Beef

Pulled Beef Tacos

categories: Beef, Posts, Recipes

Pulled Beef Tacos_2

I’ve always heard about the wonders of the crock pot. I’ve seen countless Pinterest Pins about easy crock pot meals. I’ve even heard stories about how great it is to just throw all the ingredients in there, turn it on for the day, go to work and have basically a ready meal once you get home. But I’ve never actually used a crock pot before in my life! Shocking, I know.

It’s not that I never wanted to, I guess I was always a little anxious. “What if I do it wrong?” “What if it doesn’t turn out?” “Is it really going to taste good if I just throw the ingredients in there and walk away?” That’s the internal dialogue I’ve had with myself in the past about using the crock pot. (more…)

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

categories: Beef, Posts, Recipes

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs_2

I love those mornings when I wake up to a text from my brother containing a photo and the words “make this.” Which is exactly what happened a couple days ago. We live in the same house, about two doors apart and yet I haven’t seen him in days – probably because we’re each on a different schedule. But not seeing me regularly doesn’t mean he’s forgotten that I can cook up some good dishes. Enter the random text Monday night at 11:07pm. Where do you suppose he found this photo? From the Food Porn Twitter account, where else? And of course, he expects me to drop everything and have it ready to eat at a moment’s notice.

I let him drool for a couple days before I got to experimenting and then promptly surprising him on a random Wednesday afternoon. (more…)

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Rueben Sandwich

categories: Beef, Posts, Recipes, Sandwiches

Reuben

When I was in grad school, up at Syracuse University, my mom came to visit a handful of times. She helped me move in, she cheered me on at graduation and she helped me move out. Each one of her visits were not complete without a lunch trip to Faegan’s, a family owned Irish pub at the corner of the University’s Marshall Square. Why? Because the first time we went there, mom ordered the Reuben and fell in love with the sandwich. To this day—6 years later—she’s still talking about the Reuben at Feagan’s. For anyone who’s visiting Syracuse and wants to try it out, yes, it’s still on the menu. (more…)

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Roasted Stuffed Flank Steak

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Beef, Posts, Recipes

Stuffed Flank Steak_2

 

I intended to get back to working out, and running (indoors, on a treadmill with TV access). And then, pretty much right after the New Year, I came down with something. A cold, the flu, a virus, I’m just not sure what it is, but I can’t seem to kick it. Added bonus, it’s the coldest it’s been in the U.S. in 20 years! They’re calling it a Polar Vortex. Polar Vortex … who comes up with these terms? They’re absolutely brilliant, but I wonder if there isn’t some meteorologist somewhere with a list of clever names for weather disasters who pulls it out when the time is right. Anyway, we get hit with this Polar Vortex — where no joke, it’s a high of 5 degrees Fahrenheit — which doesn’t quite help the sickness situation. It doesn’t help any situation quite honestly when all you really want to do is hibernate by the heater and watch TV all day. Needless to say, my new years resolution to start working out again (like 99.9% of Americans) has been put on the back burner for now… just until I start to feel well enough to make it through an 8 hour workday without incident. (more…)

Kubbeh Bel Sineyeh

categories: Arabic Food Made Easy, Beef, Posts, Recipes

kubbeh_2

 

Arabic food is tough. It may partially be because I psych myself out before cooking. I know there’s rarely such thing as a 30-minute meal and so I reserve cooking it to the weekends – if that.

My parents have instituted a once a week rule. That is, I’m required to contribute to the weekly cooking at least once a week. In theory, it’s a brilliant idea! In practice, it’s a bit more tricky. Especially since the days I pick, usually don’t work for the family. This last weekend, I decided to reserve Sunday lunch. I refused to discuss the menu with my mom ahead of time so that I could surprise her with my Arabic cooking abilities. (more…)

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Skinny Burgers

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Beef, Posts, Recipes

Skinny Burger_3

 

Sometimes a girl just craves a burger. Not a turkey burger, or a veggie burger, or even a black bean burger. I’m talking all-beef deliciousness. But we’ve heard (or dare I say seen on our scales the next morning) how bad burgers are for you. Well yea! When you go to BGR or Shake Shack and you’re not sure the type of ground beef (fat percentage) and the buns are practically drowning in oil. But what about burgers at home? If done right, you can cut hundreds, yes hundreds of calories without sacrificing flavor. (more…)