Korean-Style Quick Beef and Veg

So, I promised to get back to blogging recipes. And as much as I love cooking and eating and all things food related, this is ending up being a much more difficult task for me than it has any right to be. So, be gentle on me as I slog through this.

You see, it's been a crazy few years for me. Growing kids with increasingly hectic schedules, family members dealing with life-threatening issues, job changes, and to top it all off, a move. Don't get me wrong, things aren't dire or anything. In fact, they're quite good, knock on wood. But it just makes for the type of situation where here it's coming around to the end of 2017 already and I still haven't sent out last year's Christmas cards with our change of address. THAT kind of crazy.

The other thing that I find complicating is my own sense of perfectionism. I have a difficult time doing things if I don't feel like I can do them the way I think they should be done. I like to show you pictures of all the steps of the recipes I make. I like to have a lighthearted banter in the way I write. I like the food to be easy to make and also delicious. Most of the times, those are not a problem, but right now, the first of those is giving me stress. In the house we moved to, the kitchen is really great, in terms of functionality and usability, and while it needs some renovation, that's probably about 5 years or so down the road at this point. But it's in the center of the house. And while our kitchen has always been the figurative center of our home, it wasn't the literal center before. Which may not seem like it's a big deal, or something that would affect my blogging, but...

...There's no natural light in my kitchen. Which suuuuuuuuuucks for taking pictures. Typical house lighting makes for weird shadows and altered coloring, and I'm not yet really great at photo editing. So I either have to skip all the pictures (Nooooooo! But maybe work with fewer...), take food I want to shoot to other rooms that have natural light (awkward, but yes), deal with shoddy pictures (ugh, hopefully not too often), learn how to preform miracles in photoshop (working on it), get a lightbox or other tools to enable better pictures (on my Christmas list), or just deal with that the pictures kind of are what they are and still forge ahead with the blogging while looking for ways to improve the photographic situation.

So, that's what I'm doing. Like I said, be gentle with me.

And now, back to the food!

Asian Meatloaf with Honey-Sriracha Glaze

That crazy inner kitchen alchemist inside of me has been at work again...

A couple of weeks ago, the faint whisper on the breeze came to me.  "Asian Meatloaf..." it called.  "Think garlic, onion, ginger, and miso.  Think honey and sriracha.  Think savory and sweet and spicy."  It became my siren song, invading my thoughts randomly throughout the days.  Until I was finally able to find the time and focus to make it tonight.

So.  Freaking.  Good.

Cowboy Beans

Cowboy Beans.  What can I say?

You know that I usually prefer to post quick recipes, that you can get together on a hectic day.  This is not quite one of those.  I mean, it can be made on a hectic day and be a great, comforting dinner to soothe your soul after the craziness, but it's a lot of "do this then wait".

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day - Garden Zucchini Burgers

Yes, you read that right.  And yes, it's a real thing.  August 8th is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day.  Seriously.  At least, here in America.  Google it.  I can't make this stuff up.

So...what are you going to do when you find those green garden zuccs on your porch?  

Well, you could whip up some lemon zucchini muffins, or maybe gingered zucchini carrot bread...

Or, you could make yourself these awesomely delicious Garden Zucchini Burgers.  

Savory Simmered Beef Ribs

I buy cows.  Well, parts of cows.  Halves, quarters...  It's a good way to go to get high quality beef for an affordable (in the long run) price.  I've always meant to do a post about buying the cow, and I swear, I'm going to get there, but not today.  But it relates to today's post because when you buy a half or a quarter cow, you might get some cuts that you aren't as familiar with, and the best value is to use all the parts.  So, with that in mind, beef ribs.

My vegan friend posted something on Facebook the other day that said something like, "So, you say you are humane because you use the entire animal?  You know who else does that?  The animal."  I get it.  But if you're reading this post after seeing the title, you probably aren't vegan.  And if you are a meat-eater, it really is responsible to not let parts go to waste.  So, on with the recipe:

Pot Roast and Beyond

You readers know how much I love my grass-fed beef.  I mean, I don't have 2 extra freezers in my house just for ice cream...although that would be pretty awesome too!  And one of the easiest, most delicious ways to cook up that beef is a good old fashioned pot roast.

