Category Archives: Beef

Individual Meatloaves with Mashers

Individual Meatloaves with Mashers

1 lb Ground Beef or Yves Just Like Ground Round
1/3 c Dry Breadcrumbs
1 /3 c Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Egg, beaten
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Dried Parsley
1/4 c Ketchup
1 tsp Djon Mustard

6 slices Bacon, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F
In large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, salt and parsley.
In a small bowl combine the ketchup and mustard; set aside.
Coat the 6 wells in a Texas Muffin Tin with vegetable oil spray.
Line the side of each well with one slice of bacon.
Evenly divide the meat mixture between the 6 portions, pressing in firmly.
Top each meatloaf with the ketchup mixture.
Bake in AirFryer for 25 – 30 minutes, rotating pan after  13 minutes.

While Meatloaves are cooking, make mashed potatoes using 6 medium-large potatoes.
Once cooked to desired doneness; drain off water (save for another use if preferred) add about 1/4 cup of butter, S&P and milk to taste and to attain desired consistency.

When Meatloaves come out of oven, top each one with an ice cream scoop of the mashers or pipe a rosette of mashers.
Sprinkle with a bit of shredded Cheddar, chopped Green Onion and Bacon Bits.

  • You can sub in Yves Just Like Ground Round, omit bacon rashers in Muffin Tin.

Mexican Skillet

The young grandsons always went on and on about Nana’s Mexican Skillet so I had to have a look at what all the fuss was about?
Meh, it’s pretty good. Like all recipes, you bring your own heart and soul into the recipe. The recipe found its way into our rotation when the kids are visiting.

Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet

1/2 Onion, diced
1 pound Ground Beef or 1 pkg Yves Just Like Ground Round
1/4 cup Taco Seasoning (I use my own Seasoning Mix)
14 oz canned Tomatoes, diced
1 cup canned Corn Niblets or fresh Corn on the Cob, niblets removed from cob
3/4 cup Long Grain White Rice, uncooked
2 cups Beef Broth (Water and 1 McCormick’s Beef Flavoured Cube)
1 1/2 cups Colby Jack Cheese, shredded (or a combo of shredded cheddar and mozza)

Taco Toppings:

Sour Cream
Diced Avocado
Sliced Black Olives
Chopped Cilantro
Salsa
Sliced Green Onion

Cook onion in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
Add ground beef, using a wooden spoon to break up and crumble.
Cook until no longer pink; drain and discard fat.
Return skillet to the heat.
Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, corn kernels, rice and beef broth; stir until combined.
Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover; cook for 25 = 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Give a final stir, top with shredded cheese; cover and cook on low for about 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Top with Toppings of your choice.

Serves 4 – 6

Shepherd Pie with Leftover Roast Beef

Alright so you made that roast beef, loads of mashed potatoes and now you have heaps of leftovers, right? I offer you a wonderful solution:Paula Deen’s Shepherd Pie with Leftover Roast Beef found over at Food.com. I made a few changes…as I am known to do, so I have listed how I made it. My husband was thrilled that I even presented him with a lil serving of Ketchup to go with his portion. This Shepherd Pie reminded me of an Aussie Meat Pie which also begs for a good dollop of Ketchup.

This Shepherd Pie is different from all the ones I have seen; it uses mashed potatoes for the “crust” and has a biscuit topping! I don’t EVER purchase Bisquick Baking Mix but a few years ago I realized that someone MUST have posted home made versions of the stuff; I was right. I make up a batch of biscuit mix now and again and keep it in the fridge for when I am feeling particularly lazy and don’t want to make ’em from scratch.

I poured the goopy Biscuit dough on top of the meat filling as directed in the recipe but my son Ryan said next time I should scoop it on in mounds. I think he might be on to something with that suggestion.

