Hamburger Italia, i.e. Lasagna on a Bun

I recently reviewed the George Foreman GRP4B Next Grilleration™ Removable Plate Grill over on Moana Saves. As part of the review I came up with a unique hamburger recipe that my kids like to call: "lasagna on a bun." In an attempt to be a little more classy, I call this "Hamburger Italia!" (Or would "Italiano" make more sense? I don't know.)

Hamburger Italia

1 pound ground beef

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¾ cup fat-free Ricotta cheese

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons fresh basil, finely diced

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely diced

2 large tomatoes

7 button mushrooms

In a small bowl combine the Ricotta and Parmesan cheese with the basil and parsley. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Prep the mushrooms and tomatoes by thinly slicing them and setting aside.

Place the ground beef in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and form into four ½ inch thick patties, leaving ground beef to spare.  Divide the mozzarella cheese evenly among each patty, placing it in the center. Seal the cheese inside each hamburger patty with the remaining ground beef.  Place the meat on your and cook the burgers for 7-10 minutes or until they reach your desired doneness; remove from the grill. Cover the hamburgers to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the burger.

Grill the mushrooms on your George Foreman by placing them inside, closing the lid for browning.  They should be done in 5 minutes. Next place the tomatoes on the grill and season with salt and pepper. Close the lid and grill for 3-5 minutes, creating a ‘sun-dried tomato’ effect. Carefully remove the tomatoes from the grill and immediately place them on your burgers; they will be delicate to handle. (*Note: You can saute the mushrooms in a frying pan with a little butter if you don't have the grill. For the tomatoes: place them on a foil lined baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and a shake of salt & pepper, broiling for 5-10 minutes or until done.)

While the mushrooms sauté and the tomatoes “sun-dry”, spread the ricotta mixture on the bottom side of a Kaiser roll. (This is the heavy half of your finished product and therefore needs to be the bottom half of the roll.) You want a good thick spread of cheese mixture. On the other half of the roll spread butter. Place both in the oven to broil. The buttered half will brown faster so be sure to watch it and remove once it’s brown. The ricotta mixture needs to get browned and slightly crispy on top.

To serve, place the meat and tomato on top of the ricotta mixture and top with the browned mushrooms.

Who Dished it first? This is an original by your's truly; Me!

Notes: The ricotta-covered bun can get soggy. Make sure this is the last thing you do before eating. Also, fresh herbs are a must in my opinion as they add a light and fresh flavor that dried herbs can't duplicate.

Sweet Potato Foil Packet Tacos

Tacos and sweet potatoes? Both in the same sentence? Take my word for it, this is a good one. In fact, it won a recipe contest! This sweet potato taco recipe is from the cooking blog Perry's Plate. The health-conscious & food-fabulous blogger responsible for all the great posts over at Perry's Plate is the one and only Natalie.

There are so many great reasons for cooking a foil packet dinner. First, it's the easiest way to get your kids involved in dinner prep.  Sprinkle, pile, stack and done! Even better, your dinner preparation is quick and your cleanup a cinch. We ate our foil packets on paper plates on the back porch picnic table so my cleanup was only the silverware and cutting board. Love it!

Besides easy prep and delicious taste I'm really happy my kids ate this right up.  My eldest actually asked for two packets! I love finding ways to sneak spinach into our meals.

Sweet Potato Foil Packet Tacos
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
2-3 T taco seasoning
1/2 cup tomato sauce (4 ounces)
1 can black, kidney, or pinto beans, drained
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 6 cups total)
2 T butter
salt
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole for garnish
6 12-inch long pieces of aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Brown ground meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and beans. Set aside.

To assemble packets, spray the foil with non-stick spray. Place 1 cup sweet potato cubes in the center of each piece. Top with a small piece of butter (about 1 tsp) and a pinch or two of salt. Sprinkle some chopped spinach over the sweet potatoes, followed by about 1/3 cup of taco meat and sprinkle of cheese. Fold the sides in, then bring the top and bottom ends of the foil together in the center and fold, sealing the packet.

Repeat with remaining ingredients, placing the packets on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Makes 6 servings.


