sweet & tangy meatballs

this normally isn't like me - but i have another asian recipe coming your way! i made these meatballs for my friend's bridal shower this weekend (that post is coming later) as an appetizer. i turned the leftovers into a weeknight dinner by adding brown rice and some veggies. theses little guys were extremely flavorful, moist, and sweet with a kick of spice. the best part is that you cook these in the slow cooker so there is really no cooking involved!

adapted from my recipes
ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, turkey or pork
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 scallions, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/4 cup chinese plum duck sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons hot chili garlic sauce
sesame seeds, for garnish

directions:
combine meat, panko, scallions egg, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a large bowl. mix with your hands and form into 1-inch balls.

spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. add meatballs.  in a small bowl, whisk together bbq suace, plum duck sauce, hoisin and hot chili garlic sauce. pour over meatballs and gently stir, making sure to coat each one. cover and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours.

serve over brown rice and your favorite green vegetables - i chose a medley and added a little soy sauce to both. garnish meatballs with sesame seeds and eat up.

top taco - best shredded beef taco ever.

picture via gimmesomeoven.com
i forgot to take one myself, but this is pretty close to what they looked like.

last weekend, my roommates and i hosted "top taco".  we got together with a group of our guys friends that live together to stage the ultimate cooking showdown with a mexican fiesta. the rules were simple - each team had to cook three dishes - queso, guacamole and tacos - and each round would be judged individually.  the boys ended up with the winning queso and the girls with the winning guacamole. that meant it was up to the taco round to decide our fate. inspiration came after my visit to salt lake city last month. we had stopped by a diners, drive-ins and dives favorite - red iguana - where we sampled a little taste of heaven in their shredded beef tacos. i tried googling to find the recipe but came up with no luck. i even called red iguana and asked for the recipe where a little mexican man simply laughed on the other end. so i ended up watching the ddd segment on youtube and wrote down all the spices they used to marinate their meat and came up with my own recipe.  the meat turned out absolutely delicious - it was moist, juicy, packed with tons of mexican flavor and just a little bit spicy. in the end, we won the taco round and became the champions of top taco!

ingredients:
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
4 lbs boneless chuck roast
3 bay leaves
28 oz can of tomatoes
2 cups low sodium beef stock
3 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
toppings: flour tortillas, monterrey jack cheese, sour cream

directions:
in a small bowl, combine cumin, chili powder, oregano, thyme, paprika, marjoram, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. trim fat from beef. using your hands, rub spice mix over all sides of meat and set aside. meanwhile, add can of tomatoes, bay leaves, onion, garlic, chipotles in adobo, more salt, and beef stock to slow cooker. add beef to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. add back to slow cooker and keep on warm until ready to serve.

to assemble, heat small skillet with a little evoo. take a flour tortilla and smother it with sour cream. add a good about of cheese and beef (make sure to get some of the juices that the beef was cooking in). fold in half and sear for 1 minute on each side in the skillet until tortilla is a little bit crispy. eat it up immediately before someone else does. repeat for the rest of the tacos.

feel free to use your own favorite mexican toppings - we just went with something traditional!

steak and cheese panini

i've been wanting to write a post using only pictures to give directions for a long time. tonight's meal was the perfect way to start because it was so easy to make - only has 5 ingredients and only takes about 10 minutes. plus you can't really go wrong with a steak and cheese. so here we go...

all the ingredients lined up - grilled flank steak, provolone cheese, french bread, mayo & hot pepper spread

cut the bread in half.

liberally spread mayo and hot pepper spread on both sides of bread.

add the cheese to both sides.

top with sliced steak.

assemble the rest of the sammies.

add to panini press. cook for 5-7 minutes.

final product.

close up. is your mouth watering?

easy mini turkey meatloaf

my roommate returned tonight after a month-long vacation in park city, utah. i welcomed her back the only way i know how - with a fresh hot meal. meatloaf is extremely easy. you just mix everything in a bowl, form them into mini loaves and pop in the oven. they turned out flavorful, moist and just plain delicious!

ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 pound ground turkey
gravy
s&p

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients (except the gravy). form into 6 equal mini loaves and place on greased baking sheet. bake for 30 minutes and top with hot gravy. serve immediately and enjoy.

italian wedding soup

while everyone was sitting in 6 to 7 hours of traffic to commute home last night, i was making italian wedding soup in my pjs.  this is one of my favorite kinds of soups and i can't believe i've never made it before.  it's super easy and versatile - you can substitute any kind of greens for the spinach and any kind of pasta for the orzo. however, the best part was the meatballs - they were super moist from cooking in the chicken broth. we served it with homemade cheesy garlic bread for dipping...ahh perfection.

ingredients: 
3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 italian style breadcrumbs
3 large eggs
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
red pepper flakes
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
10 cups chicken stock
10 oz fresh spinach
evoo
s&p

directions:
combine beef, bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, red pepper flakes, oregano and s&p in a bowl. form into mini meatballs - about 1 inch in size - should make about 20-30.

heat evoo in large skillet over medium high heat. add meatballs and cook about 3-5 minutes until browned, turning occasionally.

