Healthier sloppy joes

Who doesn’t love a sloppy joe?

That’s what I was in the mood for today – a meaty, saucy sandwich that was a little sweet, a little tangy. And while I wanted what I grew up eating – the kind of sloppy joe for which you basically just need ground beef and a seasoning packet – I decided to try the homemade version. It had to be healthier, I figured.

It turned out pretty tasty (but not exactly like the real thing, I must admit). I used a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, my trusted source for typically American food, and tweaked it just a bit.

Healthier sloppy joes (serves 5-6)

1 pound lean ground beef (I recommend the Fischer Farms brand)

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

8 ounces peeled, whole tomatoes from a can, juice included

2 tablespoons quick oats

1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon granulated garlic

½ teaspoon salt

a few shakes of hot sauce

a couple drizzles of ketchup

5-6 whole grain hamburger buns, toasted

1.) Brown the beef with the green pepper and onions in a large skillet until beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat.

2.) Stir in the tomatoes, oats, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and hot sauce. When it’s bubbling, reduce the heat and cook about 10 minutes.

3.) Serve on buns.

Beef in oyster sauce

I'm picking my mom up from the airport today, so I wanted to make something easy that I could just heat up in the oven for dinner. My answer came in the form of this beef dish, from the cookbook "The Essential Thai Cookbook."

I had never cooked anything with oyster sauce, and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I figured it probably was used in dishes the same was fish sauce is, and that always just lends a subtle flavor to the meal.

Dan and I tried bites of this before cooling it and putting it away until the evening. We were both impressed and are now looking forward to a yummy dinner.

Need an idea for a side dish? Try this ultra-easy (but totally party-worthy) recipe: Kara's Asian slaw.

Beef in oyster sauce (serves 4)

4 tablespoons oyster sauce

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound prime steak, sliced into thin strips

3-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

12 green onions, sliced diagonally

1 cup chicken stock

1.) Whisk together the oyster sauce, cornstarch, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add the steak strips and stir, making sure they get coated in sauce. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

2.) Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Add garlic, and stir-fry until golden.

3.) Add the beef and stir-fry about 3 minutes more, until beef is medium-cooked.

4.) Add the mushrooms, green onions, and chicken stock, and cook gently for about 2 more minutes. Don't overcook, especially if you have to reheat it later!

5.) Serve with rice or noodles.

Easy beef & bean tortillas

My Mexican dishes really don't photograph well. But they taste good, I promise!

This is another staple in our house, although usually we leave out the beef. We were in the mood for extra protein today, and ground beef sounded good.

I used two different salsas on this: On one half of the casserole dish, I used medium plain salsa, and on the other side, I used pineapple salsa. You can also pass the hot sauce and sliced jalapenos on the side, too.

Beef and bean tortillas (makes 4-6 servings)

1 pound ground beef

1 cup salsa

1-1/2 cups dried refried beans

4 ounces shredded cheddar or chihuahua cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

12 small corn tortillas (6-inchers)

boiling water, about 2 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil

store-bought mole sauce

fresh chopped cilantro and sliced avocado to garnish

1.) Put dried beans in a bowl, and slowly add enough boiling water to cover them. Stir, and let them sit about 10 minutes. Stir again, and let them sit while you prepare the beef.

2.) In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned, stirring frequently. You might have to lower the heat to medium as it gets hotter.

3.) Drain the beef (I use a strainer), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside.

4.) One by one, put about 2 tablespoons beans, 2 tablespoons meat, and a little cheese in the center of each tortilla. Roll them up and line them up in a casserole dish or other pan. Mine tend to break as I roll them, but that's OK for this dish.

5.) Sprinkle the remaining beef over the top of the tortillas. Spread the salsa over that. Cover with a lid or foil.

6.) Bake at 350 for a half-hour, or until heated through. While this cools slightly, prepare your mole sauce according to directions.

7.) Serve these with the mole sauce on the side, as well as chopped cilantro and sliced avocado.

Beef-mushroom-noodle casserole

Yet another casserole! I know I mentioned I'd be making a tuna casserole, but that might have to wait until after the holidays. Beef just sounded better to me today.

