Beef Pot Roast

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1  package dry onion soup mix (I use Korrs)
1 1/4 cups beef stock
900g - 1KG beef blade roast
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2 onions, halved
6 mushrooms, halved

5 potatoes

Salt and pepper the beef and brown on all sides.

In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and stock. Place pot roast in slow cooker and add veggies around the edges, making sure to dunk them in the soup mixture.
Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.
20 minutes before serving, peel and cook the potatoes for mashed potatoes.
 
The meat should fall apart and you will have a hard time not drinking the gravy!
 
Recipe adapted from here and tweaked to suit our taste.

Lasagna Soup

This recipe and photo is from Paula Dean on the food network. Sounds delicious!

1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles
1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
red chili flakes
dollop of ricotta, add directly before serving

Garlic Crostini:
1 thin French baguette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic

Directions
In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Add a garlic crostini slice on top. Serve immediately. Top with dollop of ricotta.


For the garlic crostini:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut bread into 1/4-inch round slices. Place on baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; place in oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Rub each side with smashed garlic cloves.

Marinades

Lucy from Diminishing Lucy posted these easy marinade recipes. She suggests chicken but I think some (if not all) would work with beef as well. Go check out her blog to read more!

Lemon and Herb: juice and zest of fresh lemons, Olive oil, fresh thyme and oregano, and black pepper

Teriyaki: juice and zest of fresh oranges, sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce

Chinese: White vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, ground five-spice, garlic, soy sauce, and ground pimento

Mexican: juice and zest of fresh limes, canola oil, garlic, chilli, and Cajun seasoning

BBQ: White vinegar, vegetable oil, brown sugar, tomato ketchup, mustard, salt and paprika

Indian: natural yogurt, vegetable oil, tandoori curry paste, tomato puree

French Onion Soup with Beef

5 large brown onions, sliced
2 Tbp butter
1 Tbp brown sugar
2 Tbp plain flour
150ml of dry sherry (or half a beer in a bottle)
1.5 litres of beef stock
handful thyme
A crusty baguette, sliced and toasted with Parm cheese on top
1 lg piece of beef chuck, diced

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle generously with sea salt and cover the saucepan. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.


2. Uncover and stir in the sugar and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the onions have turned a deep, golden brown colour, stirring occasionally. Then add the flour and stir for 3 - 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the beer and then the beef stock and bring back to the boil.

4. Place beef and onion soup mixture into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

5. Directly before serving bake the bread topped with cheese at 180 C for 7 minutes or until melted.

6. Butter the toasted baguette slices and top with the grated cheese. Place them under the grill until the cheese is bubbling hot and melted. Pour the soup into individual bowls and float the rounds of toast on top of the soup. Serve immediately.

Poor Man's Beef Wellington

•1 pound fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed
•6 ounces white or crimini mushrooms, cleaned
•2 tablespoons minced shallots
•2 tablespoons dry white wine
•2 cloves garlic
•2 teaspoons salt
•1/2 teaspoon black pepper
•1 1/2 pound ground chuck
•6 freshly baked croissants, cut in half lengthwise
•Dijon mustard

1.Combine mushrooms, shallots, white wine, garlic cloves, salt and pepper in a food processor. Jog-blend about 30 seconds or until pureed.

2.Transfer the mushroom mixture to a large bowl and add the ground chuck. Mix until blended, but don't handle the meat too much (it'll make the patties tough).

3.Form 6 oblong or oval shaped patties (so that later they fit the croissants!)

4.Place the patties in the pan and cook, turning only once.

6.While the patties are cooking, grill the asparagus for 1 1/2-2 minutes or until slightly charred. Set aside.

7.Towards the end of cooking, place the croissants on the grill to toast a bit too.

8.To assemble your masterpiece, spread dijon mustard, place a patty on each bottom bun, add a couple of asparagus, add the top of the croissant and dig in!

Recipe from: Poor Man's Beef Wellington

Sesame & Garlic Beef

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 hoi sin sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sesame oil
750g beef
1 red onion, sliced
1 lg red capsicum, sliced
150 g snow peas
150g g broccoli
1 tbs sesame seeds, toasted

Combine 2 tbs oil, hoi sin sauce, garlic and sesame oil in a large bowl. Add beef and stir until well combined. Stand for 20 minutes.

Heat wok over high heat, add 2 tbs oil to cover base. Add beef in batches and fry for 2 minutes or until browned, adding more oil if necessary. Remove cooked meat to a bowl before adding more.

Add onion, capsicum and broccoli to wok and fry for 1 minute. Add snow peas and 1 tbs water. Toss until well combined. Return beef to wok and toss to re-heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Thai Beef Salad

1 bag coleslaw mix
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1cucumber, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 packet crunchy noodles
1 piece of steaf, cut into slices and marinated with dressing for 2 hours

Dressing:
1 lime, juiced
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs corriander paste
4 Tbs chili paste
4 Tbs olive oil
4 tsp fish sauce
4 tsp minced garlic

Combine all salad ingredients together except for crunchy noodles, set aside. Combine dressing ingredients together. Pour half over meat strips, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cook steak in dressing until medium rare. Pour remaining dressing over salad. Top with cooked steak and crunchy noodles.