Who Dished it first? Natalie at Perry's Plate

Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken

Have you heard of a Kabocha Squash? It's also called a Japanese pumpkin. No? Either had I until recently when one came in my fruit and veggie box from our local coop.

I have to admit that this little green guy sat on my counter for a month as I searched for the perfect recipe. I found many recipes for slicing, seasoning (some with chili powder and cayenne. Wow!), and baking. Finally I found this gem of a recipe on the website for The Washington Post and we all (children included) enjoyed this sweet yet savory recipe. 

I know what your first thoughts must be. Squash chunks with meat? And it's an Asian dish? Are you sure it's good? Yes!  The meat and soy sauce bring savor along with a slight sweetness of the squash.  My main disclaimer about this recipe is the carving of the vegetable. Be warned because it takes a good ten-plus minutes with a sharp knife and a strong arm. My second disclaimer is that I'm posting this recipe exactly as Chef Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro would have it even though I haven't cooked it per his exact instructions. (See my notes at the bottom of this post.) I usually don't post a recipe without trying it exactly per the original recipe but since some of my neighbors have the same squash sitting all by his lonesome on their counters I thought I would share this recipe before experimenting with it more. Plus, like I said, this recipe is kid-approved in my house so it must taste good enough to share. Agreed? 

Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken
Courtesy of The Washington Post

1 3-pound kabocha squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground chicken*
1 tablespoon minced ginger root
2 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mirin*
2 1/2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon potato starch or tapioca starch*

Use a long, heavy knife to cut the squash into quarters. Discard the seeds and strings inside; peel each quarter and cut the flesh into 1/2-inch cubes. There should be about 4 1/2 cups.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chicken and ginger and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to break up clumps, until no pink remains in the chicken. Add the squash and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it is well coated. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and cook for 5 to 6 minutes; the squash should be submerged.

Combine the sugar and mirin in a measuring cup, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and add to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tamari or soy sauce and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid in the pan or skillet has reduced by half. The squash should be firm but tender and easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons water with the potato starch or tapioca starch in a measuring cup and add to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly; the sauce will thicken almost immediately and will take on a smooth sheen when it's done. Divide among individual bowls and serve hot.

*My Notes: I didn't have a couple of ingredients, including mirin or the preferred starch and ground meat. Instead I substituted rice vinegar for the mirin since they're very similar and cornstarch for the potato or tapioca starch. Ground chicken is expensive and hard to come by (someday I'll have my own meat grinder!) and I love the flavor of ground turkey but we ate our last package the previous night so I resorted to using ground beef. Believe it or not this dish still tasted good with ground beef.

If you try this recipe with the ground chicken or turkey before I do feel free to leave a comment with your reaction!

Bacon & Bleu Burgers

It's a new year and one of my resolutions is to be more efficient in my menu planning. A good friend of mine referred me to Once a Month Mom's website where she documents monthly menu plans and the accompanying ingredient shopping lists to make you a once a month mom. What does being a once a month mom mean? This website lists meal ideas and shopping lists as well as thorough instructions on how to cook one day in the month and freeze these prepared meals. I haven't had my own big day of cooking and freezing because I'm first experimenting with the recipes to see which I like but so far I haven't been disappointed.

This recipe of bacon and bleu burgers is really good! If you don't like bleu cheese I think you'll still enjoy this recipe. The combination of flavors is really mouthwatering and the cheese adds a lot of moisture but the flavor is subtle and not too overpowering.

Bacon and Bleu Burgers
recipe courtesy of Once a Month Mom

1 pound ground beef
2/3 c bacon crumbles
1/3 c bleu cheese

Cook bacon in 400 degree oven on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Remove, allow to cool and chop in food processor.  In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until well incorporated. Make a large ball of the meat and then divide into fourths. Make 4 quarter pound hamburger balls and then mold into patties. Cook on hot grill for 3 minutes on each side or until hamburgers are cooked to desired preference. Serve on buns with additional toppings if desired.
Freezing Directions:
You can make up these hamburgers and freeze them using sheets of wax paper to divide them and then place them in freezer bags. To serve: Thaw, cook and serve according to previous instructions.

