Beef Paysanne

This is a dinner I've been making for years.  It's a great way to re-invent leftover pot roast; I always make enough pot roast for two meals and freeze half of it so we can have this dish sometime down the road.  Freezing hint:  add some beef broth or some of the pan juices to the freezer container along with the meat to help keep it moist.

BEEF PAYSANNE

1 medium onion, chopped
2T butter
2T flour
1 1/2 C beef stock (I use 1 1/2 C water with 2 beef boullion cubes)
1/2C red wine (I use Cabernet)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp mustard (Dijon or Koszkiusko)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups leftover pot roast or roast beef, cut in bite-size pieces or shredded
1 cup sliced mushrooms (baby bella mushrooms are great in this dish)

Melt butter and add onions, cooking until tender. Add flour and stir. Add red wine and stock and boil for 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Cook (simmer, not boil) for 20 minutes and serve with noodles or rice.
Source: Sammi1961 at FamilyCorner

My daughter made this for our dinner last night and she did a fantastic job!  She was a little (OK, a lot) generous with the garlic, but that didn't hurt this dish any.  The picture doesn't really show the gravy well; it's a good idea to let this sit off the heat for a couple of minutes before serving so the gravy thickens a bit.  When I went back for seconds, it was much thicker--but it was delicious both times around.

Vietnamese Tacos and an OXO Good Grips Giveaway

This recipe has all the necessary qualities for a fun family meal:  it's easy to make, it tastes great, everyone can customize his own meal, it's super-healthy, and what's more fun than dinner rolled up in a nice warm tortilla?  My whole family (and two dinner guests) loved these Vietnamese Tacos!  I found the original recipe in the April 2012 issue of Southern Living and modified it slightly.

VIETNAMESE TACOS

2 1/2 pounds sirloin steak (London Broil)
6-inch flour tortillas
1 bag Cole Slaw mix or 3 cups shredded cabbage and carrots
2 scallions, sliced
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin

Marinade:
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp ground ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBL sugar
2 TBL honey
1 TBL sesame oil
1 tsp freshly-ground pepper

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 TBL sugar
juice of one lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp freshly-ground pepper

Marinate steak for 8 to 24 hours.  Mix dipping sauce and chill until ready to serve.  Grill steak until done, discarding remaining marinade.  Allow meat to rest 10 minutes before slicing.  Slice into thin strips and serve in warmed tortillas with dipping sauce and vegetables.

This made a great and easy meal with a side of salad, steamed rice and a raw vegetable platter.  Everyone used the extra dipping sauce on the raw vegetables (it was particularly delicious with cucumbers.)

Slicing those cucumbers was really easy thanks to a cool kitchen tool from OXO Good Grips!  I used the Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer to make short work of that job.  This slicer was easy to hook over the top of a bowl, and the cucumbers were sliced in no time at all.  With a carefully-designed finger guard, I never had to worry that I'd slice off a fingertip or knuckle on the mandoline blade.

It was easy to adjust the thickness of the slices with a nonslip knob located on the side.  The thinnest slices were practically transparent--there's no way I could have done that with a knife.

I've also tried this slicer with onions and it made that chore quick and easy.  There's no better way to get paper-thin onion slices to top burgers or sandwiches.

This mandoline is dishwasher-safe (top rack) and the finger guard fits over the blade for safe storage of this handy kitchen tool.  It's going to be well-used in my kitchen this summer!

Thanks to OXO, I have a Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer to give away to one reader!  It's easy to enter this giveaway.  Simply leave a comment on this post, making sure there's an email address where you can be reached.  For one extra entry, "like" Mom's Fridge on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know you did that.  The contest will close at 11:59 PM EDT on Thursday, May 24 and the winner will be chosen and notified on Friday, May 25.  Because of the holiday, the winner will have until 11:59 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 29 to respond.

I received a Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer to try out for the purposes of this review and giveaway. The winner of the giveaway will receive an identical product. I did not receive any other compensation from OXO or any other source. All opinions are mine. UPDATE: And the winner is...comment #5, Jamie! The winner will be contacted via email as described above. Congratulations and thanks to everyone for participating!

Time to Make a Plan

I'm always comforted by having a weekly dinner-menu plan in my back pocket.  Even if I change my mind about what we're eating, or the order in which we eat it, it's good to know what's in the plan and that we have the ingredients in the house to make those dishes.

