Beef or Lamb Curry

Frankly, I have a difficult time deciding if this is actually a “curry” recipe, but at the same time, I have to recognize that the word ‘curry’ is used pretty widely across the globe… so who cares, right?

We’ve done this recipe with both lamb and beef – the lamb was really great, but a bit pricey.  For the beef we’ve just bought beef cubes for stew and made sure it cooked for a long while to have the meat fall apart at the sight of a fork.

It works well as leftovers, too – provided you’ve got enough rice the next day.

Serves 4

3 cups raw Beef or Lamb  (3/4 lb = 1 cup)
1 Onion
1/2 cup Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
1/2 can Tomato Paste
1 small can Tomato Sauce
Juice of Lemon or Lime  (3 Tablespoons)

• Cut meat into 1-1/2 inch cubes.
• Brown onion in 1/2 cup butter.
• Brown the meat and add the curry powder.  Stir until all is mixed.
• Add the salt, pepper, and ginger.  Again, stir well.
• Add boiling water to cover meat.
• Add tomato paste and sauce and lemon or lime juice.
• Simmer for at least 2 hours.  We’ve done it for 6 – 8 hours most of the time…
• Thicken slightly with flour and water.

Serve over plain cooked rice.
Sprinkle with any or all of the following over the curry and rice:

• Dry Coconut
• Chopped Nuts
• Chopped Eggs
• Chopped Onions
• Mango Chutney
• Crisp Bacon
• Tomatoes

(3 cups cooked rice per recipe)

Pasta Carbonara

This came from Susan’s brother Matt – I think he got it from one of his fancy cooking magazines. Its tasty, simple and quick. Plus its a decent excuse (if you needed one) to pop the cork on a bottle of white wine! 😉

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4 slices of bacon (We like the center cut stuff, but it doesn’t make a difference here)
Your favorite noodle (Angel Hair, Spaghetti, etc)
1 Tblspn Capers
Approx 1/2 cup of White wine (may be less, not sure)
1 large egg
Parmesan

Cook the noodles as directed on the package. While the noodles are cooking, fry the bacon in a skillet. Remove the majority of the bacon fat once the bacon is cooked. Remove the bacon from the pan and break into small pieces (this isn’t necessarily bacon bit sized!). Add the bacon back to the pan and immediately deglaze with the white wine. Add the capers and reduce over medium-low heat.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately the egg. Stir well, coating the noodles throughly. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir well, coating all the noodles throughly.

Combine bacon, sauce and noodles then serve.

Salmon Patties

This came from Susan’s brother Matt.  Where it came from before that, I don’t really know.  We’ve had it so many times now – so much so that Susan can recite it from memory!  It uses a bowl and skillet – easy cleanup!

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1 7oz pouch of Salmon (I presume canned would work too)
1/3 sleeve of Ritz crackers
1 large egg
1/3 of a medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 Tblspn mayonaise
Olive / Peanut / Vegetable oil (a little more than a coating on the bottom of the skillet – its not deep frying we’re after)
Approx 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Approx 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Black Pepper to taste

Empty the salmon pouch into a mixing, then, using a fork, break the salmon into pieces.  Put the Ritz crackers in a zip-top baggie and crush with mallet / meat tenderizer, creating fine crumbs.  Mix the cracker crumbs with the salmon.

Add onion and seasoning.  Mix well.  Add egg and mayonnaise.  Mix well.  Form into patties – we use a cookie cutter to create uniform and well packed patties.

Heat oil over medium-high heat and once hot, place patties in to cook approximately 2 minutes on each side, or until brown.

Makes four (4)  3″ diameter patties.

Chicken Taco Filling

I think this one originally came from AllRecipes, but we’ve modified it to make it go a little faster than the original.

Ingredients:

• Two 10 oz cans of chunk chicken breast (cooked, packed in water)
• 4 oz can of tomato sauce (I can only find 8oz cans. 😦 )
• 1/4 cup salsa (Try to pick a “wet” salsa, not a chunky one)
• 1 packet taco seasoning (We use the low sodium… which still isn’t all that low!)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (We use the stuff in the jar!)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 cup of water (If it looks a little dry – not required)
• Tortillas or taco shells

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir.
• Heat until warm.
• Serve with favorite taco/burrito add-ons.

Makes 8 (ish) tacos.  It all depends on how you portion it…

We’ve successfully doubled the recipe with success.  It also works well as a nacho topping, too.

Mexican Beef Bake

I got this recipe from my grandparents. By the looks of the printout, it came from my grandfather’s collection of recipes that he kept on his Macintosh. Who knows where this recipe originated.

Because Susan doesn’t like the olives, I only put them on one half of the dish. The whole meal takes about 45 minutes, from prep to eating. It uses one bowl, one casserole dish and one skillet. It warms up well the next day, even for people who despise leftovers!

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Mexican Beef Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 cup pitted black olives, sliced
• 1 cup mild taco sauce
• 4 oz can chopped green chilies, drained
• 1 cup coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (I just use pre-packaged nacho chese!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• Tortilla chips

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 400°
• In a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef about 5 minutes until well browned.
• Stir in chili powder, cook 1 minute.
• Remove from heat, stir in taco sauce, green chilies and salt
• In a small bowl, combine corn and half of the green onions
• In a 1½ quart casserole dish, layer half of the corn mixture, half of the beef mixture, half of the olives, and half of the cheese.
• Repeat layering.
• Bake, covered, for 20 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, green onions and tomato

Makes 4 servings.

A starting point

For the past few months, this idea has been rattling around in my mind – I know that my friends and family are working hard to come up with decent meals.  Meals that don’t involve too many dishes or too much work.  Meals that allow them to skip the drive thru, avoid the frozen prepared meals and give them the opportunity to sit down together to eat.

With the birth of my daughter, Olivia, I knew that we’d need to save some money and start eating better.  We need to re-teach ourselves to eat at home so we can set a good example for her.

I hope that this blog can grow into a place where a growing group of friends can share the recipes they use and enjoy.  In this fashion, we can share amongst each other – and maybe that’s all we’ll do.  If no one but those that contribute ever see these recipes, I won’t be upset.

If you’d like to contribute, let me know!

Just as a warning – I know that some of these recipes that I use have come from a myriad of different places.  If I know where they came from or who they came from, I’ll say so.  I ask that the other contributors do the same.

Enjoy!