Our Favorite Skillet Beef and Broccoli

Looking for a go-to, restaurant-quality, never-ordering-take-out-again beef and broccoli recipe?  This is it!  No wok required.  It's seriously delicious, super easy to make, ready in under 30 minutes (including marinating time!), and much healthier than take-out. 

Choosing the beef:  Flat iron steak may be more expensive, but is the best choice for this dish because it's more tender.  Skirt (or flank) steak works well, too, but it won't be quite as tender.  Whichever beef you choose, know that they are best when thinly sliced against the grain and cooked quickly to medium-rare.  Cooking beyond medium will cause the steak to be tough.  

Note:  Because my family prefers their broccoli soft, I blanch it ahead of time (while the steak is marinating).

Classic Shepherd's Pie

Three recipe posts in one month -- I'm on a roll!  I'm really trying to get back into the groove of things.  Honestly, I feel like I've lost touch a little bit with my food photography skills because I haven't been doing it often, so I'm on a mission to get back on track!  

Shepherd's pie was on the menu for dinner tonight.  This version sure is delicious and comforting, especially on a cold night after a long day of work!  If you want a healthier spin, check out my Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mashed Topping (recipe here).  

Just for fun, scroll down and check out my original photo (yikes) and post about shepherd's pie from 2011... there's a cute picture of my Granddaddy giving me his two-thumbs-up rating!  Love him!

Beef Stroganoff

I don't know about you, but the sad realization that Christmas is over coupled with the fact that there are still a few more work days before the New Year has me feeling a little blue.  After a long day, we deserve to kick off our shoes and dig in to a comforting, hearty dish of goodness.  This beef stroganoff should do the trick!  The tender and juicy steak drowning in a delicious creamy sauce will send you into euphoria!  What's even better is that it can be made in 30 minutes!   

Quick Beef Pot Pie (Meat Pie)

At the start of autumn, I always make one of my husband's top-ten favorite meals, beef pot pie.  (We call it meat pie here.)  I had planned to make it for dinner, but there was one little problem - my little sous chef came down with a cold and wasn't feeling well all day.  Thankfully, she had no school for the Jewish holiday, so she could rest.  However, I still had to work, which proved to be a little bit of a challenge.  One of the beautiful things about working out of home is that I can easily take frequent cuddle and playtime breaks throughout the day.  But when sickness strikes, the need for things like cuddling increases tenfold.  It ended up being a really busy, busy day for me.  Taking care of my little one, working, cleaning, trying not to stress out.  I look up at the clock.  *Gasp!*  It's already 4:45?!  Meat pie takes hours to make!  We've been looking forward to meat pie all day, so I decided to come up with a speedier version of it.  I gathered my ingredients and laid them all out on the table and got to work (while my daughter clung to my heels pleading for more couch cuddles).  The verdict?  Delicious!  It tastes like it's been cooking the entire day!  All said and done, including baking time, it was ready in under 1 hour.  Success!  It doesn't end there.  I stood up from the table after everyone paid me lovely compliments about dinner, and I thought about all that I had accomplished in one day.  I breathed a sigh of relief, turned away from the dinner table... and cleaned the kitchen.  Again.              

You might be interested in:  Crock Pot Beef Pot Pie

                                                 Stove-Top Beef Pot Pie

Skinny Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mash Topping

Happy 600th recipe post to me!  My first recipe was in February of 2010, and I never would have imagined that my blog would come this far!  Thank you to all who have been following along in this exciting, tasty journey.  

When I was working on this blog post, I wasn't aware that this marked the 600th recipe.  I would have otherwise made something a little more "elaborate" to celebrate.  In any event, this is the one!  This shepherd's pie is "skinny" because I use creamy mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes for the topping.  I also used nonfat Greek yogurt, tomato paste, and some of the mashed cauliflower as thickening agents in place of flour.  The savory meat filling is cooked in a skillet, spooned into ramekins, topped with a creamy cauliflower mash topping, and then briefly broiled until bubbly.  Even though it's "skinny", it's delicious, full of flavor, and husband approved! 

