Beef Ramen Skillet

Sometimes I don't mind taking a fair bit of time to prepare a meal, but there are other times when I really want something that is fast and easy, yet really good.   That was what I wanted when I designed today's featured recipe.

I wanted something with tender slices of beef, lots of noodles, a blend of Asian flavors and a bit of heat, and I also wanted it to cook up all in one pan.  I consulted various sources to figure out how to put something like that together.  The most helpful one I found was the recipe for Ramen with Beef, Shitakes and Spinach from The Best 30-Minute Recipe.  That one didn't give me exactly what I wanted, but it gave me enough of a start that filling in the rest was pretty easy.

If you're like me, you probably associate ramen noodles with college days, or other times and situations when you had little money to spend on food.  Fact is, the little seasoning packets that come with a pack of ramen are pretty dreadful - lots of over-processed chemicals and a couple days' worth of salt.  But if you toss the seasoning packet and pair them with good ingredients, ramen noodles can be pretty good.

This dish came together really quickly.  Juli was not really a fan - the bitterness of the spinach and black vinegar didn't work for her - but I loved it.  The noodles absorbed almost all the cooking liquid and seasonings, making them incredibly flavorful, while the bits of beef were tender and full of flavor.  Plus, the leftovers warmed up great.   I'll be using this recipe as the basis of some other dishes in the near future.  My hope is that by mixing up the other ingredients and seasonings a bit, I can come up with something similar that Juli likes as much as I do.

Beef Ramen Skillet

yield = 5 servings

1 1/2            pounds beef sirloin, thinly-sliced
3                  tablespoons soy sauce
1                  teaspoon white pepper
2                  tablespoons peanut oil
8                  ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1                  serrano chili pepper, seeded and diced
1                  tablespoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
3                  teaspoons minced garlic
3 1/2            cups low-sodium chicken broth
4                  packages (3 ounce) ramen noodles, seasoning
                    packets discarded
1/4               cup rice wine
1                  tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
1                  tablespoon cornstarch
2                  teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil
2                  teaspoons granulated sugar
9                  ounces baby spinach

Toss beef in a bowl with soy sauce and white pepper.  Heat one tablespoon peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add half of the beef slices and stir-fry until lightly browned.  Transfer cooked beef to a clean bowl and repeat with remaining beef slices.

Add the remaining peanut oil to the skillet and heat to shimmering.  Add the mushrooms and serrano chili and cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are browned on all sides (about 5 minutes).  Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 45 seconds). 

Add the broth and bring to a simmer.  Break the blocks of ramen noodles into smaller chunks and add to the skillet, stirring occasionally until the noodles separate and are tender (approximately 2-3 minutes). 

While the noodles are cooking, combine the rice wine, black vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil and sugar in a small bowl, mixing thoroughly.  Add the rice wine mixture.  Stir in the spinach a hand full at a time.  When the sauce is thickened, return the beef to the skillet.  Stir together and serve.

Banana, Strawberry and Orange Muffins

Regular readers will probably have noticed that Juli and I are rather fond of muffins.  We're always on the lookout for new varieties to try out, so when one of our favorite blogs recently featured a delicious-sounding muffin recipe, we knew we'd have to try it out.

The blog in question is For the Love of Cooking.  That blog's author, Pam, features a pretty diverse range of really good recipes.  If you haven't already checked it out, do yourself a favor and do so.  On March 18 she featured a recipe for Banana, Strawberry and Orange Muffins.  Muffins made with mashed, ripe bananas, orange juice and zest and pieces of strawberry.... that sure sounded good.   I'd been planning to make a batch for a couple weeks and finally got around to doing so last weekend. 

The result was pretty darn good.  They were full of fruity flavor, with the banana flavor being the most dominant.  The strawberry flavor didn't extend beyond the bits of strawberry, but those - and especially the more carmelized bits atop the muffins - were quite good, while the orange was more an accent than a primary flavor.  While a bit more dense than most muffins, they weren't heavy or overly chewy.  As is often the case, they were best fresh out of the oven (well, cooled for about 10 minutes before serving, actually), but a few seconds in the microwave warmed them up quite nicely.

As usual, I took the leftovers to work and shared them with my coworkers.   They didn't last long at all.

While I don't expect these muffins to become a frequently-made recipe like my Glorious Morning Glory Muffins or Cook's Illustrated's Best Blueberry Muffins, they were still quite good, and I do think I'll probably make them again sometime.

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EASY Easter Dinner

Sometimes less-experienced cooks get in a panic over pulling off a big holiday dinner.  Those of us who have done it more than a time or two know that the cooking isn't the problem.  It's the cleaning!  I can't help you with that, but I thought I'd share a quick synopsis of what we're cooking for Easter this year.  It's easy, but still very festive.  We do pretty much the same menu every year, and that helps to simplify the planning. 

Having a simple menu is essential when you work on Easter Sunday. Don't get me wrong- Easter is a joyous, uplifting celebration. And it Wipes. Me. Out!  I definitely don't want to spend all day in the kitchen on Easter after I've spent the morning playing church services and directing several choirs.

