Beef Kebabs with Couscous

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – April 24, 2011

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Beef Kebabs with Couscous recipe originally published in Food Network Magazine – April 2012.

I’m trying to expand my repertoire a little.  I serve a lot of dishes on a bed of pasta or rice.  It’s not a bad thing, but I like to switch things up and try new things as often as possible.  On this day, I decided to try my hand at couscous and Middle Eastern cuisine. 

This recipe seemed like a great place to start.  Meat marinated in simple (but unique to my palate) flavors and couscous which is as easy to make as rice.

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Beef Kebabs with Couscous

The tomatoes and onion alone make me want to go grab the leftovers.  Who cares if it is after midnight?!?!?!  I love charred vegetables and I managed to get it perfect.  My meat looks a little dry, but that could very well be my fault since I used a different cut of steak, but more on that later.

Nacho Cheese Beef Bake

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – September 6, 2011

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Nacho Cheese Beef Bake recipe originally published in Taste of Home – August 2011.

I’m always looking for a delicious casserole recipe and I love Mexican food, so this recipe seemed like the perfect match.  I also liked the convenience factor.  Most everything was canned (and I could buy healthier versions than specified) and what wasn’t, I could buy per-sliced or shredded… except for the chips, but crushing chips isn’t all that difficult.

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Nacho Cheese Beef Bake

I didn’t pile everything on top of the casserole like they did in the picture because I wanted the picture to show the casserole underneath.  

As you can tell, I did a horrible job at showing the casserole.  I cook.  I'm definitely not a photographer.

From what I can tell, my casserole looks slightly “soupier” which I’m not sure if I like or not.  Still, my food looks delicious and I was ready to eat it as soon as the picture was taken.

Bruschetta Minute Steaks

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – September 1, 2011

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Bruschetta Minute Steaks recipe originally published in Kraft Recipes Magazine – Spring 2011.

When I plan meals, I always go for dinner menus.  What that means is that I have nothing to make for lunch unless I’m going with a standard lunchmeat sandwich or salad.  It isn’t a bad thing, but every once in a while I crave something a little more complex.  With my chores at home adding in errands and working on the blogs, I usually don’t feel like making gigantic meals.

I guess my point is I like looking for simple recipes using some convenience foods that I can make healthier.  If I can stay out of the fast food line at lunch time, that’s even better.

So I saw this recipe and was excited.  It used sandwich steaks that can be made in a jiffy.  Also, it’s dressed up with vegetables and isn’t a sandwich (or at least it wasn’t meant to be eaten as a sandwich).

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Bruschetta Minute Steaks

So starting with the obvious – it isn’t the same kind of steak.  I couldn’t find a “beef minute steak” so I went with what I found as the next best thing: a sandwich steak.  They had a comparable cook time and I could stack two on top of each other to give the same amount of thickness.

It didn’t turn out as well as I hoped.  Looking back, I probably should have bought a flat steak or flank steak and cut it into smaller pieces, but I can't change the past.

My sandwich steaks didn’t hold together well, so I decided to turn it Philly style where the beef was shredded.  Although I plated it separately, I decided to eat these as a sandwich (picture shown later) on a pretzel roll.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Swiss Steak and Gravy

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – April 28, 2011

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Recipe originally published by Betty Crocker via e-mail on Sunday, April 24, 2011.

Maybe it’s time I tell everyone how I come up with blog posts and dishes. 

I have literally thousands of recipes to choose from.  I try to pick recipes from the most current magazines I have and then will dig through my recipe archives if I can’t find anything that tickles my fancy.  Honestly, I go a lot by what sounds good to me at the moment I’m creating my menu for the week.  I’ve tried to keep track of everything I’ve made recently, but that just adds a lot of time to the process… time I’d rather spend writing and cooking.

When I cook, I follow my rules: clean my cabinets, empty the sink, pull out the ingredients and equipment.  Then I take pictures of everything (and now take pictures of all the nutritional information labels as well) and write down any changes to ingredients and any supplemental equipment I need (or feel I need) for the recipe.  Finally, I break down the recipe on a marker board so I can take notes and pictures while I’m cooking.  When I’m all done, I take pictures of the finished product, write down all of the notes from the marker board and make detailed notes about the mess I’ve created, taste of the dish and what I would change, if anything.

