Savory Throw-Together

I am ashamed. This being my favorite comfort food, I have no real name for it. I called it “Persian Goulash” before I found out that goulash is more of a stew/soup. It has a Persian name but I can’t remember it and even if I could, I probably couldn’t pronounce it or spell it.

So for now it’s a “throw-together” and it’s the best throw-together in the world.

It’s delightfully Americanized and can be made with four basic ingredients, two of which come from CANS. And no, I’m not ashamed to say I prefer canned green beans in this dish. I do not prefer canned green beans as a rule, but they work well here.


What makes this meal so great is that is has all those delicious savory components mingling together over plain rice. The rice soaks up all of the flavors and makes everyone happy. Mostly me.

Just be liberal with the seasonings because you’ve got very plain potatoes that need love and also rice that will cut the flavor if it seems too strong.

Savory Throw-Together:
½ lb ground beef
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 14.5 oz can cut green beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp saffron-infused water
3-4 tbsp lemon juice (just squeeze/pour away *coughcough*)
1 tsp black pepper
Lots of salt

Brown ground beef over medium-high heat, set aside. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook potatoes until tender, mixing occasionally. You want a nice brown crust over them without burning them before they have time to soften. This can take 6-10 minutes depending on how large the cubes are.

Once the potatoes are tender, return ground beef to pan along with green beans, tomatoes, saffron, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes more until all items are heated through and flavorful.

Serve over Basmati or similar long-grain rice!

Serves 4-5. (Really good leftovers, and I hate leftovers so trust me)

--Jirafa

Stuffed Shells (Or, The Only Food With Mystery Filling You WANT To Eat)

I’ll be the first to admit I have an obsession with stuffed pasta. It’s the novelty of it really. “Oh hey there pasta, let me cut you open. *GASP* What is this glorious surprise you have here for me?”

Well, that’s the idea. I imagine the people who eat my stuffed pasta think that since I spoil the surprise for myself by being the relatively unimportant figure behind the meal. *cough*

And they’re so easy to make I’m appalled that I don’t make stuffed shells more often!

Step 1: Glorious fiery bubbling sauce



Step 2: Messily stuffed ricotta-romano joy shells


Step 3: Cue Spice Girls: “When 2 become 1~~~~~” (+ cheese :D)


Step 4: Melty cheesy happy pasta goodness



Stuffed Shells:

Sauce:
1 zucchini, cubed
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped finely
½ lb ground beef
1 cup olives, diced
24 oz tomato sauce (jarred pasta sauce works fine, too)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp basil
Salt and pepper
(The spice measurements are all relative, as you have to adjust it to your own tastes, really)

Filling:
1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
½ cup parsley leaves, chopped
24 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper
¾ cup Romano cheese

1 box conchiglie (AKA super huge shell pasta)
1 ½ cups mozzarella and cheddar cheese, grated

Brown ground beef in a large pan; transfer to small bowl and set aside. Add 1 tbsp of oil to pan over medium-high heat. Toss in zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, and onion and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives, beef, tomato sauce, and spices. Stir well and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat.

Boil pasta as directed.

Mix all filling items together. Fill pasta shells with about 1 tbsp filling each. (Warning: pasta shells will be very hot so run them under cold water before handling!)
Line pasta shells in a 9x13 baking dish; cover with sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with salad!

Serves 6-8.

--Jirafa

Spicy Broccoli Beef with Udon

This is an experimental dish made with tossing this and that into a pan and calling it golden. My hope is to use more noodles in recipes, because noodles are fun and tasty and they deserve their chance to be special too.

Yes, my food has feelings.



Spicy Broccoli Beef with Udon

8 oz udon noodles
1 large round steak, sliced into strips
1 head of broccoli, chopped

Sauce:
1 large clove garlic, minced
I tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
½ cup water

Mix sauce ingredients together in small bowl; set aside.

Boil noodles according to package directions (~5-6 minutes).

In a wok over medium-high, heat 1 tbsp oil. Stir-fry meat until browned; remove. Add another tbsp oil and stir-fry broccoli until bright green, about 4 minutes. Return meat to the pan along with sauce; lower heat to low/medium. Cook for about 2 more minutes. Drain noodles and add to wok, mixing thoroughly.

Serves 2-3.

--Jirafa

Broccoli Beef

I consider broccoli beef heavenly delicious and I think a higher power agrees, judging by the glorious light gracing the above photo. It can only mean acceptance.




And really, what’s not to accept? Crunchy broccoli, savory beef, all over rice.



