Mex-Tal Stuffed Shells

Does your family often argue over the dinner menu? The dish I have here today will cover the fight for both Mexican and Italian in one easy dish. I have always been afraid of trying to produce the perfect stuffed shell. Good thing for this recipe! The ooey-goodness of the melted cheeses and sauce cover any flaws that happen when you fill up the shells.

(See, you can't see that a shell was split in half while being stuffed!)

15 Jumbo Pasta Shells

1lb Ground Beef

1 (10 ounce) can Enchilada Sauce

8 oz Tomato Sauce

1 teaspoon Minced Garlic

¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil

¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin

½ cup Refried Black Beans

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne

1 cup shredded Italian Blend (or Mexican Blend) cheese

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Stir in garlic, oregano, basil, and cumin. Stir in 1/2 can of the enchilada sauce. Stir in refried beans. Set aside.

3. Fill each cooked pasta shell with the beef mixture. Coat an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour the remaining can of enchilada sauce with can filled with water evenly over the bottom.

 Place each shell into the bottom of the dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the tops of the shells. Sprinkle with cayenne over top.

4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, uncover and sprinkle the tops of the shells with Colby-jack cheese. 

Bake until the cheese has melted. Let rest 5 minutes before digging in.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Have you ever had one of those cravings that just will not let you be? Yep, me too. Which is why this week I made my hunny suffer through eating Stuffed Cabbage Rolls... which there really wasn't much suffering involved (he had seconds!). It is definitely not something I choose to eat often, only about once every 3 years or so. And don't get me wrong, I really DO like it, except when you live way out West, with limited amount of fresh produce. Peeling tight fitting cabbage leaves has never been one of my strong points in the kitchen.

Oh yes, that's a meaty sauce on TOP too!

1lb lean Ground Beef
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 White Mushrooms, chopped
1 Carrot, shredded
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 cup Cooked Brown Rice
3 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Ground Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Pepper Corns
1 head Green Cabbage (loose fitting leaves if possible)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1 cup Grape Tomatoes, diced
15oz can Tomato Sauce
1 tsp Oregano, dried
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Start off by browning the beef with the mushrooms, red pepper, carrot and garlic in a large skillet. Drain well, but reserve the skillet.

2) In large bowl, whisk together the egg and mustard until creamy. Add in the meat mixture along with the rice, salt and pepper and stir to incorporate.

3) Preheat oven to 375. Generously spray casserole dish with Pam Olive Oil spray.

4) Fill large pot with water and cabbage head (little trick I learned) then place on stove over medium heat. Do not get the water boiling though! A little heat will help to loosen the tight fitting leaves. If you were lucky enough to have bought the right kind, just skip this. Gently pull off leaves, one at a time until you get 8 leaves. Now, raise the heat up a bit to a low simmer and let the leaves soak (a couple at a time) in the water until they are limp.

5) Using tongs, remove one leaf and let drain back into the pot (make sure to replace it by sliding a fresh leaf under the one already in the pot), then lay it out on a cutting board or any flat surface. Fill with 1/4-1/2 cup of meat mixture.

Gently roll up like a burrito, holding it together with a toothpick slid through the rib. Place, seam side down, in casserole. Continue until all leaves have been filled, reserving any meat mixture left over.

6) Return heat to skillet and add olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, meat mixture and diced grape tomatoes, stir. Add in oregano, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper and stir. Cook about 10 minutes on a simmer, stirring frequently so as not to burn the sauce.  Pour over top of the cabbage rolls. Cover casserole dish with tented foil and bake 40 minutes until bubbly.

7) Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, serve.

Spiraled Meatloaf Step By Step

I honestly do not remember where I came up with this idea at, but this is something I've made for many years. I can remember doing it out in Tucson, Connecticut (many moons ago), Houston, and now here. It has followed me all over the place. I've had several people try and wrestle the recipe away from me over the years, but have never parted with it. Until today. This feeds about 4 people.

1lb Ground Beef (not lean!)
1 Egg
2 tsp Chinese Hot Mustard
1 tsp Worechestershire Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs (plain)
1 tbsp Oregano, dried
2 tbsp Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Marjoram, ground
1/2 tsp Thyme, ground
1 Celery Stalk, diced small
1 Carrot, peeled and diced small
2 Mushrooms with stems, cleaned and diced small
1/2 cup Baby Spinach

1) Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with pam.

