In the Kitchen With Mattie

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

We went grocery shopping yesterday and even though we are both craving some short ribs there was no way I was going to pay the high prices they are at right now. When I saw the higher short rib price I changed directions and went for a regular beef roast, the pickins there were pretty slim too, it could have been the time of day we went shopping too but after looking at what was available I finally decided on the roast above. This would be the first time ever that I have cooked one of these roasts, I usually use a brisket for our pot roast and use a large chuck roast for our stew meat. I didn’t want to make a huge roast and the size of this one was just perfect for us so I bought it. Tonight I cooked it and discovered after I cut into it that this particular cut of meat, while looking nice in the package, has a large streak of gristle going right through the center of it. It didn’t taste bad but it was a lot of work to cut around that line of gristle in order to get to the meat once the slices were on our plates, I don’t think I would buy this cut again.

                                                  Chuck Tender Pot Roast

1—-2 1/2 pound chuck tender roast, trimmed of fat, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 medium onion, minced fine

2 carrots, minced fine

1 stalk celery minced fine

2 cloved garlic, minced fine

4 sundried tomatoes minced

leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup dry red wine, tonights was merlot

2 cups unsalted beef broth

1 tablespoon oil

      Slurry

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup cold water, mix together well until no lumps remain

Heat  a small heavy sauce pan with a lid until it is hot, add the oil and heat it, then add the meat and sear it well on all sides until it is very well browned all over, the browner you get it the better it is. Be careful it does not burn, adjust the heat under the pan and watch it carefully. When the meat is nicely browned remove it to a platter and set aside. Add the minced vegetables to the pan, along with the garlic, bay leaf and thyme, saute them until they soften and begin to color, when they are well browned add the wine and turn heat to high and let reduce by half, add the meat back to the pan and add the broth. Lower the heat and cover the pan and allow to simmer for 90 minutes, at the end of the time remove the meat to a platter and bring the sauce up to a rapid boil to reduce it a little, taste and adjust the seasonings, then add the slurry to them and bring up to a boil while whisking, allow to cook for about 5 minutes to cook off the flour taste and thicken. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

I’ve had a case of the winter doldrums for the past few weeks. I really dislike winter in the south because while we get the cold weather, it is a damp cold that goes right through you and makes you miserable. I would much prefer a good snow storm than the damp cold we have.

Sometimes when we go grocery shopping they have large beef bones at a relatively cheap price and we usually pick some up for a treat for our three dogs. They usually don’t have enough meat on them to make a meal for us but they do have enough for a treat for the dogs and they love getting them. I usually simply roast them off until the meat is cooked thru, then cool them down and let them gnaw at them until they clean all the meat off. Last week they had several packages of these bones at the market and so for under $5 we managed to get about a dozen large bones with quite a bit of meat on them. I took them home and did my normal roasting of them but then I put them all in the large pressure cooker and make some beef stock from them, I got a bit more than three quarts from all the bones. The bones were then left to cool and the dogs each got one and the rest got put away for them for the next several days treats.

It was rainy and damp again this week and so I wanted to make some soup and when I remembered all that nice beef stock I looked in the fridge and cupboards to see what else I had, this is the result of my search.

                                           Barley in Beef Broth

3 quarts home made beef stock

1 cup barley

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic, left whole peeled

2 bay leaves

3 stalks celery sliced thin

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

splash of dry sherry

Add all ingredients ,except sherry, to large pressure cooker or stockpot. If using pressure cooker, bring to low pressure and cook for 45 minutes, cook for 75 minutes in stockpot. Add sherry at the end of cooking. This came out really great tasting for something so simple and even hubby “the soup hater” had two bowls of it! We ended up eating the whole pot over two days time!

I am not a big meatloaf lover and very rarely make it here at home, the last time was a few months ago when I made the onion stuffed one that I wrote up on here, that one was very tasty and I did like it. However I also keep searching for one that will make me a meatloaf lover like hubby is. Tonight I added some BBQ flavor to the loaf and that took it in a slightly different way than our usual loaves go. It made me think of summer BBQ’s despite the cold air outside. It came out nice and hubby liked it very much but it still isn’t THE one that took me over that meatloaf lover line. We had the loaf with some angel hair alfredo and fresh chopped spinach and it was a nice meal, but I will continue my search for the perfect meatloaf that hits all the bells and whistles for me.