French Onion Beef

600g Boneless beef round steak
1 package (200g) fresh sliced mushrooms
1 large Onion sliced into rings
1 can French onion soup condensed
1 package 15 minute herb stuffing mix
1/4 cup Margarine or butter, melted
100g Shredded mozzarella cheese

Cut beef into 6 serving−size pieces. Layer half of the beef, mushrooms and onion in 3-4L slow cooker; repeat layers. Pour soup over ingredients in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours or until beef is tender and no longer pink. Before serving, toss stuffing mix and contents of seasoning packet with melted margarine and 1/2 cup liquid from pot. Place stuffing on top of contents in slow cooker; cover. Increase heat to high setting. Cook 10 minutes or until stuffing is fluffy. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Cook until cheese is melted.

Recipe and photo from http://www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/french_onion_beef_recipe.htm

Veal with Lemon and Caper Sauce

Serves: 4

4 veal schnitzels

plain flour, for dusting

25g butter

1/2 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup (125ml) white wine

1/4 cup (125ml) chicken stock

1 tablespoons drained baby capers

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Coat veal in flour; shake off the excess. Heat 40g of butter in a large frying pan. Cook veal in batches until browned lightly on both sides. Remove from pan and cover.

Heat remaining butter in the same pan, add garlic, cook until fragrant. Add wine and simmer uncovered until reduced by half. Add stock and simmer uncovered until thickened slightly. Return veal to pan, top with capers, juice and parsley; spoon sauce over veal.

Serve veal with steamed new potatoes and green beans or salad, if desired

Photo and recipe from http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=607696

Beef in red wine

Serves: 6

1kg beef, cut into large cubes (see tip)

1½ cups (375ml) red wine

¼ cup rice bran oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme and parsley)

125g thickly cut pancetta, cubed (optional)

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, thickly sliced

2 tomatoes, peeled, quartered

½ cup beef stock

chopped parsley, mashed potato, to serve

Place beef in a large bowl with wine, 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic and bouquet garni. Toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight to marinate. Heat remaining oil in a flameproof casserole pan on high. Cook pancetta for 3 minutes, stirring, until fat is transparent.Meanwhile, remove beef from marinade. Pour marinade with bouquet garni into a small saucepan and boil rapidly until reduced by half. Add beef to pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, until brown. Add onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir through reduced marinade with bouquet garni. Add tomato, stock and orange rind and season. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently, skimming any surface fat, for 2-2½ hours, until beef is very tender. Scatter with parsley and serve with mashed potato.

Tips: beef cheek or shoulder are great for this dish, but aren't always available. Try chuck, gravy, shin, or even blade steak.Make this the day before and chill so that the fat can set on top and be removed.For thicker gravy, combine 30g butter with 1½ tablespoons flour, stir into sauce, bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Recipe and photo from ninemsn.com.au

Braciole with Fresh Tomato and Mushroom Sauce

Sauce
Italian Plum tomatoes, chopped
Portobello Mushrooms - chopped coarsely;
Garlic - sliced thinly;
EVOO;
Salt and Pepper.

Just add them all in the saucepan and slow cook for about an hour.

braciole recipe:

1 (2 to 2-1/2 lb) round steak - Butterflied
Salt and pepper
2 1/2 ts Oregano
1/4 lb Prosciutto,thinly sliced
2 c Bread crumbs
1/4 lb Parmigiano Cheese, grated
1/2 c Chopped parsley
1/2 ts Rosemary
1/2 c Flour
1/4 c Olive oil

To butterfly is to split/slice the meat down the center, cut it almost in half through one side, stopping about 1/4 inch from the edge. Open the butterflied meat as you would a book, then place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it gently with the side of a heavy cleaver or with a rolling pin to achieve a uniform thickness of approx. 1/4 inches (or any thickness you wish). Butterflying doubles the meat's surface area — making it the perfect size for stuffing and rolling.

1.Open the butterflied steak and, with waxed paper covering it, pound evenly with a meat mallet until approximately 1/4 inch thick. Rub the lemon rind, salt, pepper, and 1-1/2 Tsp. oregano into the meat.2.Lay the prosciutto slices evenly on the steak. Sprinkle the bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, & parsley evenly over the prosciutto slices. Roll the braciole tightly, taking care while rolling to tuck in both ends so as to hold in the filling while cooking. Tie the roll with strings at 1-1/2 to 2 in. intervals.3.Rub the rosemary between your palms to break it up. Season the flour with the rosemary, remaining oregano, and salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the surface of the beef roll.4. In a pan large enough to hold the roll, heat the olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the beef roll, turning to brown the entire surface. Remove from pan and place right into the sauce.

Recipe from Sashertootie on Flikr.com and photo from Lavender Flynn from here

KC's York Family Meatloaf

2 lbs ground chuck
1 envelope onion soup mix (I use Lipton's)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 c ketchup
1 ½ c stuffing (Pepperidge Farm makes fabulous stuffing in a bag, put it in dry - don't actually prepare it)
¾ c warm water
T parsley

Lightly mix together all ingredients. Shape with hands into loaf. Cover entire loaf with ketchup and spread evenly, top with a sprinkling of parsley for color. Bake 1 hour at 350. This is delicious with peas, steamed zucchini or even a cheesy pasta. And you'll have great leftovers!

