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Thursday Recipe Exchange: Portuguese Beef and Pasta
Years ago, when I was first learning to ski, I was very frustrated by the amount of time I spent on my ass and not skiing. Someone told me that if I wasn’t spending a lot of time picking myself up, I wasn’t really skiing. I needed to push my limits to get better. In other words, it was all good. I find that information works for a lot of things in life. Cooking is no exception.
This week, I spent a lot of time on my figurative ass, playing with the new crock-pot making various recipes. There were epic failures. The first thing I tried was a slow cooker meatloaf. It called for a basic meatloaf recipe – I have a favorite – and then cook all day on low. The results were not stellar. More like steamed meatloaf. An unappetizing color and texture. Not the nice deep brown of a good baked loaf. I was able to salvage it by cutting it into thin slices and frying it up for sandwiches.
I'll stick to these scalloped potatoes from now on.
The next failure was the scalloped potatoes. This called for a slightly modified recipe, a bit more moisture than in the baked method. The flavor was fine, the texture was horrible. Kind of like if you reheated some that you baked. Rubbery and chewy. I’m not sure how you could modify the recipe to get a creamier texture. I’d love to hear any ideas in the comments.
The rest of the week was spent making traditional slow cooker foods – soups and a lovely pot roast. It wasn’t a total loss. I did learn that for a fool-proof slow cooker recipe it’s best to have a recipe that can cook, unattended, all day without risk of ruin. Both the potatoes and the meatloaf really could not have cooked any longer than they did. They would have turned out even worse.
So that was adventures in cooking this week. What foods do you use your slow cooker for successfully? Anything usual that we’ve never thought of? Hit the comments. Next week I think our theme will be Mardi Gras, and I’m hoping you’ll come prepared to share some favorite drinks as well as Cajun food recipes. Someone should bring the King’s cake recipe, too.
Here’s one of my favorite fool-proof slow cooker recipes:
Portuguese Beef & Pasta
This works best if you cook the pasta separately and either add it to the beef the last 15 minutes or serve the beef over the pasta. This is one of those slow cooker recipes that the longer it cooks, the better it gets, usually 10 hours minimum for best flavor.
- 1 lb round steak, cut into thin strips, remove excess fat
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2-14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 8 oz dry macaroni**
Slow-Cooker and saucepan
Add beef, salt, pepper, onion, green pepper, garlic, paste, diced tomatoes, water, bay leaf & red pepper to Slow-Cooker. Cook according to manufacturer’s directions (usually 8-10 hours on low) until beef tears easily with a fork. In saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well (you don’t want any water in your beef mixture) and mix beef and pasta and serve.
**Ditilani works really, or any tiny pasta, like tiny elbow macaroni or tiny bow-ties.
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange: Spinach Recipes
Recipe Exchange cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
I thought last week went really well. Thanks for playing along. This week we delve into spinach recipes. I used to hate spinach. This is probably because I am a child of the 70′s and the only spinach I ever saw was canned or frozen, with the consistency of slime. As an adult I discovered fresh, baby spinach and I never looked back. One of my favorite spinach recipes is Spinach Lasagna.
JeffreyW's stuffed manicotti with spinach
To get us started:
Spinach Lasagna
This is one of my most requested recipes. Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. Since the prep time is long, I usually only break it out for special occasions. It freezes well, so you can make a double batch and freeze two 8×8 pans of uncooked lasagna for two more meals. Thaw the night before (in the refrigerator) and cook until heated through, about 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe is great vegetarian, or you can add ground beef and sausage if desired.
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8
Sauce:
- 3-15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-6 oz cans tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp oregano, crushed
- 3 tsp basil, crushed
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely grated
- pinch of sugar (reduces acidity of the tomatoes)
- Optional: ½ lb ground beef and ½ spicy Italian sausage, browned
Saucepan
Add all ingredients to saucepan on medium-high, stirring constantly until it begins to boil lightly. Turn to low and let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Lasagna:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz), cooked and placed in cool water until layering*
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried and chopped
- 1 egg
- 12 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
13×9 baking dish (I prefer glass), lightly oiled
To prepare: Mix ricotta, spinach and egg until well blended. Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover in a single layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over noodles. Spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture evenly (if you place large dollops evenly like putting cookie dough on a baking sheet, fairly close together, it will spread as it cooks, no need to smooth it). Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Repeat: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles, add remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered – I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it bubbles. Place knife through the center, if it comes out heated through, remove and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. If it needs more cooking time, you can cover with foil to keep the cheese from burning and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand uncovered before serving.
