In the Kitchen With Mattie

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

 

 

Tonight we had chopped steak with a nice red pepper, onion and wine sauce. Hubby enjoyed it and it was a pretty quick meal to put together for me. The meat came out nice and moist and the sauce was something I make in a large batch and then it is kept in the freezer in small containers so it is on hand when I want or need it. I usually add some sauteed mushrooms and shallots to the sauce but tonight I just used the basic wine sauce and added some sauteed onions and red pepper strips for a different flavor.

 

CHOPPED STEAKS

2.5 pounds of lean ground sirloin

 

1 medium onion and one clove peeled garlic, almost liquified in food processor

 

3 slices hearty bread torn up and soaked in 3/4 cup milk

 

1 large egg

 

1 teaspoon salt

 

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

 

1/2 cup fresh parsley finely chopped

 

1/2 teaspoon dry thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh

 

 

Place bread and milk into large bowl, add egg and seasonings and mix all together well until it is a pastelike mass.  Add the chopped meat and mix all together well.  Form 8 oval shaped patties and place on a preheated grill pan or a large cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Cook about 7 minutes on the fist side then turn the patties over and cook the other side until they are well done. Serve with the sauce or gravy of your choice….

 

These are a good basic meat patty that can be served with any gravy or sauce, you can also top them with tomato sauce and some mozzarella cheese for a “pizza” steak, kids especially like these.

 

 

 

Tonight was a real quickie dinner for us. I had a lot of running around to do today, had to also take one of the dogs to the groomers and then pick hubby up from work. With a busy day on the horizon I looked for something I could make quickly with minimal mess in the kitchen, something I wouldn’t have to spend half the day attending to.

When I did the grocery shopping this week I was shocked at how high the beef prices had risen, ground beef  was the price rib eye steak had been only a few weeks ago. Pork chops however were on sale so I bought a large family pack of them, I bought the thinner ones so they would cook quickly. I also bought chicken breast that was on sale and left the beef in the case at the store for the most part except for one small package of ground beef that I made into patty melts last night.

 

Earlier today I took 4 of the pork chops from the package and put them in a large bag and added 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, some chopped rosemary, two cups of water and the juice of a lemon, I sealed the bag and put it in the fridge until after I picked hubby up from work. I put my large two burner grill pan on the stove and heated it up, then I brushed it with a little olive oil and added some pre-boiled sliced potatoes to let them brown.  After the potatoes started to brown I dried off the chops, seasoned them with some pepper and put them on the grill too, I put some leftover cauliflower in the microwave to heat it too. Fifteen minutes later we were eating dinner, so quick, so easy and only one pan to clean, just what I needed on a busy day.

 

Here’s one of hubbys favorite meals, an old fashioned Patty Melt. He loves such simple things and to feed him is no big deal. I on the other hand see something like this meal as a lunch time thing, I like a big family dinner at night. Once in a great while I give in and make him something like this for dinner though and tonight was the night. He really enjoyed this and had a big grin on his face when he saw what I was preparing in the kitchen after he came in from work.

 

Patty Melts are really easy to make, the hardest part is taking the time to carmelize the onions that go on them. I did the onions earlier today so at dinnertime all I had to do was cook a burger, add some swiss cheese and place it all between two slices of rye bread, then onto the grill the whole concoction goes until the cheese is melted and the bread is nice and toasty.  Although you don’t have to season the meat I usually do with salt, pepper, a bit of onion and garlic powder and a splash of Maggi liquid seasoning. Sometimes I will add some sauteed mushrooms to mine, you can tailor these to suit your fancy. we had some nice sliced tomatoes with them tonight.

 

Yesterday I roasted a turkey and so this week we will have some turkey club sandwiches and then I’ll use the carcass to make a batch of turkey stock to get a head start on the Thanksgivng preparations, I go through a lot of stock during the holidays so I always try to have a few quarts of all kinds in the freezer, I also have them on hand to use in all the soups I make when the weather gets damp and chilly down here.

Tonight was one of those nights that I eat alone, hubby works until late so I usually use these nights to prepare myself something that he doesn’t care for. I spent yesterday making sausage and peppers for him and a batch of meatballs to put in the freezer so tonight I decided to make myself some porcini mushroom sauce and add a few meatballs to it for my dinner alone night.

I happen to love all kinds of mushrooms but hubby detests them in any way, shape or form. Last week Amazon had a special on dried porcini and so I splurged and bought the 4 pack special they offered.  This morning I covered one package with boiling water and let the mushrooms re-hydrate, when they were fully hydrated I chopped them up a bit and proceeded to make this sauce, I have to say it came out great and will be even better tomorrow or the next day.

                                          Porcini Mushroom Sauce

2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms, cover with boiling water and allow to sit for about 30 minutes, strain thru a fine seive and save the water for the sauce

1   28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes, whole, crushed with your hands

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 small onion finely diced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

olive oil

Heat a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat and when it is hot add about 2-3 tablespoons of good olive oil. Let the oil heat and when it is hot add the finely minced onion, lower the heat if the onion starts to brown and saute it until it softens up. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and continue to saute, keep stirring and watch the heat so it doesn’t burn. Add the mushrooms that have been drained and chopped into nice sized pieces, sautee until the bottom of the pan develops some fond, add the wine and scrape up all the browned bits, cook until the wine reduces to about half of the original amount. Add the tomatoes, their liquid and the rest of the seasonings and the strained water from soaking the mushrooms if it isn’t gritty. Lower the heat and half cover the pan and cook the sauce for about 45 minutes, stir once or twice and keep it just above a gentle simmer. After 45 minutes remove the lid and turn the heat up a bit to reduce the sauce to as thick as you prefer it.

This sauce came out great and I will admit I kind of pigged out on it, it was so good that I was eating it with a spoon without any bread or pasta at one point.

Our leftover I am kind of ashamed to say end up in the trash or in the dogs bowls usually. True the dogs really appreciate them but lately I really try to get another meal out of our food around here. I was going to take out the deli slicer and slice the last of the rib roast that I did on the grill into meat for cheesesteaks but the center was still rare enough that I could actually just heat it in a saute pan without drying it out. I also sauteed a load of baby portobello mushrooms to go along with it and I had the last of the pasta salad and hubby had the last of the potato salad. I am proud to say that every bit of the food we made for the fourth of July was eaten and not a bit went to waste!