The reason I felt the need to point this out to all of you is because I realized I’ve made this particular dish, I don’t know, probably 5 or 6 times this year.  It is from different sources and the recipes all have their own little tweak, but the Swiss steak / beef stew / creamy beef and noodles seems to be ever present in my cooking rotation.  I sat down and really thought about why and it is probably for the following reasons:

• Slow cooking rules… minimal cooking and perfectly cooked beef.
• Tomatoes and mushrooms are abundant in these recipes and this girl LOVES her tomatoes and mushrooms.
• I can serve it with noodles or potatoes to mix up the leftovers.

I guess it just looks tasty and I get drawn to the stewed beef like a bug to a light.

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Slow Cooker Mushroom Swiss Steak and Gravy

I’m torn by my finished product.  On one hand, it is so gravy-licious and you can tell the meat is perfectly cooked (meaning falling apart) but is also looks very messy and like it is missing something.  Of course it is – egg noodles.  One day I will learn to compare the picture with the recipe to the ingredient listing.

Reunion Casserole with Asiago Tater Tots

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – March 11, 2011

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Reunion Casserole recipe originally published by Simple and Delicious – December/January 2011

Asiago Tater Tots recipe originally published by Every Day with Rachael Ray – February 2011

At some point, I realized that I need to make more meals instead of single dishes.  Part of the issue is that I have a couple of stand-by side dishes that I always go back to.  Not that they are bad, just unimaginative.  The other is that I’m making a lot of casseroles.  Casseroles have everything in one dish which is sort of the appeal.

Then I came upon this recipe for the Asiago Tater Tots.  I love a good tot (who doesn’t), but it isn’t like you can make a meal out of them.  Well I actually had a boyfriend who would make entire bags of them and eat them out of a bowl with an oversized spoon… but he was an idiot, so that doesn’t count.

So I had to find a recipe that would work with the tots.  I could have gone the hamburger/hot dog route but when I read this recipe, it reminded me of a fancy sloppy joe, with pasta for the carbs instead of bread.  I knew it would be a hit.

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Reunion Casserole with Asiago Tater Tots

Visually, I’m disappointed with the meal.  It is so brown.  Separately, I can’t complain.  The casserole looks hearty and yummy.  It could have a little more color, but it still smelled fantastic.  The tater tots turned out even better than I thought they ever would.  Golden brown and crisp, I couldn’t wait to eat them.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? - February 23, 2011

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Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis Recipe originally published in Cooking Light, January/February 2011.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes originally published in Taste of Home Holiday Collection 2008, but found at the Mrs. Dash web site.

Meatloaf, as boring as it is, is one of my go-to recipes when I’m in a pinch.  I always have ingredients on hand and have a favorite recipe (Better Homes and Gardens).  On occasion, I’ll stuff it with vegetables and cheese, but for the most part, it’s a standard recipe that, while tasty, doesn’t have much pizzazz.  The Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis definitely had a more interesting ingredient list than my usual meatloaf.  Horseradish, Dijon mustard, onion and garlic made it almost impossible for me to pass up.

Since meatloaf isn’t really difficult to make, I decided this was a dish I needed to prepare with a side.  Now, I have a list of about 9000 recipes (yes, you read that right) of every kind of dish you can imagine.  I couldn’t find ANYTHING I wanted to serve with my mini-loaves.  I stumbled across this recipe that was attributed to a magazine, yet was so old that I found it on a completely different web site than the original.

I don’t know if that made any sense.  I think I need to tweak my medication.

On to the pictures!!!!!

My finished meal:

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Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Admit it.  You want to eat the mini-meatloaf.  Okay, my vegetarian friends/followers don’t, but the carnivores, like me, do.  My loaves didn’t look as pretty as those of Cooking Light, but they aren’t ugly either.