in a large stock/soup pot or dutch oven, heat evoo over medium high heat. add onions and garlic.  cook about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent, but not browned.  add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  add the spinach and meatballs, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

meanwhile, combine remaining 2 eggs and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot soup, stirring constantly. cover and simmer until egg bits are cooked about 2 minutes. season with salt and pepper if needed. serve immediately with cheesy garlic bread.

marinated flank steak with side of frisee, poached egg and pancetta vinaigrette

i got inspiration for this meal while i was volunteering at culinaerie during a julia childs-themed cooking class.  apparently salads with poached eggs are pretty big in french cooking. the creaminess of the warm runny egg yolk paired perfectly with the warm pancetta vinaigrette that had a acidic, tangy and salty bite to it. the steak marinade is pretty basic but stands up well to the elegance of the other ingredients. i served this as a main course, but you could definitely make smaller plates and serve as an appetizer. serves 4.

ingredients:
1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 poached eggs
2 bunches of frisée, torn
warm pancetta vinaigrette (recipe below)
s&p

directions for warm pancetta vinaigrette:
¼ pound pancetta, cubed
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced

cook pancetta in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned. remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  reserve 2-3 tablespoons of drippings and discard the rest. add garlic to pan and cook until soft. whisk in dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar, loosening particles from skillet. remove from heat and season with s&p if needed.

directions for steak salad:
mix olive oil, worcestershire sauce, garlic, s&p in plastic bag and add steak. marinate for at least one hour, turning occasionally. remove flank steak from bag, discarding marinade. heat grill over medium high heat and cook steak about 8 to 10 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness. cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin strips.

to assemble, place ½ bunch of torn frisée on bottom of plate.  layer steak slices on one side. top the middle of the frisée with a poached egg. garnish with ¼ of the pancetta cubes and drizzle desired amount of dressing over entire dish.

asian steak fajitas

i know it seems a little silly to be posting another fajitas recipe, but this one was different. this was a fusion between asian and meixcan flavors. let me explain.

denise (meagan's mom) had us over for dinner on monday night. she made grilled asian flank steak and her signature hashbrown casserole (seriously you guys must make this asap.) she sent us home with leftover steak to eat up this week. meagan and i were craving something mexican so we decided to make fajitas. i sauteed up some sweet bell peppers and onion, re-heated the beef and topped it off with our favorite extras - sour cream, monterrey jack cheese and pre-made guacamole salsa from wholly guacamole.

i was a little skeptical at first to be mixing the two cultural flavors, but it actually turned out pretty delicious. the sweetness from the asian marinade paired nicely with the creaminess of the guacamole salsa and sauteed onions and peppers. below is the recipe for the steak marinade. it's best to let it sit over night to get the maximum flavors.

ingredients:
1/3 cup canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup diced scallions
s&p
2 pounds flank steak

directions:

combine the marinade ingredients together in a plastic resealable bag with steak. coat well with the marinade and chill/marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. preheat the grill (indoor or outdoor) with high heat. take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse s&p. grill about 5-10 minutes on each side, depending how rare/cooked you like it. meanwhile, make another batch of marinade. cook on stove over low heat while meat is cooking. 

remove steak from grill, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes. make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide. serve with reserved marinade.

tamale pie

suz is back at it again, showing all of us roomies just how southern food is done. i'm amazed every time she shares her family's recipes with us. they are so delicious, so comforting and just have that down-home feeling. last night was no exception when she whipped up a tamale pie - it's basically ground beef mixed with all your favorite mexican flavors and topped with a cornbread crust and baked to perfection.

ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon evoo
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (you could use black beans too)
8oz diced tomatoes
2 chipotles chiles in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon sauce from can
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilnatro
1 (8.5 oz) package cornbread mix + egg & milk

directions:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. grease 8 inch dish with butter and set aside. heat evoo in nonstick skillet over medium heat. add ground beef, onions, green peppers and garlic. cook until beef if no longer pink, about 8 minutes. drain excess fat and sprinkle meat with cumin.

add beans, tomatoes, chiles and adobo sauce and bring to boil over high heat. reduce heat to medium and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. remove from heat. add cheese and cilantro. spread beef mixture in baking dish, pressing down with spoon to make an even, compact layer. combine cornbread mix according to direction on box. spread batter evenly over beef mixture and bake until cornbread is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. let stand 5 minutes and cut into squares.

roast beef french dippies with a side of sweets

call me crazy (suzanne did) but i have never had a roast beef sandwich before. i grew up being a very picky eater and rarely strayed away from my basics. whenever we went to arby's (usually because my dad had a coupon) i always opted for the chicken sandwiches, not the beef and cheddars. i had no idea what i was missing out on until suzanne made these for us the other night. she put her own twist on it by adding cheese and sauteed onions. i'm still drooling about them. the combination of the crusty bread, melted cheese, and juicy roast beef - all dipped into the salty, rich au jus sauce really made my night.

the recipe couldn't be easier and it's perfect for the week nights. we had a side of sweet potatoes fries to round things out. suzanne dipped her fries in honey - has anyone ever heard of that before?


ingredients:
1 lb sliced roast beef, from the deli counter
4 slices provolone cheese
1 onion, sliced
4 mini french bread baguettes
1 package mccormick® au jus gravy mix
3 cups cold water
evoo

directions:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a large skillet, heat evoo over medium high heat. add onions and cook until translucent. slice bread in half (length-wise) and add roast beef and onions - however much you like. top with cheese and wrap in aluminum foil. bake in oven for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasty.

meanwhile, stir water gradually into gravy mix with whisk in medium saucepan. stirring frequently, cook on medium-high heat until gravy comes to boil.

serve sandwiches immediately with a side of the au jus for dipping.

the "i'm not on a diet" enchilada

yello. i'm gorgeous.

today is thursday. the last time i blogged was sunday. please consider taking the following excuses as an explanation. 