2) Insmall bowl, beat together egg, mustard and worechestershire. In a large bowl, gently mix together the meat, bread crumbs, garlic and egg mixture. Set in refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

3) In another small bowl, mix together the oregano, parsley, marjoram and thyme. Set aside.

4) Dice up the remaining ingredients except the spinach. Set aside.

5) On a flat surface, lay out a piece of plastic wrap flat, about a foot wide. Flatten out meat to no more than 1/4" thickness, in a rectangle.

Evenly sprinkle the herb mixture

then the celery

and top it with the spinach.

Next, top it with the carrot and mushrooms and gently press down across it to mush everything together.

6) Using one end of the plastic wrap, gently begin to roll up the meat, in a jelly roll fashion.

Once it is finished, place the prepared loaf pan over the top of the roll so that the seam will be on the bottom on the pan.

Flip it upright, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350.

7) Remove foil, and using wide spatula, gently tip the pan to drain out the grease. Return foil and increase the heat to 375 for another 30 minutes. Remove the foil in the last 10 minutes to brown up. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Red Wine and Pomegranate Top Sirloin

Oh yes... so decadent... so rich and oh so yummy! I first came across this last year when I was waiting on my surgery date to get here. I didn't have a lot to do but sit in front of the TV watching the Food Network and Cooking Channels. As I was flipping through, Sunny Anderson appeared making this wonderful dish that had me drooling even though food was the furthest thing from my mind.

About two months after surgery, I finally made it. WOW... it was so good I forgot to take a picture of it before it was devoured. I had a few grumblings over on my Facebook page about that "lack of good manners" so I made sure I had a camera ready THIS time. The marinade/sauce makes just enough for 2 servings, so double up if your looking to feed more.

(If your gonna drool, at least wear a bib!)

2 tbs Mollassas

2 tbs Honey

1 tbs Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Pomegranate-Blueberry Juice

1 cup Red Wine

1 tsp Pepper

2 Top Sirloins, at least 1 to 1 1/2" thick, trimmed of excess fat

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

3 clove Garlic, minced

2 large Portebella, sliced (or any mushroom. I used plain old white)

1) In large bowl, whisk together molasses, honey, sugar, salt and pepper, juice and wine, adding extra juice/wine to make 3 cups. Pour half into medium saucepan and place on stove over medium-low heat.

With remaining liquid, whisk in oil, and pour into large plastic zip lock bag with steaks. Seal and set aside to marinate 1 hour to overnight.

2) Meanwhile, to the saucepan add garlic and whisk well. Keep whisking frequently for 45 minutes to an hour. After about 30 minutes, add the mushrooms. Let the liquid reduce down until its a good thick gravy.

When steak has marinated, place on HOT grill. 4-5 minutes on first side, flip, marinate and grill til done. Let steak stand for 10 minutes before slicing to let the juices flow back throughout it. Slice steak and cover in reduced sauce. 

Not Quite Shepherd's Pie

This is a dish everyone likes... right? Wrong. My hunny doesn't like corn or peas in his dishes. Alone is one thing, but when they are mixed into something, forget it. I swear the man wasn't raised right when it comes down to food! But Shepherd's Pie is something that I love... but not something I am willing to do for just one person. So what do we do boys and girls? We improvise.

Now, for those who are trying to add more vitamins to their diet (or who just plain likes it), this is a good way to sneak in some spinach. I added a layer of whole spinach leaves between the meat and veggies. The recipe serves 6-8.

3-4 Potatoes, peels and diced
5 tbsp Butter
1 White Onion, chopped
4 tsp Garlic, minced
2 Carrots, peeled and diced
4 Celery Stalks, diced
4-6 Mushrooms, diced
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 pkt Brown Gravy
1/4-1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tbsp Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Marjorham
2 tbp Parmesan, grated
1/2 cup Cheddar, shredded

1) In large pot, cook potatoes in salted water.

2) Preheat oven to 350. Grease ceramic/glass baking dish.