Pot Roast

I have always struggled to cook the perfect pot roast. I'm not sure why I struggle since it's not like I'm attempting rocket science! I cook a moderately good roast but what I really love is the beef that just shreds with a fork and is moist. This recipe is what I can confidently call a fool-proof recipe! There are no onion flavor packets or confusing techniques. This is just simple searing and roasting...and mmmm was it good!

Ree appeared on the today show this month to demonstrate this recipe. She commented that she doesn't like to put potatoes in with the roast to cook since they get soggy.  I agree! Leaving them out allows for the juices to pool and later be used in a delicious gravy.

Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast
(source: PW)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
2 whole Onions
6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste
1 cup Beef Broth
2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil
split). Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so. If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

I love a good family-friendly recipe, meaning my kids clean their plates with a smile and the food is healthy. I found this recipe the other day on Eat at Home and I was convinced I should make it when Tiffany said: "I found this recipe stuck in my tattered recipe binder, jotted on a calendar page from 1998. I used to make it quite a bit, but somehow forgot about it. "  With those two sentences I was sold! We made this today for Sunday dinner and everyone loved it!

 We served this with penne pasta since we have eaten a lot of potatoes this week. My only comment is that the round steaks shrink, a lot, so plan accordingly.

Round Steak with Vegetable Gravy in the Slow Cooker 

Recipe from Eat at Home

   * 3 carrots, peeled and diced
    * onion, diced
    * small green pepper, diced
    * 2 stalks celery, diced
    * 2 lb. round steaks
    * 1/2 cup ketchup
    * 1 Tbs. vinegar
    * 1/3 cup water
    * salt and pepper
    * 2 Tbs. flour
    * 1/2 cup water

Place the meat in the crockpot.  Put the diced veggies on top.  Mix the ketchup, vinegar, water and salt and pepper together.  Pour over the meat and veggies.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker.  Turn it up to high.  Mix the flour and 1/2 cup water together in a container with a tight-fitting lid.  Shake it to combine until smooth.  Whisk into the broth in the slow cooker and let it cook just a few minutes until it’s thickened a bit.

Chili Seasoning Mix

I love a warm meal on a cold winter's night. This past week we've had a lot of rain and chilly weather so for Sunday dinner I decided to make some yummy chili. I have tried so many different chili recipes and purchased mixes and this recipe compares with the rest. This was a tasty chili mix that we all enjoyed and plan to use again. I found this recipe on 'Our Best Bites' as a bulk mix recipe to give in gift bags as cute holiday gifts.

Chili Seasoning Mix Recipe from OurBestBites.com
This makes one gift serving, so multiply by however many you'd like to package up. **You only need 4 Tablespoons for a normal-sized chili meal so I quartered this recipe my first time. Now that I know we like the flavors of this mix I'm going to mix a larger batch and save it for future use.

1/2 C chili powder
1/4 C ground cumin
2 T garlic salt
2 T dried oregano leaves
1 T ground coriander
1 t cayenne pepper or chipotle chili powder (add more if you like spicy chili)

If you are making a big batch, make sure to mix it very well so all of the spices get evenly distributed.




Hearty Chili

1 lb ground beef, turkey or sausage (you can leave out the beef to make it a vegetarian chili)
1 onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
4 T chili seasoning mix
2 16oz cans pinto beans (I sometimes even use black beans)
2 16 oz cans kidney beans
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 14oz can beef broth

Drain and rinse beans and set aside. Combine meat and onion in large pot over med-high heat and cook until browned. Drain and discard fat. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.


*I made this by soaking and cooking kidney beans on low over night in the crock pot. This morning I put the remaining ingredients in and let them all cook on low until dinner. I just love a Sunday dinner that cooks itself!

Mongolian Beef

I went searching the other night for a good Mongolian Beef recipe. In truth, I was looking for something as similar to PF Chang's as possible and THIS IS IT!! Delicious!

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef

(BakeSpace)

Sauce:

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 lb flank steak

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of oil in medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get spatter when adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch and apply a thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks. (I just tossed cornstarch in a Ziploc bag with the beef and gave it a good shake. This was much faster then individually dipping the meat.)