That said, I haven't had a menu plan in four weeks.  Four weeks ago today, I was in the hospital for major surgery.  Thanks to my hardworking family and many wonderful friends and relatives, I haven't had to worry too much about dinner.  I can cook it again, as long as someone else retrieves ingredients or equipment that is stored below waist level (it's also easier if someone else does the oven work.  I'm not bending too comfortably just yet.)  But it's lovely to be able to cook again.

Yesterday, Middle Sister asked if her friend could come over for dinner tonight.  Not a problem.  This morning I texted her while she was on the school bus to ask if her friend was, indeed, coming--just so I could get a head count for dinner.  When she answered "yes," I replied, "Any requests?"

"Food."

Maybe that's a compliment to my cooking (does it all really taste so good that you're happy for whatever I serve you?)--but in some ways, it's frustrating.  Food is a big part of how I love my family.  I enjoy making dinners that they like to eat.  And sometimes I'd like to know what they'd like to eat.

Remember, you have ONE MORE DAY to enter the Sweet Eats cookbook giveaway!

Variation on a Theme: Spanish Garlic Shrimp with Vegetables

One of the best things you can keep in your freezer is a bag of frozen, deveined shrimp.  I buy them when they go on sale.  It's easy to take out as many as you need for a particular meal.  Spanish Garlic Shrimp is a longtime family favorite.  The original recipe calls for bell peppers, but we had no fresh vegetables in the house so I improvised with a "steam in the bag" vegetable blend.  Also, I usually use cooked shrimp, but I only had raw, so the cooking directions have changed.


Spanish Garlic Shrimp with Vegetables


2 TSP olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 TBL EACH minced garlic & lemon juice
3 TBL sherry mixed with 2 TSP flour
1/4 TSP EACH paprika, salt & pepper
1 1/2 LB frozen peeled large uncooked shrimp, thawed, tails removed
1 bag "steam in the bag" Asian stir-fry vegetables without sauce


Get the rice going before you start on this dish. It cooks quickly!
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add onion; saute 4 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except shrimp; bring to simmer. 
Microwave the vegetables (they take about 5 minutes).
Add shrimp & cook about 5 minutes until the shrimp is fully cooked.
Serve shrimp and vegetables over rice. 
Serves 4.

Book Review and Giveaway: Sweet Eats

Not every family has to worry about a loved one who has food allergies or sensitivities.  For those who do, cooking, dining and shopping can be a huge challenge.

Marcia Slawson has experienced firsthand what it's like to try to tempt a young child on a wheat-free diet.  Her extensive trial and error with recipes and ingredients led her to write two versions of her dessert cookbook, Sweet Eats.

Sweet Eats is full of recipes with familiar names--but with a "healthy twist."   If you, a family member, or friend must eat gluten-free or if you wish to incorporate more whole grains into your diet without sacrificing delicious and familiar desserts, Slawson's cookbooks will show you how.  Each and every recipe has been modified to include gluten-free flours or whole grains (depending on the edition), natural low-glycemic-index sweeteners and healthy fats.

Whole-grain and gluten-free ingredients can be pricey and sometimes hard to find.  The last thing you want to do is experiment on your own with expensive ingredients--or waste your time and gas running to several stores in search of a single item.  Slawson has done the legwork here as well.  Sweet Eats lists brand names and sources for many of these ingredients, even recommending certain brands that work best in particular recipes.  You'll also find cooking, preparation and storage tips for these foods and ingredients.

For more information on this book or to order your own copy of either the Spelt & Whole Grain or Gluten-Free edition of Sweet Eats, visit Mom's Healthy Eats.  These cookbooks are available as e-books only.  You can even preview 3 free recipes from the book!  And don't miss the blog, where you can learn about healthy habits and ingredients.

I've been offered a copy of Sweet Eats to give away to a lucky reader!  To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post answering the question:

What do you think is the biggest challenge in dealing with a food allergy or sensitivity?

You can get a second entry by tweeting about this contest!  Make sure to leave a link to your tweet and your Twitter username in the comments.

One entry set per person, please.

This contest will run through midnight EDT on Tuesday, May 15.  A winner will be chosen and announced by Friday, May 18 and will have 72 hours to respond to an email announcement.  The winner will get to choose either the Spelt & Whole Grain OR Gluten-Free edition of this handy cookbook!