*if you’d like to make your own noodles, here is the recipe I use:
Lasagna Noodles
When I do make the pasta, I make three, pan-sized noodles, rolled very, very thin. I place them uncooked in the dish, so they absorbed much of the sauce. I usually make a bit extra sauce to serve on the side with the lasagna.
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
In a large bowl, add flour. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, eggs and salt. Mix well with a fork. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a well floured board or pastry sheet. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one ball out as thin as possible (I use a marble rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine). Make sure to cover remaining balls with a damp towel until ready to use. Cut to fit pan. Repeat with remaining dough until you have 3 pan sized noodles. DO NOT COOK homemade noodles before putting lasagna together. Follow directions above for putting lasagna together.
Next Week: Favorite Super Bowl Food
What’s For Lunch?
I hear this question almost every day. Usually after I’ve heated my soup or leftovers. Especially the soups. Nothing warms an office like the smell of a hot, spicy soup on a cold fall day.
So what is for lunch today? How about a tomato vegetable soup? The key to keeping it fresh is how the pasta is cooked. I boil it separately, draining it when it is on the firm side of al dente. If I’m serving the soup right away, I add it the last 5 minutes and let it soak up the flavors without becoming mushy. If it’s for lunch, I bring the pasta and soup separately and combine before I reheat. You can use any pasta you like, but I think the mini-pastas work well – ditalini, tiny shells or tiny elbows – they hold their firmness the best.
Ditalini Pasta
Spicy Vegetable Soup
- 12 oz pasta, cooked al dente and drained*
- 1 lb lean ground beef or half ground beef, half ground Italian Sausage
- 2-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 2 cups of water
- 2 cups diced carrots (I use frozen)
- 1 cup green beans (frozen again)
- 6 green onions, chopped (including greens)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 3 tsp dried basil, crushed
- 2 tsp to 1 tbsp fennel
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper to taste
large saucepan
In saucepan, brown ground beef (and sausage). Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add pasta during the last 5 minutes. Serves 4-6 easily. Serve with garlic bread and salad.
*rinse quickly in cold water to stop the cooking process, but don’t over rinse and lose all that nice starch for the soup.
Mmm… Stuffed shells
I dithered about what to do with the ricotta we made yesterday until Mrs J mentioned stuffed shells. Perfect!
I didn’t have that much ricotta so I knew I would have to stretch it out with other stuff. I never measured the ricotta but the recipe I used mentioned 1-1/2 cups could be expected and that was pretty close. I added a cup pf shredded mozzarella, half a cup of shredded Parmesan, an egg, about 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, some red pepper flakes, and some dried oregano and basil with a bit of salt and a grind of black pepper.
These were arranged on top of some tomato sauce in a casserole dish.
Then topped with more tomato sauce, this time with some meat, and the rest of the ricotta mixture and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
I covered it with foil and baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.
Then baked it for another 15 minutes, uncovered.
I will be making more ricotta. It’s easy, and the flavor and texture is better than any I have brought back from the supermarket.\
A Quick Dinner
Busy doing chores and packing for my trip. What to do for dinner? Especially when I’m trying to deplete my refrigerator of fresh foods that will certainly go bad while I’m gone. How about a quick pasta dinner (sorry no pictures, did I mention I was busy packing)?
I put the pasta on to cook. Meanwhile I placed some cleaned baby spinach in a plastic colander, diced up a couple of tomatoes and pulled out some spices. I tossed the tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. When the pasta was ready, I drained it in a colander that I held over the spinach colander, wilting the spinach with the hot pasta water. I set the spinach aside and quickly rinsed the pasta with cool water. I drained the spinach well and then tossed the pasta, spinach and tomato mixture together. Toss with some Parmesan and dinner is served.
Cool eats on a hot day
Mmm…tuna salad sandwich on toast with lettuce and tomato. The classic summer salad: Cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in a vinaigrette. Pasta salad with halved cherry tomatoes and shells in a dressing of mayo, half & half, cream cheese, and a splash of lemon juice.
