Hamburger Steak with Gravy

I love it when food can take me back to my childhood!! And I've always loved when we would have hamburger steaks. It was simple and quick for my Mom and we all loved it.
I wanted to try something with a little more taste and thanks to Pinterest, this wonderful recipe popped up!!
Now the gravy is a little different than the one my Mom used to make, but it's great. My Mom used to make a quick gravy by pouring the leftover tea from the teapot into the pan and deglaze. Voila!!
This one has a little more to it and it tastes great.

Hamburger Steak with Gravy
source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp oil (I use canola)
1 cup thinly sliced onions
2 tbsp flour
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp cooking sherry (in a pinch I used a scant 1/2 tsp of vanilla)
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

    Mix together the beef, egg, breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. Make 8 balls and then flatten into patties. I make them pretty thin.
    Heat up the oil in a large skillet or fry pan. Place onions and patties and cook until patties are nicely browned, approx 4 mins per side. Remove the patties and keep them warm. **Now I had to cook the patties in 2 batches, so on the second batch, I added the onions.
    Sprinkle the flour over the onions and drippings in the pan. Stir it all around so that it soaks up the drippings and at the same time you scrape up some of the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Gradually stir in the beef broth and sherry. If it needs it, add some seasoned salt. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 mins, stirring until thickened.
    Turn heat to low, return patties to pan, cover and simmer for approx 15 mins.

My hubby does not like hamburger steak at all. He has different childhood memories of it (sorry MIL). But, when he tried this, his opinion changed. He loves this!! He craves it and asks for it often. Now my kids still aren't huge fans of gravy, but they love the patties. With ketchup of course.

Happy cooking!

Ragout de Boulettes or Meatball Stew

This is traditionally served during the holiday season back home, from what I've been told but I, on the other hand, serve it whenever. The kids love it and it is a great comfort food. Tender meatballs in a gravy served with potatoes and veggies. Very simple and very comforting. I have always made this on my stove top but I think the next time, I am going to give my slow cooker a shot at it as per the linked recipe. It's also very freezer friendly, a big bonus in this house!

Ragout de Boulettes
source: Recettes du Québec

Ingredients
3lbs ground pork
1 1/2lbs ground beef
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp allspice
1-2 tbsp salt (we aren't salt fans, so I used less than 1 tbsp)
3 cups water
1 small can chicken stock (aylmer or campbells)  *see note
1 package of St-Hubert's Ragout sauce
grilled flour (for slow cooker method)

In a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs and milk and let sit 10 mins. Next, add the pork, beef, eggs, spices and salt to the breadcrumb/milk combo. Roll the meatballs to about 1-1.5" each. Place the meatballs in pan on the stove top. Cook the meatballs and do not over crowd them. Cook them in batches as needed.
In a large pot, mix the ragout sauce, water and chicken stock. Heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium and add the meatballs. Let them simmer, stirring carefully occasionally, for about 30-40 mins. Serve with potatoes and some veggies.
If doing them in a slow cooker, roll in some grilled flour once you have rolled the meatballs and place in the slow cooker. Stir together the water, stock and ragout sauce and then add to the slow cooker. Cook on low for approx 10-12 hours.

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs! Very good for family gatherings. Or you can cook them and then freeze them.
*note: I made my stock by using a powder and using half the amount of water so that it would be concentrated like the cans. It worked for me :)

Ground Beef Stroganoff

I found this recipe through www.onceamonthmom.com when I was looking for some easy to freeze and keep on hand meals. I wasn't sure how my hubby was going to like it, but when I finally made it, he said that it was out of this world. But I hadn't made it since. No real reason, I think I just forgot about it. Silly me. I was stuck the other day and not sure what to make. I knew that I had lean ground beef ready to use and then I remembered that I had mushrooms. Ding! (insert light above head here). I threw this meal together in no time flat. And it was a huge hit with the kids again and now my mother-in-law!!

Ground Beef Stroganoff
source: found initially http://onceamonthmom.com (here) but recipe
 is from http://stolenmomentscooking.com (here)

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced (I tend to do more of a mince)
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock (I used a light version)
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 cup sour cream (I used light)

1/2 lb egg noodles, cooked and drained (we used whole wheat, no yolk)

In a large skillet, add ground beef, onion, mushroom and garlic. Cook until the ground beef is completely browned. Add salt and pepper along with the Italian seasoning. Do not drain the liquid from the pan. You need it.
Stir in the flour and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in beef stock and red wine vinegar. Stir then bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
Stir in the sour cream until combined. Add your cooked noodles and mix well. Remove from the heat.

To make freezer friendly - Once the sour cream has been stirred in, allow to cool completely. Place in freezer bags or containers and freeze them. When you are ready to eat, thaw the mixture and then reheat on the stove. Add in your egg noodles and mix.

Happy cooking!

Fun Lunch Food for the kids

With my daughter becoming a fussier eater as the days go by, I am always on the lookout for new foods to try. She is a fan of finger foods, so when I spotted this recipe over at onceamonthmom.com, I had to try it. It is now a favorite in our house. I have added a vegetable to the mix and use a homemade taco seasoning that I found at allrecipes.com. I am still in the process of trying different doughs to replace the pre-packaged crescent rolls. But for now, the crescent rolls work great. I love the flakiness of the dough.

It's a very simple recipe that is easy to adjust for the specific tastes in your house.

Tacos in Sleeping Bags
San @ A Little Bit {and Bite} of Everything
recipe from onceamonthmom.com

- 2 packages of refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 1 lb. of lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 package of taco seasoning (I used 1 tbsp of homemade taco seasoning - see recipe below)
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, cheddar or mozzarella
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup of kernel corn, canned or frozen

Preheat the oven to 375F. Brown the ground meat in a skillet. Once cooked, drain in a colander and rinse well with hot water to remove the grease. Return it to the skillet. Now add your taco seasoning and mix well. Next add the corn and mix again. Unroll your dough and top each piece (larger end) with approximately 2 Tbsp of taco meat and 1-2 pinches of cheese. Roll the crescent roll around the filling and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 375F for about 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.
To Freeze: once cool, place in single layer in freezer bag and store in freezer. To reheat, simply place in microwave for about a minute or place in preheated 350F oven for 5-7 minutes. Enjoy!

Homemade Taco Seasoning
recipe from allrecipes.com

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Mix the following ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Happy cooking!