Cuban Beef Picadillo

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 3.5/5     Ease: 4/5

Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: ~25 minutes

Okay, so I had to google "picadillo". According to Wikipedia, it is a traditional latin-american dish comprised of ground meat, tomatoes, and other ingredients depending on location. And that's exactly what this was. Maybe if we had been served food that tasted like this when we visited Cuba, I'd feel more inclined to return.

Moving on, I was surprised my kids liked it so much. It's not spicy, but it is distinctive.

The raisins were like a nice little "hey there!".

What you'll need:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp Chili powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 3/4 C beef broth
• 2/3 C raisins (or currants)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• steamed rice, for serving (optional)

In a large deep pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and saute until translucent (3-4 minutes). Add the beef and cook, stirring to break up any clumps, until the meat begins to brown (7-8 minutes). Rinse off excess fat.

Add the garlic, chili powder, and cinnamon, stirring frequently for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, raisins, tomato paste, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered until thickened into a stew-like consistency (~10-15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

  

Grilled Steak Sandwiches with Melted Onions

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 2/5     Taste: 5/5     Time: 2/5

Prep: 10 minutes (1 hour if you count marinating time)
Cook: 45 minutes

Who doesn't love a great steak sandwich every now and then? The onions took a long time to cook, but they were melt-in-your-mouth good! Next time, I would turn the baguettes into garlic bread.

The recipe is from HeartSmart: The Best of HeartSmart Cooking. A little tip from the cookbook: if you grill a whole steak and slice it after, rather than cooking individual ones, it often turns out juicier. You can use diced leftover steak in a salad, stir fry or wrap.

What you'll need:

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp coarse ground pepper
• 2 lb (1 kg) sirloin steak, 1 1/2 in thick, trimmed of fat
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 whole wheat baguettes (16 in long)
• 1 bunch of spinach, trimmed

Onions

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 C balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pat steak dry, brush with oil and rub with sugar mixture. Marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator.

Onions: heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions. Cook for 10 minutes without stirring, until the onions begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Onions should be very brown. Add sugar and vinegar and cook gently, adding water if necessary until onions are very tender. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Cut each baguette into four pieces and then cut each piece in half horizontally. Top with spinach.

Grill steak until desired completeness (~7 minutes for medium). Lay steak on baguettes and top with onions. Serve on the patio with a cold beverage!

Meatballs on a stick

Ease: 3/5     Kid-friendliness: 5/5     Taste: 4/5     Time: 3.5/5

Prep: 10 minutes (45 if you chill your meatballs, which I did not do)
Cooking time: 8 minutes

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Any recipe with "on a stick"in the title, has got to be good in my books. Especially in the summer. And doesn't meatballs on a stick just spell "festive" to you, on this, my country's birthday? (For my American friends, today celebrates the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North American Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country called Canada - our equivalent of the fourth of July). Must be some throw back to a childhood memory of corndogs at a fair or something. Speaking of which, the Calgary Stampede (the self-proclaimed "greatest outdoor show on earth") gets underway July 9th, so really, meatballs on a stick could not be more appropriate. And for no other reason, these meatballs are just plain fun and make a great appetizer.

What you'll need:

• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/3 C bread crumbs 
• 3 Tbsp whole milk 
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp dijon mustard (I didn't have any, so substituted 1 tsp of mustard powder)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I just used sea salt - maybe it's the same thing?)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
• extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:

• 1/3 C ketchup
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt if you're me)

In a medium bowl, combine the meatball ingredients. Using your hands (yay!), gently mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. 

Wet your hands with cold water and shape the meat into balls, ~1 inch in diameter. Try not to overwork the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes or until very cold (anyone know why? I didn't do this step since I pick recipes last minute and they cooked fine and tasted great to me). 

To make the sauce, whisk together in a small bowl the sauce ingredients.

Lightly brush or spray the meatballs with oil. Grill over direct high heat until the meat is cooked but not dry (6 to 8 minutes), gently turning occasionally with tongs. Arrange the meatballs on a platter with toothpicks. Serve warm with the sauce. Makes 25 - 30 small meatballs.

Recipe from Weber's Real Grilling: Over 200 Original Recipes

Beef Tacos

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 5/5      Time: 2/5

Prep:
Cooking Time: min 4 hours

My dad had eight brothers and sisters. There are still seven of them; five in Alberta. My Grandma B is alive and kicking as well. When her children began moving out, she required only one thing of them: that they agree to come together at least four times a year to celebrate holidays and birthdays. Dutifully, they have done so. Family members take turns hosting. The host is responsible for the entree, and other family members bring the fixings.  This month was my husband and I's turn. Needless to say, it's a fairly large group that comes together. Cooking for large groups can stress me out a little. Turkey and roasts are the tried and true large group options, but this time around, I wanted to make something summery, and simple.

I landed on the idea of beef tacos. This worked out perfectly, because other than a little prep work, all that was required was throwing the beef into my slow cooker, giving me plenty of time to stress about cleaning the house.

What you'll need:

• 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) extra lean ground beef
• 3 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 package Tex Mex seasoning
• 1 tsp dried whole oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 12 oz corn 
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp Tex Mex seasoning
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried whole oregano
• couple dashes of tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Mix first 8 ingredients in bowl. Scramble-fry in non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat until browned. Drain. 

Put onion into 3.5 or 5 quart slow cooker. Add peppers, corn and beef mixture. Stir. 

Combine remaining 7 ingredients in bowl. Stir well. Pour over top. Stir. Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Makes 10 cups. 

To complete the tacos, I served the beef mix with hard and soft taco shells, chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, chopped green onion, salsa, and tex mex cheese. 

It was a great afternoon!

Ice-breaker Burgers

Ice-Breaker Burgers

Ease: 5/5     Taste: 4/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Time: 5/5

This is about as quick and simple as it gets and a great first recipe ice-breaker.  With Spring in the air (and a new BBQ, but that's a whole 'nother post), I couldn't think of a better recipe to get things started. My daughter loved them! Paired with a side of green beans (did you know you only have to boil green beans for 5 minutes? Ashamedly, I used to boil beans for about 20 minutes. Tender beans are WAY better than mushy beans!) with basil pesto sauce (from a jar - maybe we'll attempt a home recipe for this one day), french fries and a cold beer, and you've got a killer combination!

What you'll need:

• 1 pound ground beef (I used extra lean, but more fat = juicier burger)
• 1 egg 
• HP Sauce
• Your favorite BBQ sauce
• Clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Onion salt
•  2 Green onion, finely chopped
• hamburger buns (I like the large whole wheat ones)

-         Preheat BBQ to medium-high

In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, a healthy squirt of HP sauce, a healthy squirt of BBQ sauce, garlic, onion salt and green onion. I add an egg for “cement”, but it’s probably not necessary. Mix well (I use my hands. I know it’s weird, but I love how it feels to moosh hamburger around). Pat mixture into loose patties three quarters of an inch thick (I say loose because I used to really pack them thinking they wouldn’t fall apart. Which they didn’t, but they came out as hockey pucks).  Cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side (until inside is no longer pink). Top with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!