Beef-mushroom-noodle casserole (serves 8)
1 pound ground beef
1 can semi-condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use Amy's)
1/4 cup marsala cooking wine
2-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 shallots, sliced into thin rings
1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 cups cooked spiral noodles (I used brown rice noodles)
1/2 cup shredded mozarella
1/3 cup lowfat yogurt
-- for the topping --
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1-1/2 to 2 cups whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

1.) Brown beef in 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil in hot skillet; drain fat. Put aside.

2.) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons veg oil. Add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add yellow pepper and cook for 1 minute.

3.) Add mushrooms and marsala. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Liberally sprinkle on salt and pepper. Turn off heat, and do not drain.

4.) In a large bowl, combine mushroom mixture, beef, noodles, yogurt, mozarella, and cream of mushroom soup.

5.) Spread mixture into casserole dish.

6.) Combine topping ingredients, and stir well to moisten. Spread on top of the casserole filling.

7.) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until breadcrumbs begin to brown. Put under a hot broiler for about 2 minutes to get the topping a little crispy. (Mine got a little too brown! Watch it closely.)

Shepherd's pie

I'm on a casserole kick because the chicken-broccoli casserole turned out so well. Today's experiment: shepherd's pie, a layered dish with ground beef, vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

There are several variations from which to choose, and I liked the idea of sweet peas with carrots, so I included those. I've seen versions of this with green beans, mashed carrots, condensed cream of celery and mushroom soups, chopped celery, and corn.

Shepherd's pie (makes 6 servings)

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
6-8 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar, or your favorite cheese
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper, to taste
6 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
1 cup sweet peas, defrosted if frozen
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups beef broth
1-1/2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons flour

1.) Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked but not mushy. Drain, then mash with milk, 1/4 cup grated cheese, 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped onion, and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2.) In a skillet, heat oil and cook the remaining onion with the ground beef, until it's browned. Drain the grease from this, but return it to the heat.

3.) Add the flour, ketchup, and beef broth to the ground beef, and stir. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then turn heat off. Set aside.

4.) Boil the carrot pieces in salted water until tender. Drain and toss with the defrosted peas.

5.) In a casserole dish -- I used a square corningware one, about 9-inches square -- spread out the ground beef. Top it with the peas and carrots, then spread the mashed potatoes on top of that. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

6.) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes -- longer if you've allowed the casserole to cool at all. I baked mine for about 30 minutes because I had prepared it earlier in the day and kept it in the fridge. You want it to be hot all the way through, with melted cheese.

7.) Put the casserole under a broiler for a couple minutes to brown the cheese a little.

Leftovers: Meaty marinara sauce

To use up the leftover grilled steak -- frozen since dinner several days ago -- I did a simple Google search on it, and I came up with this tempting link. People love their steaks!

Because ours was frozen, I opted for something in which the meat was sliced.

I love the idea of making a long-simmered tomato sauce with it, to put on top of pasta -- especially because that requires no additional ingredients to what I have in the house. I figured I could just use a basic marinara recipe.

Meaty marinara sauce (makes 4 servings)

leftover steak, about 1/2 pound or so

2 cups diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, or marinara sauce

2 teaspoons dried oregano

two tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

splash of red wine

salt and pepper, to taste

1.) Because my steak was frozen, I put it in a large pot, covered it with a little water, and brought the water to a boil. Then I turned down the heat and let the steak simmer fgently for about 30 minutes, leaving it covered the whole time.

2.) Remove the steak from the water, and reserve about 1/2 cup of the water, which will now be quite greasy.

3.) Chop the steak into small bits, removing all gristle and fat.

4.) In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, then 2 minutes later (stirring frequently), add the garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes.

5.) Add the meat and oregano, and cook gently for about 10 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to reduce.

6.) Stir in diced tomatoes or marinara, red wine, and salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, gently simmering for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley just before serving with your favorite pasta or gnocchi.

IKEA-inspired meatloaf with gravy

I couldn't resist saying this recipe was inspired by IKEA. Have you ever had the Swedish meatballs in the store's cafeteria? They're so tasty.

I wanted to make something similar to those, but I didn't feel like rolling the meat into so many little balls, then frying them on the stove. And although I have a great recipe for meatballs that are baked, not fried, it's not what I was in the mood for so much today.

I also wanted to incorporate my father-in-law's secret meatloaf ingredient. (See if you can guess which one that is...)