Recipe from KC :)

Steak Fajitas

1 pound lean steak, cut into strips
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp cilantro
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, cut into thin strips
1 julienned green bell pepper
2 flour tortillas


Combine lime juice, pepper and cilantro in shallow dish. Place steak strips into the marinade and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Heat oil in pan and onions and green pepper. When nearly tender add steak strips and cook to your liking. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on warmed tortillas.

Beef Negamaki

Serves: 4

12 scallions, ends trimmed
4 thin-cut top round steaks (1 to 1 1/4 lb)
3/4 cup classic stir-fry sauce
3 Tbsp each sugar and water

1. Microwave scallions in a loosely covered pie plate on high 1 minute to soften.

2. Place each steak between sheets of plastic wrap. Gently pound until about 8 x 6 in. and 1/8 in. thick. Lay 3 scallions down length of each piece; tightly roll up from a long side. Secure with wooden toothpicks. Put in a large ziptop bag.

3. Stir sauce, sugar and water in a microwave-safe bowl until sugar dissolves. Add 1/3 cup of mixture to bag; refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

4. Heat outdoor grill or stove-top grill pan. Grill negamaki 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Discard marinade. Remove picks; trim ends of negamaki, then cut alternately straight across and diagonally in 2-in. lengths.

5. Microwave sauce in bowl to heat; serve with negamaki.

Options:

Substitute thin asparagus spears for the scallions.
Stir some wasabi into the stir-fry sauce mixture.
Sprinkle negamaki with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

recipe and photos courtesy of Women's Day Magazine from here

Marinated London Broil

Serves 6

Marinade:
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp each olive oil and brown sugar
2 Tbsp each chopped onion, red-wine vinegar and Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp each minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
One 1 1/2-lb top round London broil (about 1 1/2 in. thick)

Marinade: Combine all ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag. Add beef, seal and turn to coat. Refrigerate 6 to 24 hours. Heat outdoor grill. Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Pat beef dry. Grill, turning once, 12 minutes for medium rare. Remove to cutting board; let rest 10 minutes. Slice against the grain.

recipe courtesy of Women's Day Magazine

Pot Roast with Vegetables

Serves: 6

1 can (4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic
1 box (2.2 oz) beefy onion soup mix (2 pkts)
1/3 cup dry red wine
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3-lb boneless beef chuck roast
4 carrots, cut in 2-in. lengths
2 parsnips, peeled, cut in 2-in. lengths
5 medium red-skinned potatoes, sliced 1/2 in. thick


Whisk soup, soup mix, wine, rosemary and garlic in an oval 2 qt or larger slow-cooker until blended. Add beef; turn to coat. Arrange carrots, parsnips and potatoes around meat. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove meat to cutting board and slice. Place on serving platter. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon; arrange around beef. Spoon some gravy on meat. Serve remaining gravy at the table.

Inside Out Burgers

Serves: 4

5 slices bacon, cooked
1 1/3 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend
1/2 pound extra sharp white cheddar cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper
4 crusty Kaiser rolls, split
1 avocado, sliced

In a medium pan brown bacon over medium high heat and drain on paper towel lined plate. Combine ground beef with Worcestershire and steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Divide meat into 4 equal parts. Combine cheese crumbles and cooked bacon. Take 1/4 of the meat in your hand and make a well in the center of it. Pile in cheese and bacon, then carefully form the burger around the cheese and bacon filling. Make sure the fillings are completely covered with meat. When all 4 patties are formed, drizzle burgers with oil and place on hot grill pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side over high heat, reduce heat to medium low and cook burgers 7 or 8 minutes longer, turning occasionally. Do not press down on burgers as they cook. Top with avocado and enjoy!

***The inside out burgers were kind of a pain. Next time we will just cook some bacon and add that and some cheese to the top of the burger, rather than trying to stuff it inside. Here's D cooking the burgers:

Beef Stroganoff

Serves: 2


12 oz beef tenderloin or sirloin, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp beef bouillon cubes
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp flour
1 minced garlic clove
1- 8 oz carton sour cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup pasta


Slice meat into bite sized pieces. In a small bowl stir together sour cream and flour. Stir in bouillon granules, 1/2 cup water and 1/4 tsp black pepper; set aside.

In large skillet cook and stir the meat, mushrooms, onion and garlic in hot butter over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Drain off fat. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve over noodles.

Swiss Steak

Serves: 2 (maybe more, but we are big eaters)

4 pieces round steak
1 brown onion, quartered
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 beef stock cubes
2 cups water
flour

Flour each side of the beef and brown in a pan with a little oil. Place in large, well greased baking dish. Mix 2 cups hot water with 2 bullion cubes. Pour into baking dish. Add onion and mushrooms. Cover with aluminum foil or lid, bake for 1.5-2 hours at 300. Serve with mashed potatoes.