Skillet Mexican Pie with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I'll be dreaming of this Skillet Mexican Pie for a while!  It was a gorgeous, sunny weekend, but we spent the better half of it indoors because my little sous chef came down with a fever.  While she napped, I found myself with a few spare hours to play around in the kitchen.  I had a lot of cilantro, avocado, and tomato, so I used those ingredients to create this Mexican dish.  It packs in intense Mexican flavor in each bite - a fiesta for your mouth!  There's no need to fire up your oven because it's all done on the stovetop in just one skillet.  Multigrain tortillas are layered with an easy & delicious homemade enchilada sauce, seasoned beef and pork, black beans, corn, and cheese!  Garnish it with avocado, cilantro, tomato, and sour cream and you have a little slice of heaven on a plate! 

Note:  To kick up the spice a bit, substitute the mozzarella cheese with pepper jack.  You can also leave the seeds in the jalapeno for an extra punch.  

Our Favorite Juicy Italian Meatballs

This is long overdue.  I'm alone in my kitchen making meatballs, and it hits me - I've never blogged my favorite meatball recipe before!  How can this be?  We have spaghetti and meatballs once every other week!  Oh well - better late than never.  One of the keys to amazing meatballs is simmering them in your favorite sauce for hours.  The longer, the better.  These meatballs are juicy on the inside and full of flavor.  You won't be disappointed!  

Note:  I have included instructions on how to both fry and bake the meatballs.  My preferred method is frying.

NY Strip Steak & Chicken Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice

Here's another goodie that's going on the "My Favorite Recipes" page!  My little sous chef closed her eyes and said, "Mm!  Oh, this is good!  *chomp*  Mm!  *smack*  I want to eat this every day!"  My husband pounded his fist on the table and shouted, "This is darn good!  We need to have this once a week!"  Not gonna lie - that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Believe it or not, this was the first time that it occurred to me to use my griddle to stir fry on.  I've stir fried in a wok and in a large skillet before with ease, but stir frying on the griddle offers so much more cooking surface.  Yes, it can make a big ol' mess in the kitchen if you're not careful, but let me tell you - it's so worth it!  The steak and chicken are sinfully succulent and the fried jasmine rice with veggies is amazingly delicious.  Make sure you leave enough for leftovers... it's even better!  

Note:  I find that using two spatulas while cooking the fried rice helps to keep the mess to a minimum.  

Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast in Beer

This pot roast really packs in a lot of flavor and is so simple to make.  You don't even need the hassle of searing the meat.  The only liquid used is beer, which adds a beautiful depth of deliciousness to the pot roast.       

Note:  For this recipe, I recommend using a lighter beer or one with 20 IBU or less to avoid any bitterness in your pot roast.  To my embarrassment, I once tried a 65 IBU beer and had to throw out the entire pot roast because it was too incredibly bitter to eat.  

Corned Beef Hash

I don't know about you, but I always find myself with leftover corned beef after Saint Patrick's Day.  I had originally planned on making Reuben sandwiches with the leftovers, but I'm in a breakfast for dinner kind of mood.  Try using your leftover corned beef in this delicious hash with some parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a splash (or two) of Jameson and topping it with a sunny-side up egg.  Yum!

Tequila Nachos Supreme with Ground Beef

Whether it's for a large party or a fun family night in, these nachos are easy to make and will be a hit!  Crispy nachos covered in seasoned ground beef are topped in a delicious tomato and bean mixture that is soaked in tequila.  

Celeste's Chili

Every stinking week we have another snowstorm!  10 inches of snow today and another 4-to-6 inches in the forecast for tomorrow.  Please, make it stop!  While I wasn't keen on shoveling the heavy, wet snow from my car, it was rather lovely to have a lazy snow day home with family.  While we out in the snow shoveling, sledding, and sculpting Olaf to life (Disney's Frozen), I had a large pot of chili simmering on the stove.  There's really nothing better than indulging in a hot bowl of chili after an excursion in the icy snow.  I have tinkered with different variations of chili over the years, and my family has determined that this is, by far, our all-time favorite.  