 We'll be making our usual potato casserole (you might remember it from Christmas dinner 2010).  It has to be prepped the night before, which helps in meal preparation on the holiday. After the ham has baked about 45 minutes, we'll start assembling the pineapple side dish.

It takes about ten minutes tops to mix up the pineapple custard. 

Pineapple Custard *
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugarSo here's the plan.  First of all, we opt for a spiral-sliced ham.  The one I bought weighs 8 1/2 pounds, and it will need to cook around 15 minutes per pound.  So- about two hours and fifteen minutes of time, but very little effort.  We got one with a brown sugar glaze this year.

4 beaten eggs

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 20-ounce cans crushed pineapple, undrained

3 tablespoons of butter

dusting of ground cinnamon

In a glass 8 x 8 baking dish, mix together the cornstarch and sugar.  Add the eggs, water, and vanilla.  Add the crushed pineapple, juice and all, and stir well.  Slice the 3 tablespoons of butter into about 5 pats and dot the pineapple mixture with them- don't mix in.  Dust lightly with a ground cinnamon.


 

Bake uncovered for one hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.

Next, we'll get our potato casserole into the oven (it has to be prepped the night before the holiday).  It cooks for 45 minutes to an hour.  The oven will be crowded but everything should fit.

Overnight Cheesy Potato Casserole-start the night before!

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 teaspoon  minced garlic

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper

2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

2 pound package Mr. Dell's frozen shredded hash browns

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

1 cup crushed cornflakes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, garlic, cream of mushroom soup, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Melt 1 stick of butter, set aside.

3.  Arrange half the package of hash  browns in a large rectangular baking dish.  Pour half the melted butter over them.  Pour half the sour cream mixture over them.  Top with half the sharp cheddar cheese.  Repeat with the remaining potatoes, butter, sour cream mixture, and cheddar cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

4.  Just before baking, sprinkle the crushed cornflakes over the top of the casserole and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

An easy way to get crushed cornflakes:  Measure out about four times the crushed volume desired into a large sealable plastic storage bag.  Crush the cornflakes with a rolling pin- make sure the bag has been sealed tight first!

When the hot dishes are about 20 minutes from being done, you can prepare a fresh vegetable of your choice on the stove top.  We like asparagus or broccoli to add some color to our plates, or a mix of broccoli and carrots is great, too.  When the ham has finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it "rest".  Same with the other two hot dishes, as everything should be done at about the same time.  If you're worried that they'll get overly cold sitting on the counter top for 10 minutes, cover with aluminum foil.  Now you can crank the heat up on the oven and cook either brown and serve rolls or a good frozen roll (we like Sister Schubert's dinner rolls from the freezer section of the grocery).

If you want dessert, I'd recommend making one of your choice the day before the holiday.  We don't usually have one, because the pineapple custard is sweet enough to double as a dessert of sorts.

There you go.  Easter dinner is served!

*Pineapple Custard was published previously, but I've doubled it and clarified the directions from the first time I posted the recipe.

Hamburger Soup

This recipe is great for a cold, blustery day.  I like to make it using leftovers from a crockpot beef roast, if i have any on hand.  My original recipe uses hamburger, though.  It tastes better than it sounds, if you're feeling skeptical!

Julianne's Vegetable Beef Soup
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, minced fine
1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef- do not substitute with regular ground beef!, or 2-3 cups leftover beef roast, cut in bite-size pieces
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 carrots, sliced into coins
4 stalks celery, diced
1 8-ounce package white mushrooms, sliced
4 10.5-ounce cans beef consomme
4 10.5 ounce cans, filled with water
1 15-ounce can corn, undrained 
1 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 bay leaf
10 whole, unground peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of thyme, or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprinkle dried parsley flakes
1 8-ounce package frozen peas

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven.  Add onions, cook until limp and translucent.  Add ground beef (or leftover beef roast bites) and cook until the raw meat is no longer pink.  Because you used lean ground beef (you did use lean ground beef, right?), you won't have any grease to drain.  Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Add everything else EXCEPT the frozen peas, and simmer for 45 minutes.  Right before serving, add frozen peas, and cook until warmed through, just a few minutes.

Serve with crusty French or Italian bread with plenty of butter.

Notes:  Campbell's Soup still makes a consomme beef soup, and that's what I use.  If you can't locate any, beef broth with about a tablespoon of beef stock base would be an acceptable substitution- just remember you won't need to add the cans of water.

Somehow, the chopped celery missed its photo op.

I like this recipe because 1) it makes a big batch, and freezes well, and 2) despite all the chopping, really all you have to clean up in the kitchen (other than soup bowls and spoons) is a cutting board, the Dutch oven, a wooden spoon and measuring spoons.

This is what a sprinkle of parsley looks like.  I don't bother to measure it.

Corn Chowder with Smoked Turkey (or Ham)

It was SO cold last Friday night!  The bedroom Jeffrey and I share was probably meant to be a second story summer sleeping porch, since it's built directly over the house's ground floor front porch, and has a bank of windows all the way across the front and on another two sides.  What this translates to, is that the floor isn't very well insulated.  Most of the time I love sleeping in a cold room, but Friday was just a little too arctic!

