Cheese Steaks (Gluten-Free)

Cheese Steaks (Gluten-Free)

2 lbs of steak, thinly sliced
6 baked potatoes
1 onion
Cooking oil (we use bacon grease or coconut oil)
Salt and pepper

Other Toppings:
Cheese (Cheddar or Provolone)
Mushrooms
Red or yellow bell peppers

Bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour or until they are soft.

Cook the onions, mushrooms and peppers in oil until they are soft. Remove from pan.
Cook the steak in the same pan until it is brown, using oil if needed.

Mix your steak and veggies together and place them on top of a split baked potato. Cover with the cheese of your choice.

We used the leftover steak and veggie mixture for a stir fry. Just place the mixture in a pan with white rice and some butter. 

Madras Beef

Madras Beef

Spice Paste:
2 tablespoons coriander, ground
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons bacon grease or coconut oil
2 large steaks, cubed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
cooked rice

Mix the spices into a paste.

Fry the steak in oil until it is brown. Remove from pan.

Heat the spice paste in the pan for 1 minute at medium heat. Add the steak and mix well. Add the tomato paste and beef stock. Reduce the heat and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve with rice.

We usually can’t wait an hour and end up eating it after about a half hour.  

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

1 lb flank steak

¼ cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons coconut oil

½ teaspoon ginger (minced)

1 tablespoon garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup water

½ cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

2 green onions (sliced)

1 medium onion (sliced)

Coconut Oil (for frying)

Cut steak into ¼” thick slices and coat with cornstarch. It must sit for 10 minutes or the batter will not stick.

In a sauce pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water. Add coconut sugar and molasses and dissolve into the sauce. Add red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat up about a cup of oil in your wok to about medium heat. Add the beef slices to the wok and cook for 3 minutes (or use a deep fryer). 

Remove the meat from the wok with a slotted spoon. Add onions to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak back to the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook while stirring until the sauce began to bubble.

(Makes 2 Servings)

Autumn Soup

I received this recipe in an email from my Aunt JoAnn. Chris and I loved it.

Autumn Soup

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped

1 lg. can of tomatoes (they can be crushed or whole, if whole you need to break them up)

1 can of water from the tomato can

2 potatoes, diced and peeled

1 1/2 cups of diced celery

1 - 2 tsp. of dried sweet basil

Salt and pepper to taste.

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Add it to a crock pot with all the other ingredients. Make sure that the liquids cover the raw vegetables. Put on low for 6 hrs. or less. Most of the stuff will be ready.

If your going to have company for dinner, add another potato, and some chopped celery.

Beef Pie with Creamed Mushrooms

Don't forget to defrost the beef and start cooking the rice!!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg white
1 cup rice, cooked
1 onion, minced
2 carrots shredded
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/2 cup milk
garlic

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients together. Press into a 9in pie pan. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

While the crust is baking make the creamed mushrooms for the filling.


3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 lb mushrooms, sliced

Brown the mushrooms in butter. Add the cornstarch and stir. Add milk slowly and stir until thickened. Poor mushroom mixture into beef crust.

Hearty Beef Stew

Stew is comfort food for me. I remember my grandmother making it when I was young and it brings back great memories.

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 lb stew meat

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 medium carrots, cut into 1in pieces

1 large potato, cut into 1 1/2 in pieces

1/4 cup celery, cut into 1 in pieces

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 dried bay leaf

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Brown stew meat in coconut oil. Place all items in a baking dish. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Homemade Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper

I ate a lot of Hamburger Helper while growing up. I don't want to eat a lot of processed food, so I was very happy to find a homemade version of this boxed item. You can add vegetables to it and you will have a complete meal. I plan on making several variations and adding them to this blog.

Homemade Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 ½ cups of pasta

1 cup of hot water

½ cup of milk

½ cup of sour cream

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Step 1: Sauce Packet

1 tablespoon corn starch, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

The packet can be prepared ahead of time, also measure out 1 ½ cups of pasta. Place them in zip lock bags or Tupperware until ready to use.

Step Two: Brown one pound of ground beef. 

                            

Step Three: Add water, milk, sour cream, pasta, seasoning packet and chopped mushrooms. Simmer for 12 to 20 minutes.

Step Three: Turn off heat and uncover. Let stand to thicken at least 5 minutes before serving.