Thursday Night Menu: Dinner Guest Edition
Chocolate Pecan Torte
A few weeks ago, LFern and Mr. Fern made dinner for me. I thought I should return the favor. The menu is filled with my favorites. Nothing new here, just some surefire good food.
On the board tonight:
- Pasta Caprese
- Caesar Salad
- Chocolate Pecan* Torte
Pasta Caprese
From August 2010:
Pasta Caprese
- 9 oz linguine or fettuccine
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 4 oz cubed mozzarella
- salt & pepper to taste
saucepan and large serving dish
Prepare pasta according to package directions. While it’s cooking, mix remaining ingredients together. Drain pasta completely (dab with paper towels, if necessary) then add to tomato mixture. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors blend. Serve warm or you can refrigerate and serve cold. Add a nice loaf of bread for a complete dinner.
I use a fairly expensive mozzarella for this dish because it’s softer, tastier and absorbs more flavors. Any locally produced mozzarella would work. Also, my local farmers’ market has a pasta vendor, who hand-makes many flavors of pasta. This dish works very well with flavored pastas – fire roasted chili, lemon pepper, tomato basil, red bell pepper – the list goes on. You can also change-up the cheese to a Queso Blanco (again, use a fairly expensive or locally produced one), use cilantro instead of basil and use a chili flavored pasta for a whole new dish. The possibilities are endless.
Caesar Salad - would you think less of me if I told you I bought a 'salad kit' so I could focus on the rest of the meal?
This is becoming my favorite chocolate cake.
From January 2011:
Chocolate Hazelnut*Torte
- 12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tbsp milk or cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 7 eggs
- 3 tbsp Frangelino (opt)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts*
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform baking.
In a medium saucepan, whisk the chocolate, milk and butter together over low heat until a smooth mixture forms. Set the chocolate mixture aside to cool.
In a blender, beat eggs well. Add sugar, blending until the mixture turns thick and pale yellow. Add the Frangelino and gradually add the cooled chocolate mixture, blending slowly until combined. Add baking soda vanilla and nuts; mix until just combined.
Bake for 40 minutes, turn oven down to 350 degrees, then cover with foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on rack until completely cooled. Serves 12 small portions
*I had to make do with pecans because there was not a hazelnut to be found at the grocery store today. Was there a shortage? embargo? and I missed it?
One last note: This entire meal (minus croutons) was gluten free for LFern. The pasta is Tinkyada Rice Pasta, you’d never know the difference, it’s good stuff.
Baked Pasta
We’ve been eating sammiches and other like things for a while so I thought yesterday, early, that I would make a real meal. It was going to have to be easy because I knew I would be tired. Boy Howdy! I had my truck guy drop two loads off as close to where I needed the rock as he could get. That, unfortunately, was not all that close. I have a little trail through the woods that I like to cruise in my quad, a scenic route and nice to give the pups some exercise. It crosses some gullies that were becoming difficult to cross with the quad, and getting the mower over them was right out. Solution-drop in a couple of culverts. Alas, they just didn’t handle the deluge we had last month. Something like 5″ in one particular nght, and over 2 feet total for the month. Washed away much of the rock. Hell, one spot it washed away the culvert as well, had to drag it back from downstream a ways. Anyway…
I got back in, tired and sweaty. Put the rigatoni on to boil and fried some Italian sausage with a nice Vidalia onion. Tossed in 2 pints of sauce from last years tomato harvest, and went out to the container farm on the patio and plucked some fresh basil, oregano, and thyme.
I can assure you that the dish turned out great! Used plenty of mozzarella and provolone cheese, and went with a nice side of garlic bread. Yum!
He’s back! Sorry-no bells on.
Sorry it’s been so long since I posted. Been having some knee troubles that are depressing me, and we are in the midst of trying to get some concrete poured. The weather isn’t being very cooperative-it looks like we will get a good soaking today, and it may well turn into snow later. We had a spell of warm spring weather last week that had me out tilling and expanding the garden plot and cruising the garden centers looking for sprouts and seeds.
That all seems like last year now.
Good day to stuff some shells with cheese.
Enjoy!
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