Asian Beef and Mango Salad

Another recipe trying to use up my hamburger. . .

I was so nervous about this one.  Hamburger in a salad?  I almost chickened out, but then I remembered that big stack of unused hamburger and went with it. Glad I did!  It was really really good!  I will definitely make it again!  I served it with two options:  lettuce wraps or salad.  The salad likers liked it and the lettuce wrappers liked it.  (Just don't tell the lettuce wrappers that it tastes the same!)  Here is the real recipe.  Below are my changes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef cooked with garlic
• 1 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
• -------------------
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• kosher salt and black pepper
• ------------------------------------
• 1 head Boston lettuce, torn
• 2 Kirby cucumbers, cut into thin strips  (leave out and would still be could)
• 2 mangoes, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
• 1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onions

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Stir in the hoisin, soy sauce, brown sugare and the Sriracha.
3. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, oil,2 teaspoons of soy sauce, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
4. Divide the lettuce, cucumbers, mango, cooked beef, cilantro, and peanuts among bowls. Drizzle with the dressing.

When the meal was all over, I saw the chopped cilantro in the fridge.  So I can say that this is also lovely without cilantro!

Lamb Meatballs with Couscous and Feta

I've got so much hamburger in my deep freeze and it is so hard to get rid of when you don't like hamburger!  I was a little nervous to try this recipe because of the substitution and because it was very different than anything I had made before.  However, it received RAVE reviews from others.  While I liked it, it isn't something I'll be making really often because, well, I don't like eating hamburger very much. Find recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb or beef
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup couscous
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 ounces Feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Heat broiler. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, apricots, coriander, chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Form the meat into 1 ½-inch balls (about 20) and place them on a broilerproof baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the couscous in a bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
5. Serve the couscous with the meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber, Feta, and sliced onion. Drizzle with the dressing.

Crock Pot Chip Dip

This is not my favorite meal, but it nice and easy in a pinch. (and the kids all eat it right up, so I keep making it. . . )

Brown 1 lb. hamburger with an onion

Drain and put in a crock pot. Add:

1 can pork and beans (remove pork and drain slightly)

1 can corn drained

1/4 cup salsa

1 can black beans, drained

2 cans green chilies

Season to taste with Tabasco sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper etc. Serve in bowls with grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream etc. Eat with corn chips. (or just eat plain with corn chips---how my kids like it best)

Sloppy Joes

I needed a quick-to-eat and quick-to-serve meal tonight since we had Pack meeting at 6:30. So we had Sloppy Joes. Not my favorite, but it served it's purpose. Here are the recipes:

Buns These are pretty good. I'd like to eventually tweak them, but they are good with pulled pork sandwiches and Sloppy Joes. I'm still working on better options for hamburgers.

Filling

1 lb. hamburger cooked with 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped green pepper (drain and rinse fat)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp mustard

3/4 cup ketchup

3 tsp brown sugar

Simmer together.

We also had a green salad with tomatoes and pickled cucumbers. In the past I would have served chips with this, but I haven't bought chips (other than corn chips) for several months and it saves so much money not to mention so much healthier (which is probably my biggest reason).

Wednesday Night--Tacos

I used a taco packet for years and years and years. Suddenly I was dissatisfied. Then I found a recipe similar to this, read some others and made some tweaks. Here is our new favorite:

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1 TBSP chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP corn flour (you could probably use regular, but I've never tried it)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Mix spices together in small bowl. Add to cooked hamburger. I use this entire recipe, but we like things a bit spicy. I also omit the garlic and onion powder and use 1/2 onion and 2 cloves garlic because that makes it healthier.

Monday Night Dinner

Tonight for dinner we had spaghetti, broccoli, pickled cucumbers and garlic bread. Here are the specs:

Spaghetti

This is not outstanding spaghetti sauce, but it's easy and in my opinion better than from a jar.

Brown 1 lb. hamburger with 1 chopped onion. Drain then rinse off fat. Add 1/2 packet spaghetti sauce mix, 1 can tomato sauce, 1-2 cans water depending on your preference (you can thicken later if desired) 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper to taste.

Broccoli with Cashews (This was OUTSTANDING! All of my cooked veggie dislikers loved this!!)

1 1/2 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

1-2 TBSP butter (The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, I cut back just a little, but it would still be flavorful with much less)

1 TBSP brown sugar

3 TBSP soy sauce

2 tsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

Cook broccoli, boil for 7 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Drain. Put butter on broccoli, stir until melted. Add remaining ingredients, stir until well coated. Serve immediately.

The first time I made it, I think I forgot the vinegar. The 2nd time, I put the vinegar and didn't like it nearly as much. The third time, I put half the vinegar. I definitely prefer it with half or no vinegar. You can judge that for yourself.

Pickled Cucumbers (not an exact science; tweak as desired)

1 part white vinegar

1 part water

1/2 part sugar

1 garlic clove

pepper

sliced onion (optional)

Add sliced cucumbers and marinate in fridge for a few hours.

Garlic Bread

1/4 cup butter softened

1/2-1 tsp garlic

1 TBSP parsley flakes

Spread on 1/2 loaf of bread. Broil until toasted.

This is my standard white bread--it makes excellent sandwiches, toast, garlic bread, croutons, French toast and yummy to eat just plain.

Homemade White Bread

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup oil (or less--oil gives it a soft texture, sometimes I want a firmer texture and use quite a bit less)

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 TBSP sugar

3 cups bread flour

1 TBSP yeast

Put in bread machine. Enjoy in a few hours!