A Few Fries Short » beef

Recipe: The Best Ever Sloppy Joe

Toni-Lynn — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 11:00:19 +0000

This is my fast and easy go to meal when I am sick of the same old stuff or in a hurry. It is nice to throw together on a Sunday night then just warm it up during the week in the slow cooker. It is not too sweet or sour, and it has just the right mix of veggies and seasonings. Start with 1 tablespoon of chili powder, then add more if you prefer more heat! If you are worried about the cooking wine and serving this to children, NO WORRIES! The alcohol cooks out! If you are wondering why this is in the pasta category, read to the bottom to find out.

If you don’t eat beef, this taste good with ground turkey or ground chicken. I have tried it all 3 ways. The chicken was by far my favorite though.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
1/3 cup Holland House Red Wine Vinegar (Print and Save $.50 now!)
1/3 cup ketchup
2 to 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef, chicken or turkey)
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried leaf oregano
1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, ketchup and brown sugar.
Stir together to dissolve the sugar. Set it to the side.
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, combine your ground beef with the remaining ingredients.
Cook it over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes
You want to make sure that you don’t have big chunks of ground beef so I used a spatula and just “chop it” as I turn the meat.
If you aren’t using a lean meat, at this point you will want to drain off the grease and return it to the skillet.
Stir in the tomato mixture that you prepared earlier
Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
Serve in buns or even over hot cooked pasta! It is delicious like this.
Makes 5 1/2 cups. Depending on how you like your buns piled, you can get 6 to 10 sandwiches from this.

Recipe: Sun-Bird Beef and Broccoli

Toni-Lynn — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:42:25 +0000

I am not a big vegetable eater so trying a dish with broccoli wasn’t exactly my idea interesting. I think if you are making an attempt to eat more vegetables, this isn’t were to start This classic Asian beef and broccoli is easy to prepare with Sun-Bird Seasoning Mixes. These Seasoning Mixes can be found at your local grocery store in the Asian food section. My closest store is Kroger and they sell them and are really cheap. If you don’t eat beef or broccoli, substitute chicken and fresh cut green beans for beef and broccoli.

INGREDIENTS

1 packet (1 ounce) Sun-Bird® Beef and Broccoli seasoning
3/4 lb of boneless beef (your choice, chunk, flank, round or sirloin steak)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 pound broccoli (thinly sliced stalks, cut florets in pieces)
1 large onion cut in pieces

DIRECTIONS

Mix the seasoning, soy sauce and water in a small bowl and set it to the side.
In large skillet, heat oil and add beef and stir-fry until browned.
Add broccoli and onions and stir-fry
Add seasoning mixture and stir-fry for 1 minute or until thickened. Sauce will thicken.

Recipe: Apple-Ginger Marinade

Toni-Lynn — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:00:38 +0000

For flavor like you’ve never experienced before! The Vinegar used in this marinade has a sweet, mellow roasted garlic flavor that’s excellent for splashing on white rice and roasted, baked, mashed, and French fried potatoes. When making this recipe, make sure you use only the ginger called for. Ginger has a very over powering flavor if youy put to much. If you try it, come back and let me know what you thought!

Give this marinade a try! It will go great on a pork roast!

Per serving (1 Tbsp.): 25 calories, 0g protein, 4g carb, 0g fiber, 1g fat (0g sat. fat), 0mg chol, 250mg sodium

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar – Roasted Garlic
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1 piece (1×1-1/2 inches) fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lemon (grate the zest and juice the lemon)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, using 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Marinate meat (steak, chicken, or pork tenderloin) covered in refrigerator at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. To cook, discard marinade; grill or broil meat, turning as needed to prevent burning (sugars in the marinade make the meats char more readily).

Food safety note: To avoid contamination of cooked meats with raw meat juices, discard marinade or boil marinade for a couple of minutes before using as a sauce. If marinade is used to baste meats on the grill, make sure the marinade gets fully cooked on the meat before serving. Always use a clean platter (not contaminated with raw meat juices) to transfer meats from the grill to the table.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups marinade (enough for roughly 3 pounds of meat).

