Category: Beef Recipes

My Take on Philly Cheese Steak

There used to be a Philly cheese steak place that I really enjoyed. But, it’s been closed for years. I’ve never been to Philly – but, I’m told this place made cheesesteak as authentic as I could get, locally. I still think about those sandwiches. Now that I’m thinking about it, I need to find another local place that sells delicious cheesesteak, in the meanwhile – I decided to try my hand at making it at home.

In my house, we don’t all always get to sit down at the table together – so I like to cook things that can be eaten in shifts. This recipe fits the bill.

I kept it pretty simple – just steak, onions and bell peppers. I seasoned it with McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning and a little salt.

I started by prepping my vegetables – I used 3 onions and 3 bell peppers. The vegetables will cook down quite a bit.

I used a thinly sliced beef sirloin tip steak. I cut the steaks into strips (cutting across the grain to keep the meet tender). The steak was seasoned with 1 tbsp of the steak seasoning and I let it sit, while I cooked the vegetables.

I used my cast iron wok to cook this (yes, it is for more than stir fry!), as it offered ample space for the volume of food that I was cooking and the cast iron gives such a great sear to whatever you cook! To ready the wok, I heated it over high heat and added some avocado oil.

I started the onions first – I added about a tsp of the Montreal Steak Seasoning to the onions.

I cooked the onions until they were nicely browned, then I added in the bell peppers.

I cooked the vegetables until they were good and done. Look at that color!! This is why I do love a cast iron skillet (or, in this case, a wok). Do note that the vegetables cook down quite a bit – this is why I used 3 onions and 3 bell peppers!

I removed the vegetables from the wok and set to the side. I added a little more of the avocado oil spray to the wok and threw in the beef.

Since this beef is sliced thin, it doesn’t take long to cook it through.

Once the beef was done, I added the vegetables back into the wok and seasoned it all with a little bit of salt. And let the vegetables and beef meld together for a bit.

Once the mixture was done, I served it up on a hoagie roll with some sliced white American cheese. I think recipes are sometimes hit or miss – this one was a hit. And, I love that it is so super easy to make!

Philly Cheese Steak

1 1/4 pounds thinly sliced sirloin tip steak
3 onions, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced
1 tbsp McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning (plus 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Avocado Oil Spray
White American cheese slices

  • Prep onions and bell peppers by slicing, set aside
  • Cut the steak into strips
  • Season steak with the steak seasoning, set aside
  • In a hot pan, spray some avocado oil spray
  • Add onions and 1 tsp of the steak seasoning – cook until the onions start to brown
  • Add in the bell peppers and continue to cook the vegetables until they are soft
  • Remove the vegetables and set aside
  • Add a little more avocado oil spray
  • Put the steak in the heated pan and cook through
  • Add the vegetables back into the pan and toss everything together, add salt if desired
  • Allow everything to cook together for about 10 minutes
  • Serve on hoagie rolls, topped with white
by Michelle

Easy Dinner – Spaghetti

Some nights you’re just too tired or too busy to cook something from scratch. That’s when you’re glad that you’ve planned ahead!

This morning, I took some meat sauce out of the freezer. This is the same sauce I used when I made lasagna. You can find the meat sauce recipe on this post. It was thawed out by the time I got home!

I just warmed it up in a skillet, over low, while cooking my noodles.

Then I mixed it all together when the noodles were done! Topped with some Parmesan cheese and dinner on the table in no time!

by Michelle

Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

I think we all know that I love a creamy, decadent comfort food. Stroganoff certainly fits that bill. It is pretty easy to cook and it makes a lot – so lots of leftovers (another thing I love). I suppose you could use whatever pasta you like, but I chose egg noodles.

I started by finely dicing 1 shallot. If you don’t have a shallot, you could substitute an onion – maybe 1/2 of a small onion.

Then I sauteed the shallot and garlic for about 5 minutes.

After sauteing the shallot and garlic, I added in the mushrooms and cook them until they were starting to get soft (these mushroom slices were pretty big, so it was about 10 minutes).

The next thing was to add in the beef. I just cooked the beef until it was browned on all sides and added in my seasonings.

Then I added in the liquids, starting with the beef stock (you could use chicken stock or vegetable stock, but the beef stock will give you a richer flavor). I love the stocks from Trader Joe’s.

After the beef stock, I added the heavy cream and worcestershire sauce and brought everything up to a boil. I allowed the mixture to cook for approximately 20-30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken.