                               BBQ Flavored Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef or mix of beef and pork, use your favorite combination

1/4 cup grated onion

3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic smashed

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

4 tablespoons ketchup

3 tablespoons BBQ sauce

a few drops of liquid smoke if desired

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

For Topping:

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

mixed together well, set aside for brushing on the loaf later

Mix all ingredients in first part of recipe together well, form into a tight compact loaf shape and place into a small roasting pan. Place into a 350 degree oven for one hour, remove from oven and brush with the topping mixture to glaze it, place back into oven and continue to cook for 15 minutes, baste again with mixture and cook another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 15 minutes then cut into thick slices and serve. Total cooking time was 90 minutes.

It has been cold and rainy lately and everyone is down in the dumps. Even I don’t feel like doing much of anything but I did want to make us a dinner. This week we also lost one of our refridgerators and so I had to use up some stuff that was in the freezer section or throw it away. I had a pack of beef cubes that were left from the last roast I had cut up and so I made them tonight in the pressure cooker. The meat itself was frozen so it took a little longer than it usually would but with the pressure cooker it makes it fine to use frozen beef and still have dinner on the table in under an hour. This is not a fancy stew that is filled with exotic ingredients, it is a very simple one that relies on the basics and some good quality meat. We enjoyed it very much and it took the chill off the old bones and hubby even has a bit left for his lunch tomorrow. I made this is the 5 quart electric pressure cooker.

Quick and Easy Beef Stew in the Pressure Cooker

1 1/2 pounds cubed beef, either chuck or your favorite cut

1 stalk celery, minced

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic peeled

6 small red potatoes, cut in half

6 carrots, cleaned and cut into thirds

1/4 cup red wine

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, sprinkle over the beef while heating the cooker

1 tablespoon Maggi Beef Rib Boullion

2 cups water

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons flour mixed into 1/4 cup cool water to thicken gravy later

Place oil into pressure cooker and heat, when hot add the beef and brown it well. When the beef is well browned remove it to a plate and add the onions and celery and garlic to the pot and saute until they wilt and start to carmelize, add the wine and cook until it reduces a bit, add the beef cubes back to the pot add the water and boullion, close the cover on the cooker. Set the timer for 30 minutes if the meat was frozen as mine was, or set to 20 minutes if it is defrosted. When the time is up let the pressure reduce naturally and then open the cover and add the carrots and potatoes, close the cooker again and set the timer to 7 minutes, when it signals the end of cooking time let the pressure reduce naturally. Open the cooker and thicken the broth with a mixture of 2 tablespoons flour mixed into 1/4 cup cold water, bring to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Enjoy!

I have to admit I don’t have a name for this dish, it does somewhat remind me of a stroganoff style beef so that’s what I called it tonight when I made it for dinner. I made it because I had a bunch of large stuffing type mushrooms and some sour cream that I wanted to use up before having to throw them away. It came out very nice and we enjoyed it a lot. I did it in the electric pressure cooker but you could also do it on the stove top and just cook it longer, remember to add the sour cream at the end of the cooking time and just let it heat up so it doesn’t curdle on you. We had it with some thin curly noodles but it would also be great with mashed potatoes, I didn’t take a picture of the steamed broccoli that we also had with it.

6   pieces of boneless beef about 2 inches by 5-6 inches, tonight I had some brisket cut this way from the local market, they usually label it as boneless short ribs but it is really just sliced fresh brisket

6 large stuffing mushrooms

1 medium onion diced small

2 cloves fresh garlic smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon paparika

1 teaspoon Maggi beef rib boullion

dash of Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 -1 cup sour cream

Heat your pressure cooker and place the meat into it when it is hot, brown the meat well on all sides, remove when it is browned and add the mushrooms and brown them well until they are dry and the liquid from them evaporates. Remove the mushrooms and add the onions, saute until they are softened and then add the garlic, saute for about a minute then add the paparika and mix it into the onions. Add the meat back to the pot and then add the wine and water and the boullion and Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet,then add the mushrooms back to the top of the meat, add the pepper and put the lid on the cooker. Bring to high pressure and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on how thick your pieces of meat are, turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally. Remove the top and heat the contents again until they are boiling, stir in the sour cream and shut the heat off immediately, stir the sour cream in well and serve over noodles or with the sides of your choice.