The smell was FANTASTIC, but upon reflection of this dish, I should have gone with my initial instincts and made garlic mashed potatoes.  Still it tasted good with the meatloaf and overall I was happy with the way it looked.

Creamy Beef & Mushrooms with Noodles

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – December 13, 2010

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Recipe originally published in Kraft Food & Family – Holiday 2010.

Back when winter was hitting us smack in the face for the first time this year, I had a craving.  This craving was for all things stroganoff-like.  Without even realizing it, I made 3 or 4 dishes in a month that were very similar.  This dish read like a quickie-stroganoff with an Italian zing.  The writers seemed to really care about the nutritional information – they lightened up the ingredients and made sure the sodium levels were in check.  I also liked the seemingly short prep and cooking time.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Kraft Recipes

Admittedly, mine looks a little runnier.  I poured on the sauce when I plated it, and for some reason, I clustered my peas like I grabbed a handful and plopped them on there.  The sauce may be a little runny because I love olive oil, and can be heavy-handed at times.  (Oops!  I splashed a little over the teaspoon.  My bad.  Oops!  I did it again!)  Most of the time, it doesn’t make a difference, but clearly here it did – well at least in presentation.  It certainly didn’t mess with the taste.  Last, I didn’t spend the time I should have chopping the tomato to make them in pretty little pieces.  Instead I have big chunks.

Pappardelle with Beef & Mushroom Ragu

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – January 20, 2011

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Recipe originally published in Real Simple, January 2011.

This recipe brought me to my knees.  Not that it was overly difficult – a basic red sauce with vegetables and meat over pasta is not exactly rocket science.  No, between trying to find Pappardelle and burning the veggies, I had enough by the time I was through.  However, through the smoky haze of my kitchen choking on the stench of scorched carrots, I realized it tasted really good.  Thank goodness, because I was walking a very thin line between sanity and murderous rage at that point.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Real  Simple

First, let’s state the obvious… I didn’t use papparedelle.  That’s because I drove all over Northwest Indiana looking for it and couldn’t find it.  However one of the substitutes was fettuccine, which is what I used.  I think they probably used shiitake and/or Portobello mushrooms too because they seem to have a deeper color to them.  So, yes, it doesn’t look exactly the same, but I’m sure it tasted just as good.

Enchilada Lasagna

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – November 2010

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Recipe originally published in Taste of Home, June/July 2010.

Here’s a small list of some of the things I love:

• Casseroles
• Mexican Food
• Lasagna

This dish is all three.  With the ease of a casserole (it definitely beats rolling enchiladas), it replaces the calorie and carb-busting pasta with flour tortillas, and has a great Mexican flavor.  The recipe gives you room to make it a little spicier if you need it and you can always serve it with your favorite Chipotle hot sauce.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

I always get irritated when my dish doesn’t come close to matching the published one.  Now I give myself a little room here since cutting a perfect slice of casserole (with a base layer of sauce) is kind of a tricky business.  That aside, Taste of Home’s lasagna looks thicker and yummier.  Upon closer inspection, I did notice that some of the ingredients are different.  For example, those are clearly red onions, which were not in the ingredient listing.  Also, the directions finish off the top with the cheese, but there are chopped (not stewed tomatoes) on top of theirs.  This leads me to conclude that perhaps the recipe wasn't entirely accurate.

It doesn’t really matter because my enchilada lasagna was really tasty, but I don’t like the tricks of some of the magazines/websites out there.

Beef Roast with Gravy

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – September 2010

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Recipe originally published in Taste of Home, June/July 2010.

I have a problem with cooking roast beef.  I can never get it cooked and juicy enough for my taste.  I decided to try a slow-cooker version with gravy.  I will say one thing – I hate the thought of leaving my slow cooker on all day when I’m not around, so I tend to do slow cooking when I’m going to be home. 

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: ©Taste of Home

My gravy doesn’t look as rich and dark as Taste of Home’s gravy.  I’m guessing it is because I tried to lighten it up a little with no-fat gravy and reduced-fat soup.  Still, it tasted great and was as thick as it needed to be.