Pasta Bake

3 cups pasta 

1 cup cooked ground beef 

1 medium zucchini, diced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook pasta until just slightly firmer than al dente. Do not overcook pasta, as it will continue cooking in the oven. Drain pasta. Return strained pasta to stockpot and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, onion, and zucchini. Sauté just until zucchini is just slightly firmer than al dente. Add precooked ground beef and combine well. Remove from heat.

Add spaghetti sauce to the stockpot with the cooked pasta. Then add the meat mixture to the stockpot and combine well. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake uncovered for approximately 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through. Serves 4-5. Enjoy!

Baked Roast and Vegetables

1 Roast

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lbs of sliced potatoes

2 sliced carrots

4 chopped garlic cloves

Season salt

Brown the roast on all sides in the olive oil to lock in the juices. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add chopped onions, carrots and garlic. Sprinkle with season salt. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Skillet Beef Oriental

This is one of our favorite recepies. Chris' mom use to make if for him when he was a child. We enjoyed making it in college because it was quick, cheap and easy to clean up. One day I asked my mother-in-law why this recipie was called Beef Oriental when there was nothing oriental about it. She said that it was not the original recipe, she modified it to save money. I tried the original recipe. We liked it but still think the simple recipe is better. I will post both.


Simple Beef Oriental


1 lb ground beef
2 envelopes/cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 envelopes/cans of Milk
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cups of cooked rice*


*I often would forget to make the rice until the beef oriental was finished. To solve the problem I printed out the recipie and wrote "MAKE THE RICE FIRST" in large letters at the top of the page. It worked.


Cook ground beef, celery, and onion until done. Drain. Pour the soup envelopes over the meat mixture. Add milk to each envelope and then pour it over the soup. This is an easy way to measure with out using an extra dish and it gets all of the soup mix out of the envelope. Mix and simmer for 15 minutes.


Turn off the burner. Add the rice to the mixture. Stir and serve.

Skillet Ramen Noodles with Steak

Growing up I often enjoyed packages of ramen noodles for lunch. When I went away to college I started to learn all kinds of variations and ways to fancy up this bacholor meal. Ramen noodles are very popular in Korea. I am amazed at the large selection of different types of ramen packages that you can find in Korea. My husband created the following recipe. Why? Well if any recipe does not have meat in it Chris finds a way to add it.

2 packages of instant Ramen noodles of your choose
2 slices of steak or cut up beef in cubes
Salt or season salt
2 Tbs of butter

1. Open the ramen package and set aside the season and dried vegetable packets.
2. Cook the noodles for about 7 minutes or until the desired doneness. Do not overcook them or they will be soggy.
3. While the noodles are cooking heat a large skillet.
4. Add the cubed beef to the skillet and sprinkle with season salt or regular salt
5. Cook stiring constantly until the meat is brown and no longer pink inside. 
6. When the noodles are done drain the water from them. 
7. Toss the noodles with butter and the seasoning packet in a bowl. 
8. Add the meat to the noodle mixture and enjoy. 

We have made this recipe with several variations. Sometimes we do not buy cubed steak. Instead we buy regular steaks cook them and eat the noodles with butter as a side dish. When we were in America we made a similar dish and also added frozen vegetables.

We do not use the extra dried vegetables packages that come with Korean ramen. Since we drain the water they do not get soft enough. I save them to put in soups later.

Chris likes the spicy noodles and I like the mild ones. To solve this problem we boil the two packs of noodles together and them mix them with the spice packets separately.

Crockpot BBQ Ribs

This recipe is so easy

1 bottle of Bullseye BBQ Sauce (at Lotte Mart)
1 lb of beef ribs
4 potatoes
1 small container of plain yogurt
Foil
Salt or Season Salt


1. Place the ribs in the bottom of the Crockpot.


2. Season with salt


3. Pour the entire bottle of BBQ Sauce over the ribs.


4. Add ¼ cup of water to the BBQ Sauce bottle. Replace the cap and shake to get all the sauce out. Pour into the Crockpot.


5. Stab four large potatoes with a fork several times. Wrap them in foil and place them just on top of the ribs. Don’t submerge them.


6. Cook for 6 to 10 hours on low.


7. When the meal is ready, pull out the potatoes and rinse them with water before removing the foil to get rid of any sauce.


8. Since I can’t find sour cream at a decent price in Korea, I use little containers of plain yogurt (not vanilla). It tastes the same but is cheaper and healthier.


9. You can also add corn on the cob wrapped in foil. I haven’t tried it yet.


10. Always save your sauce. I put my sauce in the fridge overnight and then removed all of the fat that was on top. Save the sauce for a Pork Roast or other meats. You can freeze it until you are ready to use it.