Beef – Page 3 – The Pajama Chef

1970s Style Tacos

September 27, 2012February 23, 2017 Sarah

Hello! I’m back. 🙂 Thanks for all your kind comments on my last few posts. It’s been a busy week and a half with my sister’s bridal shower and then working like mad on my thesis draft. I’m still not finished yet :(… but I’m making definite progress so that is a very good thing. Anyways, I thought about not blogging until I had the draft done but that didn’t seem like a good idea so here I am. Yay! On to more important things… like these awesome tacos!

I feel like awesome is quite the appropriate term to describe these really good tacos since they are from the 1970s. I found the recipe in the September issue of Everyday Food, and the recipe was originally made by the author’s Aunt Colleen, in the–you guessed it–1970s! Since I don’t have an Aunt Colleen, I decided a rename was in order. As a side note, I made these tacos almost immediately after receiving my issue in the mail. This NEVER happens!! But these tacos were so easy, so flavorful, and so fun that I should definitely start making good looking recipes right away… Why? So I have more time left in my life to enjoy them, silly!

These tacos might seem fairly simple–onion, garlic, cayenne, chili powder, and tomato paste–but let me tell you, it’s loaded with flavor. Seriously, it tastes just like those handy grocery-store packets or homemade spice mix…but with some fresh ingredients too. Whoa! What could be better? We absolutely adored their rich depth of flavor… and their utter simplicity and speed. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Oh… and if there are leftovers… check out this loaded taco salad! Utterly amazing.

Enjoy!

1970s Style Tacos

Servings: 4
Time: 20 minutes
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from Everyday Food September 2012

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 pound ground sirloin
soft taco shells
lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, cheddar cheese, lime wedges, and sour cream for serving

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Stir in tomato paste, cayenne, and chili powder, and cook for about a minute until fragrant. Add sirloin and cook until browned, about 7-8 minutes. Serve in soft taco shells with lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, cheddar cheese, lime wedges, and sour cream for toppings.

Notes: Since sirloin is 90% lean, I didn’t feel the need to drain any fat. If I made this using ground turkey or chicken, I’d probably feel the same way. However, if I used a cut that wasn’t as lean, I might cook the beef first, drain most of the fat and proceed with cooking the onion and garlic, then the tomato sauce mixture.

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

Mini Meatloaf

February 1, 2011February 23, 2017 Sarah

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I love meatloaf! I know, I know. It’s not really a girly food and it’s kinda 1950ish. But I’ve loved it since I was a child [I think!], and I still enjoy it now.

Meatloaf was especially great when colored ketchup was on the market. Anyone else remember that? I thought the purple kind was just the best! It was fun making art with dinner. 🙂 Heinz… if you’re reading this… bring back my colored ketchup! Please and thank you!

Anyways… after a moment of mourning for my beloved ketchup, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I think meatloaf gets too much of a bad rap for being lumpy and flavorless. If you fall into that camp, then this meatloaf solves all your problems! My family recipe of meatloaf is made in muffin cups, which alleviates the long cooking times and difficult cutting of many of the traditional “loaf” meatloaves. It’s small size is handy for a lunchbox or for freezing leftovers. And lumpy or loafy? Not at all! But meat muffins doesn’t have the same ring as “mini meatloaf,” now does it? And flavorless? Not on your life! This meatloaf has your typical salt and pepper–celery salt, garlic salt, and freshly ground black pepper, mind you, as well as savory sage [in the summer use fresh sage! mmm], tangy Worcestershire sauce, and sharp mustard. There is no lack of flavor in this meatloaf! So put your fears aside and whip up a quick batch of meatloaf for dinner. You’ll be glad you did!

Mini Meatloaves

Servings: 4
Time: 45 minutes
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[from Mom]

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup [whole wheat] bread crumbs
1 1/4 cup [skim] milk
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon sage
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg. Add bread crumbs and milk, then mix. Then add remaining ingredients and mix well with your hands. Don’t be afraid to get dirty, just wash your hands afterwards! 🙂

Scoop using 1/3 cup measuring cup into a 12 cup muffin tin. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Top with ketchup and enjoy!

Question of the Day: What foods do you miss from your childhood? [Sadly though from googling the colored ketchup I learned it was made from 2000-2006… I wasn’t exactly a child then…]

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

Not Your Summer Camp’s Sloppy Joes

October 19, 2010December 14, 2015 Sarah

Up until this past spring, I had a strong dislike for Sloppy Joes. I liked them well enough growing up, but working at a summer camp for two years–aka two summers’ worth of kid food–kind of killed any liking I had for childhood staples like Sloppy Joes. I had visions of salty, goopy, ketchup-y, messy sandwiches that came out of an industrial food service can. Don’t get me wrong, not all food at Camp T was bad. Some was pretty darn good! Others though, I chose to load up on the salad bar and PB&J and pray it was my night off so I could get some real food for dinner.

However, my distaste for Sloppy Joes changed after my mom mentioned she was making them and my sister said how good they were. After getting over the initial shock [if you knew my mom you’d be surprised to know she was making Sloppy Joes], I promptly got the recipe, made it for myself, and was hooked.

This Sloppy Joe recipe is sweet and savory and fast, perfect for a busy night. I love the slight crunch of the green pepper, and think this could be veggied-up some more… I just haven’t tried yet. Ben loads it up with extra hot sauce; I like mine as is. This is a great base recipe for Sloppy Joes that works as is or can be adjusted to meet your tastes. Enjoy!