Crock Pot Chipotle Steak Taco Salad Bowls

Dump it, set it, forget it!  These chipotle steak taco bowls are not only easy to make, but they're bursting with flavor and require very little effort on your part.  Simply add the ingredients to your crock pot in the morning, turn the heat on low, and come home to the ahh-mazing smell of chipotle steak.  Your mouth will be happy - I promise!  

Quick Bolognese Sauce

It was Friday evening.  I asked my little sous chef, "If you could have anything in the world to eat, whether I cook it or we go out, what would it be?"  Within a split second, her answer was, "Spaghetti and meat sauce!"  Unfortunately, my favorite recipe takes about 3 hours from start to finish and it was already 4:00 PM, so I asked her for a second option.  As she was contemplating what she wanted, I thought to myself, why don't I just come up with a quick version of the recipe?  I got to work and came up with this gem.  It not only cuts down time (it was ready in under 30 minutes!), but we all agreed that we enjoyed this version even more!  Hooray for small victories!

Homemade Steak Sauce

You can enjoy fork tender, melt in your mouth filet mignon right from your own kitchen.  If you really want to impress your guests, serve it with homemade steak sauce!  It's really easy to do and you probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen.  

Southwestern Stuffed Pepper Burgers

Grilling out tonight?  Try this delicious new twist on a burger!  Stuffed peppers are grilled, topped with spicy pepper jack cheese, and then paired with a creamy, tangy cilantro-lime dressing.  These burgers are bursting with flavor!  

Slow-Roasted Barbecue Beef Spare Ribs... Taking a Break

Have you done much grilling this summer?  So far, we've grilled ribs, shrimp, steak, chicken, sausage, burgers, corn, potatoes, and various veggies and fruits.  The other day, we grilled up some pretty delicious, sticky barbecue beef ribs for a cookout and they were a hit.  These are cooked low and slow in the oven, basted in beer, slathered in barbecue sauce, and then grilled to perfection!  

Note:  Spare ribs have less meat than short ribs, so plan for about 3 to 4 ribs per person if they are the main course.  

I'm going to be taking a week break from blogging starting this weekend to spend some quality, uninterrupted time with my family.  See you in a week!

Jenkins Family Italian Stromboli

My very first experience making stromboli was at one of my very first jobs as a teenager, which was in the kitchen of a pizza joint.  The Italian stromboli was made with shredded steak, ham, pepperoni, onion, green pepper, mozzarella and tomato sauce.  After I was married, my husband explained the Jenkins way of making Italian stromboli, which included variations of ham, salami, provolone and some veggies.  It was different than what I was used to but it quickly grew on me and became my favorite way to eat it.  

For Father's Day, I gave my husband the choice of any dinner in the world and he asked for this stromboli - it is definitely a top-ten favorite in my family!  

Grilled Tequila Flank Steak with Tequila-Cilantro Sauce

Firing up the grill?  Try this grilled tequila flank steak with tequila-cilantro sauce.  The marinade is repurposed to make a sauce that is tangy and oh, so delicious.  Tequila!

Once you are finished making the steak sauce, you can leave it as is or strain it to remove the solids.  I enjoy the texture that the onion brings, so I don't strain the sauce before serving.

Slow-Cooker Cuban Steak Tacos with Mojo Cream Sauce

I don't know about you but 85 degrees in the middle of May is not my ideal spring day.  Because my husband and I are pushing ourselves to see how long we can survive before turning on the air conditioning, I thought a crock pot meal would be appropriate for dinner.  These Cuban steak tacos are hearty, succulent and perfectly complemented by the intense tart and tangy mojo cream sauce.