1. i joined a gym on monday. between the 6pm elliptical sessions and 6am spinning classes, food hasn't been on my mind. cellulite has.
2. i've been preparing for my trip to the hamptons this weekend with sis (aka spending my free time picking out the perfect outfits)
3. meagan (roommate) has become the new domestic goddess of the house

all in fact, are true. meagan has really stepped up her game this week and prepared most (all) of the meals. let's take a quick recap. 

we started off monday with a grilled steak seasoned with bobby flay's signature rub. i whipped up buttermilk garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach with tomatoes and garlic for side dishes. 

tuesday i roasted a whole chicken with a chipotle chili rub and meagan made trader joe's red quinoa and black bean salad with cilantro dressing. all the ingredients for the salad can be bought at trader joe's, including the bottled dressing. roasting a chicken is easy - clean, rinse and dry a 5 lb chicken. place on roasting pan and drizzle evoo all over chicken, including under the skin. using your hands, rub chili rub all over chicken. do this liberally. cook for 1.5 hours at 425 degrees. 

last night was the best night by far. meagan made smokey cheese enchiladas with red rice and beans. with over 3 pounds of cheese in the recipe, this wasn't a night for dieting. it was a night of seizing the moment. when someone puts a casserole dish full of goey, cheesy mexican deliciousness in front of you- you seize the moment and eat them. just look at the picture - you'll go weak in the knees too.

so i leave you this week with some great recipes to try and a promise to be better about blogging next week. i must sign off now to keep an eye on my 70+ bus driver taking me to the city...aka keep checking him for a pulse.

burgers for book club

obviously this isn't my photo - the pictures i took didn't turn out as i had hoped.

(photo credit - womansday.com)

last night, megg and i hosted book club at our house to celebrate finishing the third book in the millennium trilogy - the girl who kicked the hornets nest.  (if you haven't read these books yet, go do it now.) the books are set in sweden and talk a lot about coffee, pickled herring, and frozen pizzas. in the past, when we met to discuss the first and second books, we tried to make food that went along with the theme of the book. this time we opted for a different scenario - summer sliders. i made three different kinds of mini burgers to suit everyone's tastes:

1. greek style burgers with feta aioli
2. turkey burgers with bacon and cheddar
3. bbq chicken burgers with coleslaw

the recipes for each of these was pretty simple. you can click on the link above for the greek burger recipe from cooking light. i followed the recipe exactly except i didn't add the roasted red peppers.  here's what to do for the other two:

turkey burgers with bacon and cheddar:
in a small skillet, brown about 6 slices of turkey bacon with evoo (or else it will stick) until it's really crispy. combine cooked bacon with 1 pound of ground turkey, 3-4 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, a dash of garlic and onion powder and s&p. form into mini burgers (should get between 8 and 10) and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side. top with slice of cheddar cheese and serve on mini bun with light mayo.

bbq chicken burgers with coleslaw:
season 3 chicken breasts with s&p and spread your favorite bbq sauce all over it. grill for about 5-7 minutes per side. before taking off the grill, top chicken with monterrey jack cheese and let it melt. cut each chicken breast into thirds, top with prepared coleslaw and serve on a mini bun. if you want - you can add more bbq sauce to the chicken once it's done cooking, but i slathered it enough before i cooked it.

everyone had their own personal favorites, but i really enjoyed the greek sliders.

birthday dinner part 1: mustard crusted filet mignon

i made this recipe as part of rae's birthday dinner. to make if even more special, i wrapped the filet mignon in bacon. ooooo bacon. i whipped up a quick herb mustard compote to spread on top and grilled it - that simple. here's how to do it.

ingredients:

4 filet mignon steaks, between 4-6 oz each

4 slices of bacon

1 tablespoon horseradish mustard

1 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup low sodium beef stock 

1 tablespoon butter

evoo

s&p

directions:

preheat skillet over medium high heat with evoo. wrap one piece of bacon around each filet, securing with small toothpick. meanwhile mix together mustard, parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, 1 teaspoon evoo and s&p in small bowl. brush tops and bottoms of steaks with mixture. grill for about 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on how rare you like it. remove steaks from heat and let rest before serving. add beef stock to pan and use a wooden spatula to scrap up the brown bits. let this reduce by half. add butter to get a beautiful glaze to the pan sauce. pour over steak before serving.

as a side note, i read a really interesting article about using the palm of your hand to test the doneness of you meat. try it next time you're cooking!