Nom. Nom. Nom.

Broccoli Beef:

2 round steaks, sliced into strips
1 head broccoli, chopped
¼ onion, diced
1 cup water

Sauce:

6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp black pepper

Mix all sauce ingredients together, set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium-heat. Fry meat until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Remove meat to a plate.

Add another tbsp of oil to the wok and toss in broccoli and onion. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in meat and sauce plus 1 cup water. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring as sauce thickens.

Serve over sticky rice.

Serves 3.

--Jirafa

Bento #1--Teriyaki Beef

Sometimes I'll be posting images of my bentos just for fun and recipes if they're relevant. My classes end after 1 this quarter so I usually just head home to eat and don't bother with a bento but tomorrow I'm donating blood on campus so fortifying bento it shall be!

Top tier: White rice with teriyaki beef mixed with celery and onions.
Bottom tier: Peach yogurt, cheddar cheese, mini-chocolate.
Side car: Cucumber slices mixed with lemon, salt, and pepper.

--Jirafa

Beef Egg Rolls

My first attempt making egg rolls. Fraught with imperfections but overall satisfying.



I used a filling of ground beef, egg, bean sprouts, cabbage, and carrot with oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper for additional flavoring. I think that with some onion thrown into the mix it would have been even better.



First fold.



Second fold.



Finished products.



I don’t have any fancy schmancy deep-frying equipment. In fact, I don’t even have a thermometer! So this was all done very crudely and carefully to insure no oil fires were started.



I did end up with two little burns though (I’ll spare you the pictures) that were immediately treated with honey and don’t hurt a tad now. Yes, good thing to know. Honey is an antiseptic and works well to ease the pain of burns!


The filling amounts I used weren’t enough to utilize all of the wrappers but it was a good test batch.

I served them with a side of soy sauce although I’m sure sweet and sour sauce is the preferred choice for many people.

Beef Egg Rolls

1 lb ground beef
1 lb large egg roll wrappers
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 cups cabbage thinly sliced
2 cups bean sprouts
2 eggs
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water

In a wok or large frying pan, brown beef 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and eggs, mixing thoroughly. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Fill wrappers according to package instructions, sealing the end flap with cornstarch mixture.

Fry at 350 degrees, turning occasionally until golden brown. Set on paper towel to drain.

Serve with sauce of choice.

--Jirafa

Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti

Winter quarter begins tomorrow so I held a farewell winter break luncheon today. Manicotti seemed like the perfect food to have on a chilly day. Yes, what really is better than manicotti, salad, and Torchwood season 1?

Manicotti shells that boiled intact, maybe. Lo and behold, ALL of the shells went into the water whole and came out aldente and like flat tortillas instead of round tubes.

Fine. Manicotti is essentially lasagna enchiladas anyway, no reason to not treat it as such. If this happens to you, fill the pasta, curl it into a tube shape and place it into the pan seam side down. It comes out looking and tasting just the same and it’s really a lot easier to fill this way!



Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti:

1 80z package manicotti pasta
1 ½ cup medium cheddar cheese, grated
1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Sauce:

½ lb lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 24oz can or jar of tomato sauce
1 cup sliced black olives
1 tablespoon basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Ricotta filling:

2 cups fresh baby spinach
15oz ricotta cheese
¾ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 cup parsley
Salt and pepper

In a medium sauce pan, brown the ground beef on medium-high. Transfer to bowl; cook onions and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Return ground beef to pan, as well as all remaining ingredients. Turn heat down to low; cover and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Boil pasta as directed. While pasta boils, combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Run pasta under cold water, as it will be very hot. Then, using a small spoon (or your fingers, it’s a messy job), fill the manicotti tubes with the spinach-ricotta filling. Line manicotti in a 9x13 glass pan.

Cover manicotti in sauce; finish by covering in both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serves ~6

--Jirafa

Green Bean Beef

From No Sin Sans Sugar

This is my broccoli beef recipe, sans broccoli because I was being too cheap to buy broccoli and got green beans instead. :D Ah, college life.

And yes I do realize I’ve been making a lot of Asian food lately. I promise, there will be variation soon. As soon as I either stop wanting sticky rice or run out of it.

From No Sin Sans Sugar

Aren’t they gorgeous? Cooking the beans after the meat ensures that they pick up all that leftover deliciousness and color.

And I’m all about deliciousness and color. ;)

Green Bean Beef:

For Sauce:

2 tsps cornstarch
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp mirin
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
¼ tsp black pepper

Mix together in a small bowl. Set aside.