As the beef sits, heat one cup of oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for 2 minutes or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef will go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so it cooks evenly. After a couple of minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and place it on paper towels, then discard the leftover oil.

Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. Cook for one more

minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.

You can also substitute chicken for the beef, if you prefer it.

*I wanted to serve this with broccoli so I steamed some and layered it between the rice and the beef. Yummy!

Cowboy Spaghetti

Yee-haw! This cowboy spaghetti is a fun and flavorful twist to the typical red sauce with noodles. The original recipe called for beer (no thanks) and fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (this has enough spice as is). Enjoy!

Cowboy Spaghetti
adapted from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals
Serves 4-6
1 pound spaghetti
salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup beef stock 
1 (14-ounce) can chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
8 ounces sharp cheddar
4 scallions, chopped

Heat a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and salt the water. Cook to al dente or with a bite to it.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon, 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary. Leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, garlic and stir into meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Add 1/2 cup beef stock and deglaze the pan. Cook 5 to 6 minutes more then stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add hot spaghetti to meat and sauce and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve up pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with crisp bacon.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

My husband likes a hearty dinner and my kids like spagetti so this was a great crowd pleaser for our family tonight. I have a french bread recipe so instead of buying hoagies I cut the recipe in half and then divided the dough 12 ways into these somewhat larger-than-life hoagies but we all loved them! Thanks Jenny at Picky Palate for the meatball recipe!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

(Original recipe from Jenny at Picky Palate)

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon Tabasco Hot Sauce
½ Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 T fresh)
¼ teaspoon dried basil (or 1 T fresh)

12-15 1 inch mozzarella balls (or cut fresh mozzarella in 1 inch cubes)
1 26oz jar favorite pasta sauce, or homemade sauce
4-6 Hoagie Rolls, cut in half
4 sliced provolone cheese, each cut into halves (I think this is optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place beef, egg, milk, hot sauce, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano and basil in a large bowl. With hands or large spoon, mix until well combined.

2. Scoop about ¼ Cup meat mixture in hands; press 1 mozzarella ball into middle of meat and form a ball around the cheese. Do this until all meat and cheese is used up; makes about 12-15 large meatballs.

3. Place all meatballs into a 9x13 inch baking dish that has ¼ Cup olive oil spread into bottom. Bake for 20 minutes; flip all meatballs. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

4. Place pasta sauce into a large pot. Place cooked meatballs in sauce.Simmer on low heat.

5. Place ½ slice of provolone onto the cut sides of rolls. Place onto tin foil or baking sheet and broil in oven for 1-2 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted.

6. Place 3-4 meatballs onto bottom halves of toasted rolls. Spoon pasta sauce over meatballs and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Close with top roll and serve warm.

**Jayne's Notes: When broiling my Hoagies I buttered each, put mozzarella on one half and a quick shake of Parmesan and garlic salt on the other. Also, the fresh herbs made a HUGE difference in the meat mixture! (I actually think the meat would have been a bit drab if not for the intense flavor of fresh herbs.)

Also, I cut my meatballs in half when serving so they fit better on the sandwich. (I don't like to get a huge chunk of meatball when I bite into the sandwich so that was an added bonus of halving your meatballs.)

PW's Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger

We are having so much fun cooking on the grill at least once a week. Let's just the grill we use now, a stainless steel LARGE gas grill, is a major step up from briquets in a knee-high grill. I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's site and was slightly hesitant when I saw all that blue cheese. Don't get me wrong because I do like blue cheese, just not gobs of it with nothing else to temper the flavor. This hamburger has just the right mix of flavors and I especially enjoyed the carmelized purple onions.

PW's Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger

(photo and recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman)

2 lbs 80/20 ground beef

1 red onion, sliced (not too thick, not too thin)

crumbled blue cheese

mayo

Tabasco sauce

2 T brown sugar

kaiser rolls

lettuce

Place the ground beef in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper and a few dashes of Tabasco. With your hands, mix seasonings into meat. Set aside.

For the onions, heat a medium skillet over low heat. Add 2 T butter. Dup in the sliced red onions and 2 generous tablespoons of brown sugar. Give it a toss to combine the ingredients, then allow the onions to caramelize over low heat for about twenty minutes, tossing occasionally.