Consequently, I was in the mood for some stormy day comfort food Saturday.  Jeffrey had to go into work, so I had the pleasure of a a day all to myself.  I have the kind of personality that gets recharged from being alone, so this was double good!  I pulled out some classical CD's and made soup for both lunch and dinner today.  The first soup was a random try to be creative, since Jeffrey's had so much good luck doing that with his cooking lately.  I think this soup would also be good with diced ham, so I'm filing this recipe as a possibility to help use up any leftover Easter ham we might have.

Corn Chowder with Smoked Turkey (or Ham)

8-ounce block of cream cheese
2 cups whole milk
1 15-ounce can creamed corn
2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives
1 1/2 cups of diced smoked turkey breast (3/4 - 1 pound)
1 cup frozen peas (about 4 ounces by weight)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 sprigs fresh thyme

Soften the cream cheese- the easiest way is in the microwave.  I discovered that my microwave has a setting for just this purpose!  If you don't have a microwave, you can heat the cream cheese in a medium saucepan on medium low heat.  Either way, the softened cream cheese is now placed in the sauce pan.  Stir in the milk and creamed corn and stir until the cream cheese is incorporated.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.  Heat through until peas and turkey are warmed.  Remove the thyme sprigs.  Serve with a garnish of fresh-ground black pepper.

Notes:  I went to HyVee's deli counter and had the butcher cut a slab of unsliced smoked turkey.  While I was at the store, I looked at what passes for fresh chives.  Not impressed- what they were selling looked more like what you might plant in the ground- thick and dry, almost looking like coarse lemon grass.  If you don't grow your own chives, do yourself a favor and buy a little plant this year.  If you are an apartment dweller, just place the plant in a small flower pot that you can keep in a sunny spot.

Also, here is what I mean by a "sprig" of thyme:

Chickpea Salad

The other night, when I made the Curried Turkey Sandwiches, I needed something to go along with the sandwiches.  It was a pretty nice day, so I thought something light would be appropriately spring-like.   I decided to toss together a salad based around chickpeas.

I'd seen a recipe along those lines in the recent past, but I couldn't find it when I was getting ready to make my Chickpea Salad, so I simply made up my own.   I later found the recipe I'd been thinking of, which was in the April 2011 Bon Appetit, and I'm rather amazed how much what I tossed together ended up being similar to the printed recipe.  Next time I might go ahead and try that other version, but I was pleased with how mine turned out.  The various flavors balanced nicely, with those of the chickpeas and the Parmesan pushing ahead of the others. 

This recipe makes quite a bit.  As a side dish, it would serve eight, but it's filling and satisfying enough to also make a main dish meal for four.

Chickpea Salad

yield = 4 servings (main dish) or 8 servings (side dish)

2                 cans (15 ounces) chickpeas
1/4              cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2                 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2                 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3                 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2              teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2              teaspoon kosher salt
1/4              teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3              cup (grated) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Drain and rinse chickpeas.  Combine with Italian parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Toss gently to blend the ingredients thoroughly and serve.

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Curried Turkey Sandwiches

A few nights ago, I was in need of a quick, tasty dinner.  I was in something of a sandwich mood, but also hungry for curry, so I decided to do both.

I had planned to buy some chicken breasts, slice and pound them into cutlets and make sandwiches with those, but when I got to the store, I saw they were running a special on turkey breast cutlets.  Sounded good to me.

The recipe this time around is really simple.  Mix a few things, toss in the turkey cutlets, refrigerate them for a bit, then quick-broil them.  The result is a really tasty sandwich.   These don't take much time to make, and most of the time they do take is spent having the turkey breasts marinate in the fridge.  If you're looking for something tasty, different and quick, give these a shot.   I think you'll like the result.


Curried Turkey Sandwiches

yield = 4 sandwiches

1                cup plain yogurt
2                tablespoons lemon juice
1                tablespoon Madras curry powder
2                teaspoons minced garlic
1/2             teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2             teaspoon table salt
1/2             teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2          pounds turkey breast cutlets
4                large (tenderloin-size) sandwich buns
                  fresh lettuce, washed and dried
                  tomato slices (if desired)

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, curry powder, garlic, pepper, salt and onion powder in a large bowl.   Stir to thoroughly mix.   Add turkey breast cutlets.  Stir to fully coat the cutlets with the curry mixture.   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

While the turkey breast cutlets are marinating, set an oven rack 6 inches below the broiler element and heat up the oven to low broil.   Line the inside of a broiler pan with foil.  Spray the grill surface with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the turkey breast cutlets on the cooking surface of the broiler pan.  Broil for 4 minutes, flip the turkey cutlets over and cook another four minutes or until done.  The meat should be cooked through, and the curry coating should be browned in spots.

Serve turkey cutlets on sandwich buns.  Garnish with lettuce leaves (and tomato slices, if desired).