Shepherd Pie with Leftover Roast Beef
Shepherd Pie with Leftover Roast Beef, Mashed Potato Crust and Biscuit Topping

1 Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds Leftover Roast Beef, cubed
3/4 cup Gravy (use leftover Gravy if you have it; if not, stir 1 Tablespoon Gravy Mix into 3/4 cup cold water, whisk until no lumps remain)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper
3 cups Mashed Potatoes, leftover
1 cup Frozen Sweet Peas
1/2 cup diced Carrots
1 – 1 1/2 cups Milk
2 cups Biscuit Mix
4 Tablespoons Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly spray a 9x9inch square pan with vegetable oil spray.
Beef Layer:
In a large skillet over med-high heat sauté onion in olive oil.
Add minced garlic and continue sautéing for another couple of minutes.
Add beef, stir well.
Add gravy and heat to boiling; cook for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Add worcestershire sauce,  salt and pepper; set aside.
“Crust”:
Layer mashed potatoes halfway up the sides of prepared baking dish.
Spread beef mixture over mashed potatoes.
Next, add frozen sweet peas and diced carrots.
Biscuit Topping:
Combine biscuit topping mix with enough milk to make a goopy dough.
Scoop biscuit dough and drop in mounds onto vegetable layer.
Brush with melted butter.
Bake in preheated 350F oven for 35 – 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Serve 4 – 6

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

With cooler temperatures prevailing it’s time to haul out the slow cooker for some comforting stews; and don’t forget to make yummy bread to go with it: Dinner Rolls,Biscuits, Dumplings or pick up some Multigrain Rolls from the grocery store on the way home from work.

slow cooker beef stew
Satisfying Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 lb Stewing Beef cubes
4 Potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
3 Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs Celery, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Beef Broth
1 (5oz can) Tomato Paste
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup frozen Peas
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch or Flour

For ease of cleaning I like to spray the inside of the crock pot with vegetable oil spray.

Cut beef into 1″-cubes.
In 4.5-6litre Slow Cooker mix together beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, beef stock, tomato paste, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 – 12 hours (or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours) or until beef and vegetables are tender.
30 – 60 minutes before serving, add frozen peas, salt and pepper.
Increase heat to HIGH.
Whisk corn starch with a bit of water to make a paste; stir into stew.
Cover and cook for another 10 – 15 minutes.

Serves 4 – 6

Tater Tot Casserole

After a very long weekend of preparing fruit for the freezer, a toddler underfoot and 2 great big dogs demanding attention I had run out of energy but still needed to get dinner on the table to feed said Toddler. If left to my own devices?  A bowl of cereal would have been sufficient!
Alright, so Kid-Friendly food, requires no effort on my part and yet will satisfy the adults in the house? hmmm, I had seen Tater Tot Casserole on Pinterest, it came through my Facebook feed…might as well give it a go. I googled it and came up with a gazillion recipes! When inundated with responses like that I search out recipes from my Tried and True sites: Kraft (not that I use a lot of their product but I like their site’s format), Canadian Living, Taste of Home, Food Network. I went with the Kraft one as it was the top Hit; after reading some of the reviews I made a couple of little changes: added McCormicks Beef Stock cube and a layer of Fresh Spinach (to up the nutritional value!) and a handful of halved Grape Tomatoes for colour. Head on over to Kraft for the original version of Tater-Topped Casserole.
The verdict? Toddler didn’t like the taters!  Or the Spinach…to which Grandpa said that perhaps Benny needed to start watching Popeye to learn the value of Spinach! Hah! Grandpa thought it tasted like Hamburger Stroganoff and Ryan said it was a coronary waiting to happen and I wasn’t to make it again because it tasted so good he could have eaten the entire casserole on his own! It had ground beef in it so I didn’t have any…will have to give it another go using Yves Just Like Ground Round just so I personally can see what all the fuss is about.

Tater Tot Casserole
Everyone has to try Tater Tot Casserole at least once!

1 lb Ground Beef
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 large Mushrooms, sliced
1 McCormick’s Beef Stock cube, crumbled
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 – 4 cups Fresh Spinach – 2 big handfuls of Fresh Spinach
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 lb Frozen Tater Tots, or enough to cover casserole

Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly spray 9″x13″ Pyrex casserole dish with vegetable oil spray.

In large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat and sautee onions for a few minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, stir in garlic and continue cooking for a few more minutes.
Add ground beef, breaking it up and browning evenly.
Add crumbled beef stock cube, mushroom soup and sour cream; stir and cook until heated through.
Pour into prepared baking dish.
Top beef mixture with a layer of fresh spinach followed by a layer of tater tots.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese; return to oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Serves 6 – 8

Tater Tot Casserole with Roasted Cauliflower and Garden Salad
Tater Tot Casserole with Roasted Cauliflower and Garden Salad