At the end, add in the sour cream and mix through well.

Toss in the egg noodles and mix through.

Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

1 lb egg noodles
1 lb cubed beef
8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 shallot, diced finely
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups beef stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup worchestershire sauce
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp umami seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

  • Boil egg noodles to al dente, set aside
  • In large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat
  • Add in shallots and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes
  • Add in mushrooms and olive oil, cook for another 5-10 minutes (until mushrooms start to get tender)
  • Add beef to pan and brown
  • Season with umami and salt and mix through
  • Add in beef stock, heavy cream and worchestershire sauce and bring up to a boil
  • Reduce heat and allow sauce to reduce, about 20-30 minutes – with about 10 minutes left, add in the sour cream
  • Toss in egg noodles and stir through
by Michelle

Homemade Sloppy Joes

I remember eating Sloppy Joes when I was a little girl – but, the canned kind. And, I’ve eaten them plenty as an adult – again, the canned kind. I’ve always loved Sloppy Joes – so I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to try my hand at making homemade Sloppy Joes.

I started by finely dicing a 1/2 an onion.

In a hot pan, I added a little bit of olive oil, the diced onion and some minced garlic. I cooked until the onions started to soften.

I then added in the ground beef and seasonings. I used a 93% lean ground beef, so there was no need to drain it after browning.

To the browned meat, I added in ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.

I added more after this pic, so ignore the portioning 🙂

I let the Sloppy Joe mixture simmer for about 15 minutes (you could certainly simmer longer, but I was hungry!).

I eat my Sloppy Joe’s on a bun, with mayonnaise.

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp olive oil

  • In olive oil, soften onion and garlic
  • Add in ground beef and brown
  • Add in remaining ingredients and simmer for 15-30 minutes
by Michelle

Hearty Beef Stew

When it starts to get cooler, it’s really hard to beat a good stew. And, beef stew is one of our favorites. It’s warm, filling and feeds a lot – what’s not to love about it?! OH, and it is super easy to make!

I started by chopping my vegetables. Since it was going in a stew, I just rough chopped everything.

The cooking started with, as so many things that I love do, a little bit of olive oil, the onions I chopped and garlic. I cooked the onions and garlic until they started to get soft.

Then I added in the stew meat and browned it – adding in the seasonings, when it started to get browned.

Finally, I added in 4 cups – or one carton – of beef stock, the can of crushed tomatoes and the vegetables.

I let it come to a boil and then reduced the heat and covered the stew.

** Side note, the recipe is written up to indicate that you should, after lowering the heat cook it for about an hour (which is what I would normally do) – however, tonight, my daughter had volleyball and I was getting the dinner ready prior to leaving for the match, so I deviated slightly. I brought it up to a boil and then simmered for about 30 minutes or so. I had preheated my oven to 450 degrees. When I had to leave, I put the dutch oven (lid on) in the oven, turned off the oven and let it continue to cook in the oven. While this isn’t necessary for this recipe, and isn’t even how I would normally do it, I do mention it in case it is helpful to someone! The Le Creuset dutch oven is so well insulated, that this works perfectly – and kept the beef stew nice and warm for the time that we were away from the house. It was nice to be able to come home, only needing to thicken the stew before eating!

When we got home, I removed the dutch oven from the oven and returned it to the stove, as I wanted to add a quick slurry (just a couple tablespoons of corn starch mixed with about 1/2 cup or so of cold water) to the stew to thicken it a bit. To help it thicken, I brought it back up to a boil prior to adding in the slurry. Point of note – even after being in the oven, which wasn’t on – but, had been preheated to 450 degrees, for a couple hours – the stew was still pretty hot and was up to a boil in a matter of about 2 minutes.

We were hungry and we were cold – we enjoyed our beef stew about 10 – 15 minutes after adding the slurry! Super easy – super filling – super delicious – super perfect for this busy evening.

Hearty Beef Stew

2.5 – 3 lbs stew meat
5 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6-8 red potatoes, diced
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp Umami seasoning

  • Chop vegetables
  • In a large dutch oven, add olive oil and then onions and garlic, cook until soft
  • Add in stew meat and brown, add in seasonings
  • Add in tomatoes and beef stock, bring to a boil – then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for approximately 1 hour (timing may vary depending on the size you cut your veggies)
  • Just before serving, bring back up to a boil – and add in a slurry of cold water and corn starch to thicken

by Michelle