I knew the sauce served with IKEA's meatballs was going to be tricky. I wanted to combine the gravy -- a plain white gravy -- with the fruity side served with it, which I think is cranberry, into one sauce. After a little trial and error, I came up with a sour cream-strawberry-pepper sauce that I think is amazing! Try it out for yourself.

IKEA-inspired meatloaf (makes 8 servings)

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground turkey

1 egg

1 egg white

1/3 cup milk

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups crushed garlic bagel chips

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon salt

a few dashes of black pepper

1.) Put crushed bagel chips in a bowl with the milk; let them soak up the liquid for a few minutes.

2.) Combine that with the rest of the ingredients, and mix well by hand.

3.) Put in a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

4.) Serve with sweet sour cream-pepper gravy on the side (below).

Sweet sour cream & black pepper gravy (makes 1-1/2 cups)

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chicken broth

1-1/2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons strawberry fruit spread (try to find the no-sugar-added kind)

1/2 cup sour cream

salt to taste

lots of freshly ground black pepper (don't be shy here)

1.) Heat butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and chicken broth, and simmer, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Use a whisk to make sure lumps are removed.

2.) Reduce heat to low, and stir in the jelly and sour cream. Add salt and pepper. Serve this -- on the side -- with meatloaf. Some people don't like sweet food as much as I do!

Possible sides:
butternut squash-potato puree
Mom's tortellini salad
stuffed garlic mushrooms
Hugh's scalloped potatoes
zucchini slaw
tomato-basil salad

Beef stew

Sometimes the most basic recipes are the best, especially if you're making something for the first time.

I bought about 1 and a quarter pounds of beef stew meat from Fischer Farms, after accepting a stew sample at a stand this weekend, out in the crisp autumn air. It hit the spot. The woman at the stand said all she did was throw the meat into the crock pot with a little salt and pepper and let it cook.

So I bought some meat and threw it in the crock pot with some other ingredients this morning.

It was the first time I had made a beef stew, so I stuck to carrot, onion, garlic, and potato. It was perfect on a chilly day like today. Plus, I love it when the house smells yummy!

By the way, the Fischer Farms name may be familiar to you from this Vietnamese lemongrass beef recipe.

Beef stew (serves 5-6)

2 carrots, sliced

2 medium yellow potatoes, chopped, skins on

2 onions, quartered or in eighths

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1.5 cups or so of water (don't add all at once; add about half to start, then add the rest as you see fit during cooking time)

1.25 pounds of beef stew meat

salt and pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons cornstarch

optional: sprig of dried rosemary, 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, or 2 teaspoons Simon and Garfunkel

optional: about a quarter pound of button mushrooms, sliced -- I'll be including those next time

1.) Put all ingredients in crock pot, stir, and cover.

2.) Cook for about 6 hours on low. Twenty minutes or so before the cooking time ends, stir the cornstarch into a tiny bit of water, and let it dissolve before adding it slowly into the crock pot. Stir, and allow the stew to finish cooking.

Today's food fact: When you think of Vitamin D, sunshine and milk generally come to mind, right? Well, other foods that contain Vitamin D, including salmon, mackerel, sardines, and eggs.

Lemongrass beef

One word to describe tonight's recipe: YUUUUUUMMMM!!! This was absolutely delicious. I used all-natural sirloin steak from Fischer Farms instead of tri-tip or sirloin tip.

The recipe is from Quick & Easy Vietnamese: 75 Everyday Recipes, by Nancie McDermott. She also has a Web site, http://www.nanciemcdermott.com/.

Lemongrass beef (serves 4 to 6)

1 pound boneless beef, such as tri-tip or sirloin tip

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lemongrass

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onion (I'm partial to shallots)

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

15 to 20 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Below are instructions from McDermott's book. I hope you can enlarge it by clicking on it, but I'm not sure. In a nutshell, though: Put all the ingredients except the beef and the skewers in a small food processor or hand blender, and blend until fairly smooth. Cut the beef into 2-inch strips, thinly, and cover them in a medium bowl with the marinade for a couple hours in the refrigerator. Then thread the beef onto the skewers and grill over high heat for 1-2 minutes per side.

Serve with vegetable fried rice.