Mid-Week Meal Must Try: Stove Top Beef Stew

Its been so cold here since New Years that I have been busy making comfort food for dinner each night. But don't think I have been slaving over a hot stove all day, just the opposite! I like to make dinners that I can either throw together a half hour before hubby gets home, or one that takes a few minutes to prepare in the early afternoon and then I can just let it cook until dinner time. You've probably noticed this trend if you have been following the blog over the past couple of months :)

So today's meal is one that you leave for a couple of hours on the stove and when hubby gets home its already. It is also great because you can use less expensive cuts of meat due to the fact that as the stew cooks, the liquid breaks it down and the longer it cooks the more tender the meat becomes.

Ingredients:
1lb or more of cubed steak
(what ever cut you prefer, I tend to go for whatever is on sale at the time)
1 small can of beef broth
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning
1/3 cup of water
1 tablespoon butter
8 potatoes cut into quarters
1 small bag baby carrots OR 4-5 regular carrots chopped
3-4 celery stalks chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in pan.

2. In large pot combine flour, salt, pepper, and Italian Spices. Mix in beef.

3. Once beef is lightly covered with flour mixture, move beef to pan and brown beef on all sides on medium heat. (about 5-7 minutes)

4. Once browned remove beef and put on dish to keep aside for a few minutes.

5. In pot now add broth. Mix it well to combine with leftover flour mixture. Add water at this point as well.

6. Place pot on heat an bring mixture to a boil. Add beef back to pot. Once boiling, cover and lower heat to lowest setting on stove top. Let cook for at least one hour.

7. After 1 hour (or longer if beef is tough), add potatoes, carrots and celery. Continue to let stew cook until potatoes are fully cooked and tender. (I let this last stage cook for about 45 minutes)

Enjoy!

Till next time,
Jen

Mid-week Meal Must Try: Gourmet Steak Sandwiches

I love these sandwiches for dinner! They are easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious. The best thing is you can have them as basic or as fancy as you wish. Its also economical as you only need thin minute steaks which can be very inexpensive. Serve with a salad and you have a complete meal. This should make about 4 large sandwiches. Normally I only make the sandwiches for my hubby and I and because they are too big for a toddler to handle. For my daughter I take a few steak slices, cut them up into small pieces, and serve them to her with a plate of veggies.

Ingredients:
3 Large minute steaks (inexpensive thin cuts of steak)
1 small Onion, thin slices
BBQ Sauce (your favourite kind)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup water
Long crusty buns or baguette

1. Melt butter in pan.

2. Slice steaks into thin slices. Add the salt and pepper to steak at this point

3. Add steak slices into the pan with the melted butter. Fry steak until brown on both sides (5 minutes at most).

4. Once steak is almost brown (approx. 3 minutes), add a handful of onions slices (keep some of your sliced onions for later to top sandwich).

5. Once steak is ready and onions have softened a bit, remove meat and onions from pan.

6. There should now be the remaining juices in the pan from the steak. Add 1/2 a cup of water to pan and bring mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. This will create a light gravy that can be used as a dip with the sandwich.

Place generous servings of steak on long crusty buns or baguette. Top with fried onions, raw onion slices, melted swiss cheese, BBQ sauce, or any other topping you like. Place the gravy in individual bowls and dip your sandwich in between bites.

Enjoy!

Till next time,
Jen

Mid-week Meal Must Try: Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice

This is an easy way to add some spice and flavour to a boring chicken dinner.

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breast (bone-on or boneless)
3 Cups of your favourite salsa
4 Cups of cooked rice

Once you have cooked your chicken, cut into bite-size chunks. Heat salsa in large pot until simmering and add chicken chunks and cooked rice. Spoon into bowls and enjoy. I usually put a small bowl of Tortilla Chips on the table so every one can dip a few chips into the salsa that is left after the rice and chicken are gone :)

Enjoy!

Till next time,
Jen

Mid-week Meal Must Try: Tomato Sauce From Scratch

This is a simple way to make Tomato Sauce from scratch. The longer you let it cook the better it gets; I like to make it around 1 or 2 after the kids and I have returned from the park and they are down for their naps. Let it cook until about 6pm; but when I feed the toddler at 4:30 its already very tasty!

Ingredients:
I large can of whole tomatoes
1 can of Tomato Paste
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup of water
Pinch of pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Pour enough Olive Oil to cover bottom of medium size pot.

2. Once oil is hot add chopped onion, lower heat. Cook onions until soft and translucent. This takes about 2 - 3 minutes.

3. Add Italian Seasoning and tomato paste, stir for 1 minute to let paste cook.

4. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients are combined.

5. Add water and stir. (If you wish to serve the sauce in less than 2 hours use only a 1/2 cup of water)

6. Bring sauce to a boil, cover pot, lower heat to lowest setting on stove, and leave to cook until you are ready to serve.

You can easily add meat to the sauce by browning mince meat or chopping up sausages. Add cooked meat to sauce at the same time you add the tomatoes. Pour sauce over your favourite noodles and serve with a fresh garden salad and crunchy bread.

Enjoy!

Till next time,
Jen

Mid-week Meal Must Try: Sloppy Joe Wraps

I am going to start posting some easy and healthy meal ideas that you can try when you want to serve something different for dinner. I have come up with most of these ideas by taking a fast food meal my family likes and I coming up with a homemade version that I can easily cook from scratch. It saves money and I am able to maintain taste while at the same time adding a few fresh ingredients.

Today's recipe saves the mess and grease that you normally can associate with Sloppy Joes. I made this for the first time last year and it is now a popular dinner that my Hubby will request when I plan our weekly menu. Why did I use a wrap ... I ran out of buns one night and all we had left were wraps ... :)

Ingredients:
1lb lean mincemeat
1 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Worchester Sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

1. Brown beef in pan on high heat. Drain excess fat before adding any other ingredients.

2. Once beef is cooked add chopped onion, lower heat. Cook onions until soft and translucent. This takes about 2 - 3 minutes.

3. Once onions are soft add water, ketchup, Worchester sauce, and salt and pepper to beef in pan. Mix together and raise heat to let mixture simmer for 5 minutes, stir occasionally.

4. After simmering turn heat low and let sit for another 5 to 10 minutes allowing sauce to thicken.

5. Take your choice of flat bread and fill with beef filling. Top with your favourite burger toppings and close wrap.

Our family likes lettuce, onions, and a bit of ketchup on ours :)

Can fill aprox. 6, 10" tortilla wraps.

Enjoy!

Till next time,
Jen

A Meal Out: our adventures with kids continues

Is it possible to go out and eat at an actual restaurant with a 2 year old and 7 month old (and I'm not talking fast food chains here),the answer is YES. Just make sure you take a few precautions and as I found out yesterday; Hubby and I can actually eat out with the kids and enjoy!

Of course you want to go to an eatery that is family friendly but it also helps if you go in off-peak times. We like going around 2:30-3:00pm. You get there in between the lunch and dinner rushes so if the kids are a little loud, there are fewer people for you to worry about disturbing.

It is also a good idea to make sure you go when kids have just had a nap. Its never fun to try and eat when tired little ones are making it known that they are sleepy and your main course has yet to arrive at the table.

One last tip, never feel you need to order toddlers a meal. The kiddy menu in many restaurants are geared more toward a school age appetite, so unless your preschooler is really hungry, they may never be able to finish what is on the plate. My DD usually gets a sampling of what everyone else is having and she seems to really enjoy the variety.

The days of slow leisurly meals may be on hold for now, but nothing beats an occasional meal out (one that I DO NOT HAVE TO COOK)!

Till next time,
Jen