Not Your Summer Camp’s Sloppy Joes

Servings: 6
Time: 30 minutes
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from The Neelys

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 green or red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
pepper
1 pound ground beef
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup BBQ sauce [I use Sweet Baby Ray’s original–different kinds of BBQ sauce would give it a different flavor profile.]
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

In a large skillet on medium heat, cook peppers and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes or until they are just getting soft. Season with a dash of salt and a generous amount of pepper. Add beef and cook through. Drain well. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Stir to combine. Simmer about 10 minutes or until thickened. If needed, add a pinch of flour or cornstarch to thicken sauce to your liking.

Question of the Day: What was your favorite school lunch growing up? I bought lunch a few days a week, and breakfast for lunch day was always one of them! Sloppy Joes was not. In fact, I would always bring my lunch on Sloppy Joes day. If my school made Sloppy Joes this way, there would have been no contest. 🙂

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

A Different Kind of Meatloaf

September 30, 2010December 8, 2015 Sarah

Confession time: I like meatloaf.

I know, I know. Meatloaf isn’t exactly gourmet or pretty or anything like that. While it tastes good, it looks funny and kind of gross. I mean, it’s a lump of meat with some sauce. But once you get over that initial aversion and flashbacks to the elementary school cafeteria’s mystery meat… it’s not that bad. Just some meat, baked in a pan, with some flavorings thrown in. Not so bad, huh? And if you make it yourself, then you know exactly what is in it–no mystery at all!

I have several meatloaves [is that a word?] that I like to make–a classic recipe of my mom’s, and a BBQ bacon cheddar meatloaf that is tasty too! While my husband likes both meatloaves and inhales them because he loves meat, there is one thing he dislikes about my meatloaves: the inclusion of the onion.

Ben despises and hates onions with a passion. This hatred of onions was exacerbated when he lost a March Madness bet in college and had to eat an onion like an apple.

I didn’t know him at the time, but from what I’ve heard, this was not a fun night. Fortunately the girl [yes–a girl bet him on this one :)] was nice and let him off the hook pretty soon after these photos were taken. However, the damage was done. The hatred Ben had prior to this event has just grown. While he will tolerate onions in many dishes, he’ll pick them out most of the time. This happens a lot, because many of my favorite recipes include onions–and I love the flavor of onions. However, because I love him, I will decrease the amount of onion but if it’s there, it’s there, and Ben knows it.

So, what does all this talk of onion have to do with meatloaf? Well, recently we had meatloaf on the menu… and I decided to create an onion-less meatloaf. To do this, and do it well, I decided to avoid the traditional tomato-based flavor palate of meatloaf and branch out. The result? A dish made with a combination of Southwest and Indian-esque spices with just enough kick to remind you of their presence, paired with beef, bread crumbs, egg, and cheese to remind you that this is meatloaf after all.

Delicious.

Savory.

Spicy.

Satisfying… even when onion-less.

Finally, I apologize for this picture… meatloaf is ridiculously hard to photograph! This dish is really tasty, I promise, even if it doesn’t look it!

A Different Kind of Meatloaf

Servings: 6
Time: 75 minutes
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Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup salsa – be sure to pick an onion-less variety if that’s an issue for you
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional
cooking spray

Directions:

Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine all ingredients well, then transfer to the loaf pan. Top with cheddar cheese if desired. Bake for 60 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Are you into meatloaf… the dish or the singer, take your pick!

Beef, Main Dishes, One Tablespoon Testosterone, Recipes

OTT: Chili Burgers

September 7, 2010September 9, 2015 Sarah

This is a guest post from my husband, Ben. Periodically, he has agreed to share some of his favorite recipes with you in a guest post column entitled One Tablespoon Testosterone, or OTT for short. View his other post here. Enjoy!

———-

Hello and welcome! I have returned for another edition of my guest post column. You may begin seeing me on a more regular basis (frightening, I know) as I will be performing the cooking duties on Monday nights this semester. So without further ado, I present the most recent meal I’ve made. As summer fades into the colorful hues of autumn, nights spent by the grill dwindle. So as a last ode to summer’s perfect grilling weather, I present the following recipe that has been adapted from the blog Delightful Country Cookin’.

Chili Burgers

Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes + time to marinate
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from Delightful Country Cookin’

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teasoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into medium size bowl, except the meat. Feel free to adjust the seasoning amounts or add some other delicious ingredients. To make it spicier, add some cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes and/or increase the amount of hot sauce. For BBQ burgers, get rid of the chili powder and significantly increase BBQ sauce. The way I made them was very strong on the chili flavoring, but make these marinated burgers with just about any combination of these or other spices and you should be well-pleased.

After this is all mixed together, take the meat and massage it into the meat. Then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, even overnight (which is what I did). Let that flavor soak in.

Prepare your grill, whatever that involves for you. I go old school charcoal grill, but it’s a nice charcoal grill. Whatever you use, it should be a grill. That’s the point of this recipe, right? But anyway, form the meat into patties and place them on your charcoal/gas/Foreman grill. Cook to perfection. Remove burgers from grill. Eat burgers. Enjoy burgers. Think about bacon. Then enjoy another burger.

Until next time, enjoy my wife’s blog posts. I’m Ben, signing off with One Tablespoon Testosterone.