Recipe: What is your Pasta Personality?

Toni-Lynn — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:09:35 +0000

Find out your Pasta Personality and how it compares to some of Carrabba’s signature pasta dishes. Are you outgoing and have a spicy personality like a Marinara sauce, or warm and caring like a smooth Alfredo? No matter what your personality, Carrabba’s Italian Grill has a signature pasta dish that’s perfect for you! Take the Carrabba’s Pasta Personality Quiz and find out which one of their Signature Pasta meals best represents your personality!

I found it quite funny that mine came out to be Spaghetti and Meatballs. While I could eat Meatballs ALL DAY, I am not a big fan of Spaghetti. I am seriously a Fettuccine/Penne’ and Alfredo girl!

Carrabba’s Signature Pasta Meals and New Limited Time Offers
Signature Pasta Meals, featuring seven distinctive dishes served with choice of soup or fresh salad starting at $10. There’s no better place than Carrabba’s to enjoy a complete Italian meal – any day of the week.

CARRABBA’S PASTA: Carrabba’s makes every pasta dish by hand with the freshest ingredients. Pasta is cooked perfectly every time and signature sauces are made from scratch daily. Creative flavors and combinations of ingredients are part of Carrabba’s authentic family recipes as well as new creations.

LIMITED TIME OFFERS: Now through July 2011.
Featured Signature Pasta Meal:
Pasto Rambo – Named for the chef who created it, it’s made with shrimp tossed with imported Italian linguine, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes sautéed in our basil lemon butter sauce. Lobster is available instead of shrimp for an additional cost.

Other Limited Time Offers:
Parmesan-crusted Chicken – Topped with fresh arugula and grape tomatoes tossed in a hand-prepared lemon vinaigrette, served with choice of side. Substitution of wood-grilled chicken also available. Pairs well with Estancia Pinot Grigio.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – Three pork tenderloin medallions wrapped with prosciutto, wood-grilled and topped with an apple and fig infused port wine sauce, served with the vegetable of the day. Pairs well with Coppola Pinot Noir.

Limoncello Bread Pudding – Back by popular demand! Brioche bread pudding made with fresh Madagascar vanilla beans and a rich custard, served hot out of the oven. Topped with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and drizzled with Carrabba’s homemade Caravella Limoncello liqueur sauce.

Now Introducing:
Peach Sangria – Carrabba’s new light and fruity Peach Sangria blends Copper Ridge White Zinfandel, Absolut Apeach vodka and Patrón Citrónge with a splash of citrus. Topped with a fresh lemon wedge and strawberry, it’s a taste of the Amalfi Coast in spring.

Being Italian I am open to all sorts of pasta dishes. One of my favorite dishes to make for my family is Manicotti. Ironically this was my Wordless Wednesday post today! My friend and I were making it at 10 pm the other night. This is a super simple recipe to make! It literally took us less than 15 minutes to throw together. Mind you I already had home made sauce made but you can use your favorite jar sauce of course!
Ingredients:

1 box of Manicotti Shells
1 16 oz container of Ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 Bag of Shredded Cheese (Any white cheese of blend of will work) (Set aside 1 cup to sprinkle on top)
1/4 Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cover the bottom of a 9×13 pan with some sauce. Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl. Place cheese in a freezer bag or piping bag and snip off the end. Squeeze cheese into your RAW manicotti shells. Cover them with sauce and remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 55 minutes on 360.

Many people think that cooking a meal like this has to be difficult and it really doesn’t! My mom is not much of a cook so I am so happy that before my Nana passed, she taught me a lot of the family recipes. I am finding out now how few people in the family even know how to cook what she used to. Being a single mom, it is nice to have some fast yet healthy recipes to cook for my boys. I want to spend time with them, not all day in the kitchen. Good doesn’t have to mean time consuming.

Disclosure: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Carrabba’s blogging program, for a gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”