers and garlic and continue to cook until peppers are slightly softened, but still firm (about 10 minutes). Remove to serving bowl.

Add steak to the hot pan (no need to add more oil). Don’t overload the pan, you want the meat to caramelize and cook quickly in a dry heat, not boil or steam. Cook to just before your desired doneness. Add vegetables and remaining ingredients back into the pan, stir and cooked covered for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

1 comment December 20th, 2007