beef

{Man-Friendly} Grilled Steak Salad

August 1, 2014 by Amy

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A few days ago I tried to figure out how to combine my husband’s love of steak with my desire for a good salad. This {Man-Friendly} Grilled Steak Salad is the result.

I foresee us grilling this salad often this summer. It’s a quick and easy dinner that keeps all the heat out of the kitchen, but it’s also colorful, hearty, and full of flavor.

This could even be a fun Father’s Day option!

How do you celebrate Father’s Day?

Linked up at: Home to 4 Kiddos

Layered Nacho Taco Salad

August 1, 2014 by Amy

Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook.

While the temps haven’t really soared yet, it definitely feels hotter here in the Carolinas than it did just last week. The humidity level has shot up and we’ve had lots of outdoor commitments – and most of them have been all day and in the sun. I feel as if I’ve spent the past week in a sauna.

So when it came time to cook dinner, I really didn’t want anything warm. Something simple and cool but filling and fun seemed right, and so My Big Helper and I made this Layered Nacho Taco Salad.

We ended up with a spicy and (mostly) healthy salad that had some fun crunch, too.

What’s your go-to meal when the temperatures rise??

Easy Bolognese Sauce

August 1, 2014 by Amy Leave a Comment

Spaghetti sauce has always fascinated me. I have this picture in my head of a fancy kitchen full of Italian women wearing aprons and singing as they dance around, chopping and stirring gourmet foods. (Fun image, huh?) Only problem? I’m Scot-Irish and Swiss-German and a whole lot American. As far as I know, there’s not a drop of Italian blood in me – and I definitely didn’t inherit the singing and dancing gene.

So, when I saw a recipe for a Bolognese sauce in a magazine a few years ago, I thought a lot about it. It had a few ingredients in it that sounded rather odd to me, but it also sounded very meaty, and that’s how my husband likes it. I decided to give it a try – and it has evolved into this sauce.

Now our family favorite, it comes together quickly, can be made with either fresh or canned ingredients, and is full of chunks – both of the meat and the veggie variety. Healthy and full of flavor, it’s also very versatile and the leftover sauce works beautifully on pizza the next night!

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes or 2 tomatoes, skins removed, diced
1 jar/can tomato puree/sauce
a few tablespoons of Italian salad dressing or olive oil and a bit of Italian seasoning
1 pound of ground beef or sausage
2 tablespoons of cream cheese

Saute the diced onion and pepper in the salad dressing. When tender, add the meat and brown it. Drain any grease. Add the tomatoes and sauce and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until incorporated. Serve over rotini or textured pasta – you need a strong noodle to hold up to this sauce!

Beef & Bean Burritos

August 1, 2014 by Amy

Sometimes, no matter what I plan for lunches during the week, things change – and I find myself facing an empty lunch box with no idea of what to put in it.

Enter homemade burritos: healthy, easy to make, easily frozen and reheated, tasty, and filling, too.

My whole family likes these burritos. We eat them occasionally for dinner, but I make big batches and put them in the freezer, where I can remove them whenever someone needs a random meal or I need to grab something quick.

These can be customized easily, so if you prefer your burritos cheesier or spicier, that’s not hard to do. I keep them mild so that our kids enjoy them, too.

A friend and I have gotten together a few times to wrap burritos and hang out while our children play together. Work is always more fun when done with a friend!

What’s your favorite go-to meal?

World Tour – Italian Lasagna

July 18, 2014 by Amy

Lasagna isn’t something I make often, simply because my family just isn’t that fond of noodles. I love it, though, so when we began our study of Italy, I knew it had to be on the menu.

After collecting all of the ingredients, I started planning out our day and realized something: this was a meal that my children could make almost entirely by themselves. They both love to help in the kitchen, but they are both at that stage where they are really proud to be able to tell Daddy that they made a dish entirely on their own. I determined that this meal would be theirs.

To prep it, I browned the meat for the lasagna and allowed it to cool a bit. I set out all of the ingredients for the pasta dish and then called my Big Helper. She put up her hair, tied on an apron, and set to work.

First, we mixed one egg with a 15 ounce carton of ricotta cheese. We opened a jar of tomato sauce and added a oregano, basil, and garlic, crushing the first two between our fingers in order to release the flavors. She added a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acid, then stirred it up and pronounced it ready.

After spreading the bottom of the baking dish with a bit of sauce, she grabbed a lasagna noodle and used a child’s table knife to spread it with the ricotta mixture. I measured and cut several noodles and then let her have at it. When she had a layer ready, she laid them in the pan and topped them with more sauce. Then she added some of the browned meat (we used sausage, but ground beef works just as well), a sprinkling of mozzarella, and then began again with the noodles. Repeat four or five times.

After topping the whole dish with another layer of cheese to top it off, we covered it with foil and put it in the oven at 350 for about an hour. At that point we removed the foil and gave it a few more minutes to brown the top.

I had fully prepared myself to be cleaning sauce off the ceiling by the time she was done, but not so. Aside from a bit of ricotta that had dripped from the noodles, the counter was in very good shape. Impressive!

When the lasagna was nearly finished baking, I called my Little Man to come make the salads. He pulled a chair to the other side of the counter, and as I chopped the veggies, he arranged everything on each person’s plate. (I think he ate as much as he distributed, but still.) He was quite proud of his efforts, and we all got our salads made to order that night.

Having stuck the makings of Italian herb bread in the bread machine that morning, we were soon ready to eat.

My Big Helper’s lasagna was excellent, and she was so excited that she passed up her usual sandwich the next day at lunchtime in order to have leftovers.

This meal was perfect for her to prepare because everything (barring the meat) was assembled cold – and with a bit of prep beforehand, that could be, too. I definitely need to get more meal plans ready that they can do – they were so excited to help,and they’re learning valuable kitchen skills at the same time!

What do your children help you with in the kitchen?