3) Meanwhile, in large skillet melt 2 tbs of the butter and saute onion, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms about 8 minutes, until crisp tender. Spoon vegetables into bottom of prepared baking dish and level out. Add 1 tbsp of the butter to the skillet and cook up meat, using spatula to break up. Sprinkle meat with gravy, cayenne, parsley and the marjoram, stirring frequently until no longer pink. Spoon out smooth on top of the vegetables.

4) Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid and mash with remaining 2 tbsp of the butter and parmesan cheese. If still dry, add 1 tbsp of the reserved water at a time, mashing in between each until desired consistency. Spoon on top of meat and smooth out flat. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes unitl potatoes turn golden brown on top. In the last 5 minutes, add the cheddar and allow to melt.

5) Once baking is over, let stand 5 minutes before serving.

West Texas Goulash

It's Makeover Monday and today we are making over an old standard in many kitchens that we all grew up in... Goulash. I'm sure you remember it with the elbow pasta swimming in stewed tomatoes and ground beef. I still have nightmares over it! To this day I have a had time eating both cooked tomatoes as well as elbow pasta.

So I went on a web search (again) to find something more along our tastes. Nope... nothing looked good to me. The closest I came was when I went to the Moms Who Think website and found THIS little number. But it still wasn't quite right. That is why I have remade it to fit my own taste buds with a bit of spice to make my hunny happy. This recipe feeds about 4.

1 lb Ground Beef
1 tbsp Worechestershire Sauce
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
4 Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 tbsp Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Cholula
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Parsley
1 cup Spinach, chopped
1/2 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, sliced in half
3 cup Beef Broth
2 cups Egg Noodles
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mozzerella, shredded
Crushed Red Pepper (Optional)

1) In large skillet brown beef with carrots. Drain off grease, return to pan. Add mushrooms, garlic, paprika, chalula, cayenne and parsley, stir and cook until veggies are tender. Add tomatoes, noodles and broth and cook 8-10 minutes, until noodles are tender. Dump all into a collander to drain any excess grease or liquid.

2) In same skillet, add in sour cream and stir over med-low heat until it becomes liquidfied, then add in the mozzerella and stir to melt. Pour in noodle mixture and toss to incorporate sauce with the rest of the ingredients.

3) Serve warm with a sprinkling of Crushed Red Pepper if prefered.

Spanakopita or Spinach Pie

Yep, the day after Thanksgiving you won't be finding any old Turkey dishes here! This here gal isn't too traditional. I prefer my turkey at someone elses house! No huge clean up for me! My hunny and I had our Turkey Dinner down at the Big Bend Lodge. All you can eat buffet with all the trimmings an no dishes! What more could a gal want? How about this view we had while scarfing down dinner?!

OK, so you didn't click into the blog for pictures of our trip. But you have to admit, it WAS a great view!

So, here is a classic Greek dish by way of FAR West Texas. Spinach Pie in a flaky phyllo crust to wash down all that turkey you all ate yesterday!

9oz package Fresh Spinach

1lb Ground Beef

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Butter

2-3 tbsp Garlic, chopped

8oz White Mushrooms, chopped

2 tbsp dried Dill

1 tsp Chili Powder

Phyllo Roll

1 Egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

Parmesan (or 4oz Feta crumbles)

1-2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (or to taste)

1) Cook spinach in salted water until wilted, about 10 minutes. Strain and leave in colander to cool.

2) In large skillet, brown meat and strain off excess grease. In same pan, add oil and melt butter. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes then add mushrooms, dill, chili powder and return beef to pan. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Pour meat over spinach mixture and let cool.

3) Preheat oven to 375. Spray baking sheet with Olive Oil Spray.

4) Gently lay out one sheet of phyllo on pan, making it drape over edge about 1 1/2-2 inches. Repeat with 3 more sheets to cover pan bottom. Brush all with egg mixture and place two more sheets down the middle.

5) Spread spinach mixture evenly over dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and red pepper.

6) Layer remaining phyllo sheets across top, brushing each with egg wash until finished. Wrap overhanging dough over top.

7) Cut pie into diamond shapes. Place in oven for about 30-45 minutes. You will need to recut the pieces before serving.