¼ yellow onion, diced
2 round steaks, sliced into strips
2-3 cups fresh green beans


In a wok over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add beef, stir frying until brown. Set beef aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Add another tbsp oil to wok and stir fry vegetables about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Return beef to wok, stir fry for another minute. Add sauce plus 1 cup water. Stirring constantly, heat until sauce becomes thick.

Serve over sticky rice.

Serves two.

-Jirafa

Honey Pepper Beef

This was…WOW. Good. Tastes just like Panda Express’s black pepper chicken, only BETTER because I made it myself.

I know, I’m modest like that.



You can substitute the celery for pretty much any other tough vegetable: snow peas, broccoli, even *makes a face* carrots. But I think it tastes just fabulous with celery.

And you’ll really want those large slivers of onion. Trust me, you do. Unless you’re allergic to onion, because then you won’t want them.

Not responsible for death by onion.



(I really need to work on getting background noise out of my pictures)

Honey Pepper Beef:

2 small round steaks, sliced into strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ onion, sliced into large peels
2 celery stalks, sliced diagonally
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp black pepper (you can use peppercorns as well)
2 ½ tsp soy sauce

Heat a wok or regular frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and fry beef until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and set on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok and add onion, garlic, and celery. Fry for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove and add to plate with beef.

Add honey, oyster sauce, black pepper, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and then lower heat. Allow to thicken for 2 minutes; return beef and vegetables to wok. Coat with sauce and heat thoroughly, about 4 minutes.

Serve over sticky rice. Serves two.

--Jirafa

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna





Lasagna is a family-food for some, a comfort food for many. It works best for dinners parties, served with garlic bread and salad. It’s one of the few foods I will eat leftovers from, so it holds a heralded spot in the recipe center of my brain.



The secret to a fabulous lasagna is in the ricotta center. I see so many lasagnas that don’t include this portion; it makes me sad. If you’re cooking for kids, I understand why it’s easier to just leave it out. As a child I remember scraping the visible vegetables out of my lasagna and eating only what had cheese touching it.



As an adult, I’ve learned to love this spinach-ricotta center. Lasagna feels barren and lost without it.



Does anyone know why lasagna noodles have those cute ruffled edges?



I can’t tell what’s more fun: putting together lasagna or eating it?

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna:
Mama Pita’s Pasta Sauce (see previous post)
1lb lasagna noodles
16oz medium cheddar cheese, grated
16oz mozzarella cheese, grated
*Spinach-Ricotta Filling (see below)

Boil noodles as directed on package.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a 12x18 glass or ceramic baking dish, spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Layer with noodles, more sauce, and 1/4 of the cheese. Layer with noodles, all of the ricotta mixture, more noodles, followed by sauce, another fourth of the cheese, more noodles, the rest of the sauce, the third-fourth of the cheese, more noodles, and top with the remaining amount of cheese.

Place into the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top and looks golden and crispy.

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna Filling:
2 cups fresh baby spinach
15oz ricotta cheese
¾ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 ½ cups parsley

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients.

Next Recipe: Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Cake (Scheduled post: Wednesday, November 19, 2008).

Mama Pita's Pasta Sauce

Mama Pita’s Pasta Sauce



I had a spoiled childhood. I didn’t start eating jarred pasta sauce until college because I learned that 1) some jarred sauces are pretty good when modified and 2) when you want food NOW, there’s no time to make a sauce that takes nearly an hour to cook.

But Mama Pita taught me well and while jarred sauce might work for an I-have-an-essay-due-in-nine-hours-and-I’m-starving kind of occasion, it will never do for such things as lasagna and manicotti. Such food deserves the best sauce I can give it and this is that sauce.



What makes the sauce so savory and good is not only the meat but the vegetables that are snuck in. I ate this for years before realizing that it was good for me. I actually felt a little betrayed when I found that out.



I’ve made some slight modifications to my mother’s recipe and you’re welcome to make changes of your own. This sauce is very forgiving and VERY delicious.

Mama Pita’s Pasta Sauce

1lb lean ground beef
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, grated
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 26oz can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced black olives
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, brown ground beef over high heat. Drain the fat and lower the heat to medium-high. Add carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, and olives; cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, add the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly. Turn the heat down to low and cover. Allow the sauce to simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce begins to look too thick, add a little chicken stock to loosen it up.

Serve overtop of plain pasta, lasagna, manicotti, or stuffed shells.