Sometimes I'm totally out of food thoughts and ideas. This meal ideas just seemed to have "hit" me. I had made Balsamic Beef in the crock pot http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/345/BalsamicBeefSandwiches64948.shtml it was good, but made a lot, so I was looking for a way to use it up. As we had eaten it as sandwiches once and added some red, green and yellow bell peppers to it and served it over egg noodles another time. At my daughter's request, I decided to carmalize some onions and add the last of the beef and some beef broth to it. We all enjoyed this Onion soup variation.
Next I tried some recipes from the January 2009 addition of Everyday Food Magazine. This week we tried the Light Italian Wedding Soup, it was good and we had escarole for the first time. The turkey meatballs do give off a "smell" while simmering, but it was enjoyed by all with bread and a green salad topped with sundried tomatoes, smoked gouda and bacon bits. Last night we made the Steak and Red Onion sandwiches also from Everyday Food Magazine( January 2009 ). I decided to sautee the onions while the beef was resting as I thought we'd all prefer them cooked rather than raw. We opted for our favorite light dressing instead of using the vinegar and oil suggested by the recipe. We also rounded out the meal with the leftover Beef and Onion soup. Our breath was smelly but everyone enjoyed the meals, three nights in a row. Now that may be a first! Today we are home enjoying a snow day. We'll light the fire place soon and I may throw together a pot of chili or defrost Saurbrauten from the freezer (that would be 4 meals liked by all:). Or possible get my husband to cook something in is dutch oven at the fireplace. Now that would be an awesome ending to a good food week. I will post the recipes later.
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Light Italian Wedding Soup
ReplyDelete(January 2009 Everyday Food)
1 pound ground dark-meat turkey (93% lean)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced- sodium chicken broth
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
2 heads escarole (2 pounds total), cored, trimmed and coarely chopped
1. In a bowl, combine turkey, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesean, 1 t salt and 1/4 t pepper. Using 1 Tablespoon for each, roll mixture into balls.
2. In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes (with juice); bring to a simmer. Add meatballs; cook without stirring, until meatballs float to surface, about 5 minutes.
3. Add as much escarole to pot as will fit. Cook, gradually adding remaining escarole, until wilted and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Thin soup with water if desired; season with salt and pepper. Serve soup sprinkled with more Parmesean.
Serves 6 Prep Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes
Per serving: 250 calories;p.8 g fat (3 g sat fat); 23.6 g protein; 19.3 g carb; 4.8 g fiber
Steak and Onion Sandwiches (also from January 2009 Everyday Food)
ReplyDelete1 pound top round steak; about 1 1/2 inches thick
1 T Worcestershire sauce
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 T white wine vinegar
1 t sugar
2 T olive oil
1head (10 ounces) red-leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
8 slices whole wheat bread, toasted (we used Sour dough:)
2 T Dijon mustard
1 pierce steak all over with fork. Place in shallow dish and rub with Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 15 minutes. ( I used more Worcestershire and marinated it over night.) In a small bowl, combine onion, 4T vinegar and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium-high. Cook steak 6 minutes. Turn, and cover; reduce heat to medium. Cook until medium-rare, 6-8 minutes (if steak is browning too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low). Transfer to a plate; let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain.
3. While steak rests, stir together 2 T vinegar and 1 T oil in a serving bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, and toss.
4. Spread 4 slices of bread with Dijon; top with steak and onion. Close sandwiches; serve with salad.
Serves 4 Prep time: 20 minutes Total time: 45 minutes
Per serving: 427 cal; 17.7 g fat (4.9 g sat fat); 33.3 g protein; 31.9 g carb; 4.9 g fiber
I am in the process of making the Balsamic Beef and it has been cooking on low for 7.5 hrs. I turned the heat to high and am wondering if I should reduce the sauce or is it supposed to be watery? I still have 2 hours to go before serving but am not sure of the consistency,
ReplyDeleteI used a slotted spoon to serve it. It did have "extra liquid" in it.
ReplyDeleteOK, this came out really good. I took the meat out of the liquid (when tender). I then added some cornstarch that I had dissolved in cold water. I brought it all to a boil and reduced then added back to meat and let it sit for a few minutes. Perfect! I didn't think I would like the sundried tomato pesto with it but it was an excellent condiment......
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this. My family not so much. I had followed Pam's advice and thickened the sauce. I'm going to try some of Bridget's suggestions for the leftovers or maybe a soup.
ReplyDelete