I was provided with an e-book copy of Sweet Eats for the purposes of this review. I received no other compensation. All opinions are mine. UPDATE: This contest is now closed and we have our winner! It is commenter #1, Mary Ellen! She has been contacted via email and has chosen the Gluten Free edition of Sweet Eats.

Missing in Action

Hey, I've been missing everybody these past couple of weeks.  That's what being out of the kitchen will do to you.  Last Monday I had surgery and while I'm finally home from the hospital after a 5-day stay, I have a couple of weeks to recover before I can cook, do household chores and lift anything bigger than 5 pounds (that leaves out my cast-iron Dutch oven...)
With the help of some very wonderful friends and only one pizza delivery, my 16-year-old daughter has quite admirably managed in the kitchen for a whole week already.  She's quite a good cook, though she has some skills to refine.
I left her a detailed inventory of the meat in the freezer along with a "cookbook" of about 10 recipes that she could make from what was in there.  This "cookbook" came with directions for making the whole meal and having it all come out done at the same time.  I have discovered that there are two things I have neglected to include in this "cookbook":

1. Mise en place.
2. Defrost at breakfast what you want to eat for dinner.

She'll get there.  She is a bright and determined girl, and I have no doubt as to her ability.  Experience is the best teacher, and it's better that I'm out of the room and not hovering over her as she discovers how to get the meals on the table.

She even grilled!  (I don't do that.  And I fully intend to take advantage of her ability to do so!)

Meanwhile, I'm making a list of recipes I find that I want to try once I'm back in the kitchen.  (Cooking is the part of homemaking that I miss the most.)  I'm drooling over the Penzeys catalog that arrived yesterday and planning a field trip to their Philly store in a month or so.

And coming up--as soon as I can get it done--a product review and giveaway of a cool cooking tool from OXO Good Grips!

Burrito Bowls: a Secret Recipe Club Reveal

I'm a big fan of the Burrito Bowls at Chipotle Mexican Grill, and in the past I've enjoyed making these at home.  But these bowls rely on fresh ingredients, and you can really only get good tomatoes in the summer and early fall.  The rest of the year, the pico de gallo falls short and I shy away from making this family favorite.

Thanks to the Secret Recipe Club, I've found a way to have my Burrito Bowls any time of year.  How did that happen?  My assignment for April was The Cookaholic Wife's blog.  What a great name--I instantly relate, since I'm a cookaholic myself.  There were plenty of tempting recipes from which to choose (I still want to try the Asian Chicken Noodle Soup) but I settled on the Red Bean, Rice and Meat Burritos.  They looked like a great alternative to the Burrito Bowl recipe I'd worked out last summer.  Here's how I made them:

Burrito Bowls
Printable Recipe

2 cups rice, cooked
1/2 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 TBL homemade taco seasoning
3 TBL water
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can petite diced tomatoes, UNdrained
1 can pink beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder
olive oil for the pan
tortillas
Cheddar-Jack blend cheese
1 lime
sour cream

After you start the rice, season the browned ground beef with the taco seasoning and water and keep warm.  Warm a little olive oil in a skillet and add onions and peppers.  Cook 5 minutes, then add tomatoes, corn, beans, chili, cumin, garlic and chipotle chili.  Continue cooking until most of the liquid has cooked off and everything is hot.
Serve in bowls or warmed tortillas.  Top with a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream (optional).

Things I changed:  In the original recipe, the rice, vegetables, and meat were all mingled before adding them to burritos.  I doubled the rice (we like rice) and cut the meat in half.  I kept the three separate (putting all the vegetables together) to make it easier for family members to customize their own burrito or bowl.  Because I didn't mix the vegetables with the meat, I seasoned them as well.  I only had a red pepper, but red and green would be great.  I used pink beans instead of red, because that's what I had in the pantry.  I'd like to make this again using red beans, and again using black beans--I think it would be amazing with black beans.  And I added a fresh lime on the side so we could flavor the rice with a little lime juice.

Survey SAYS!  This was delicious!  It was easy to customize the meal to personal tastes and to accommodate the vegetarian in our midst.  I ate a big bowlful and was ready for more.  It's a healthy, great-tasting, easy high-protein meal.  Everyone enjoyed it and will be happy to eat it again!  Next time, I'm going to top it off with some fresh cilantro.  Best of all, this was much easier to make (and clean up) than the Chipotle-clone recipe I'd been using.  Since I love the cooking part but not the cleaning part, that was a most welcome development.

This one's a keeper!  And I'll be back to visit Nichole's blog again very soon.