While the onions are caramelizing, make the spicy mayo by placing the 1/4 c may in a bowl and adding a few dashes of Tabasco. Stir together and test for taste.

Next, slice the Kaiser rolls in half and spread each half with butter. Place them face down on a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Lightly grill the rolls until crispy.

Form the meat into patties and place on a grill on medium-low heat. Allow meat to cook about 3 minutes, then using a spatula rotate it 45 degrees leaving it on the same side. After a few minutes flip the burger and cook on the other side, rotating it 45 degrees again to get the nice grill makrs. Now add a large helping of the caramelized onions over the top, followed by a generous helping of crumbled blue cheese. As the meat finishes cooking, spread the spicy may on the rolls and transfer the burger onto the bun. Top with a handful of greens and the other bun.

Mexican Lasagna

We have arrived! These past few weeks we moved from Colorado to southern California so I apologize for the delay in posting. Now that we're settled I have lots of yummy recipes that have accumulated and I'm ready to share. To celebrate our new north of the border home I'll share this yummy Mexican Lasagna recipe with you. This is a family favorite from a 1996 'Keeping Pace' newsletter. My husband really enjoyed the meal and he joked how his wife is a Pace Picante fan. It's true and Pace is really the secret ingredient to this recipe so don't substitute.

Mexican Lasagna

(from Pace Picante 1996 Spring newsletter with alterations by my mom Ruth)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 lb ground beef

1 large green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium spanish onion 

2 c traditional spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 c Pace Picante sauce

1 T chili powder

8 flour tortillas (6-inch)

2 c shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (2 1/2 oz each) sliced olives

2 green onions

Saute yellow onion and bell pepper until starting to brown. Add beef and cook until browned. Drain off fat. Add spagetti sauce, 1 cup picante sauce and chili powder. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes.

In 3-quart shallow baking dish spread remaining picante sauce. Arrange 4 tortillas in dish. Top with half the beef mixture, half the cheese and half the olives. Repeat layers. Sprinkle diced green onions over top.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until hot. Let stand 5 minutes. Serves 8.

*We added the yellow onion to the beef mixture for flavor and the sprinkled green onion on top for color.

Goulash

We really enjoyed this recipe. My kids even asked for seconds! We served this over egg noodles but now that I know how much we like the sauce next time we'll be serving it like the Austrians over spaetzle. (Spaetzle is a pasta made with a cool 'spaetzle maker' which we just happen to own!)

Goulash
(Featured on Perry's Plate from Smitten Kitchen (adapted from Gourmet, 1994). Photo courtesy of Perry's Plate...she's a better food photographer than me.)

5 slices bacon, chopped
3 pounds boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 T vegetable oil
4 medium onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet)
1 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. red-wine vinegar
1/4 c. tomato paste
5 c. beef broth
1 to 5 cups water (use the former to make a stew, the latter to make a soup)
1 teaspoon salt
2 red bell peppers, chopped fine

In a 6-8 qt dutch oven or saucepan, cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Leave the bacon fat in the saucepan and add beef, browning in small batches over high heat and transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl. (Doesn't have to be cooked all the way through.)

Reduce heat to moderate and add oil. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and tomato paste and cook, whisking, 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thick.) Stir in broth, water, salt, bell peppers, bacon, and browned beef and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer soup, covered, stirring occasionally, 60 to 75 minutes.

Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired. Serve over egg noodles, potatoes or gnocci. (Or go all-out Austrian and make some spaetzle!) Serves 12.

**Jayne's Notes: I halved this recipe. I didn't have Hungarian sweet paprika so my dish included just plain generic brand paprika and I went light on the onions and slightly heavier on the bacon (Dan likes bacon and 3 strips in a 'halved' recipe just didn't cut it for him). Also, don't be afraid to use caraway seeds. I'm not a fan of rye bread but a little shake of these seeds seemed to make a positive difference. Lastly, we started making this after a late church meeting on Sunday so we definitely did not have the patience to simmer for an hour. I think in the end it simmered for 30 minutes.