Easiest thing in the world.  Peel and quarter a few onions, cut some potatoes into large pieces, peel some carrots and cut them into large pieces, put a beef roast in the crock pot, toss the veg around it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you like, pour a half cup of water over it all, cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high, 8-10 on low.  Bam.  Pot roast.

As much as I love pot roast, I've come to love it even more for the leftovers.  Because...pasta.

The Funniest Word You'll Ever Eat...AKA Swedish Meatballs

Svenska köttbullar.

Köttbullar.

It cracks me up.

Immature?  Maybe.  Fun to say?  Definitely.  When your family asks you what's for dinner, or what smells so good, wouldn't you love to be able to reply, "Svenska köttbullar"?

Crock Pot Pepper Steak

Thursdays are crazy.  Have I mentioned that before?

Today was no exception, especially because the rest of my week has consisted of getting back from a weekend ski vacation, a holiday off school, a midnight trip to the ER with my husband, an unexpected snow day, and a full-day field trip with my daughter's class.  I barely know which end is up.

I've mentioned before that I'm not the best at planning ahead, and that's probably one of the reasons I don't do a lot of crock pot meals.  Well, that, and honestly, a lot of them just don't have a lot of flavor to me.  But I do have a handful of good, tasty crock pot meals in my arsenal.  And tonight, one of those is on the menu: Pepper Steak.

I love Chinese food, or at least the Americanized version that we can find at restaurants on almost every major street around here.  Pepper steak is pretty much one of those dishes that you feel safe ordering from those places.  I think the reason for that is that, while the flavors are awesome together, they're also easy.  Peppers.  Beef.  Onions.  Bam.

Frozen Assets

My freezer is legendary.  I've blogged about some of the treasures it contains, but even before this blog existed, that freezer had a following of its' own.  At one point, I was going to make it a Foursquare check-in and call it "Frostco".  My friend requested that I devote a post to my wonderful freezer.  It's out in the garage, a full standing freezer, and it is one of my most appreciated possessions.

I think a lot of people don't really use their freezers to their fullest potential.  I know I used to be scared of freezing stuff, and I thought that things that were frozen didn't taste as good.  Turns out, I was wrong.  You just have to know what you're doing.  My freezer and I don't have a perfect relationship.  Don't get me wrong.  It's horribly unorganized.  Nothing's really boxed, so it has to fit in where it can, and sometimes I end up with a 4-pound frozen chicken hitting me in the head while I'm getting frozen veggies out of the lower drawer.  And don't even get me started on the day last summer when the seal lost it's sealing power and I lost half of what was inside.  It felt like a small part of me died that day.  Maybe I get a little overly emotional about food.  But, for the most part, I love my freezer, and it's become pretty essential to my family's eating.  

When Dinner Goes Wrong

I have kind of a reputation around my 'hood, and not the kind you worry about getting in high school, or the kind you fight to earn in college.  People who know me know that I'm a big fan of cooking at home, family meals, from scratch.  I'm the crunchy mom in the group, the (gasp) "healthy" one whose kids like eating crazy things like sushi and lentils and fruits and veggies.  Or at least, that's how some people think of me.  I get the impression that because of this facade, they think that I am always super on top of things, especially in the kitchen.  And there are days, weeks even, that that may be the case.  But usually not.  But sometimes, there are days where I have a grand plan, and I remember to plan ahead enough to thaw stuff from the freezer and shop for any ingredients I might be short, and I have a wonderful recipe in mind to cook, and the stars align and angels sing, and I just know that this, THIS, is the perfect day to cook a warm, rich, soul-soothing beef stew!

And then the universe laughs, once again, at my silly need to control things, and I unwrap my roast to cut it into lovely chunks for stew, and it looks...like this:

Beautiful beef, right?  Grass-fed, gorgeous color, great marbling...and frozen solid.  As a rock.  My beef guy, John, has many talents as a farmer, and apparently one of those talents is wrapping the butcher paper around the cuts of meat so well that that meat is able to hold its' temperature forever.  On the early fall afternoons when we're driving our half steer worth of beef home and don't want it to thaw in the coolers on the 4 hour drive, that's great.  But for my dreams of beef stew tonight?  Not so great.  Crushing, in fact.