In the unpredictable days of spring where it is sunny and warm one day, drizzly and damp the next, what’s a cook to do? Make a classic, hearty dish that warms the tummy and the soul. Filled with chunks of top sirloin, carrots, tomatoes and herbs, this vegetable beef stew is a favorite with my family and clients.




Vegetable Beef  Stew: Save Time With a Pressure Cooker (or not)

In stead of hours, this vegetable beef stew takes about 30 minutes using a pressure cooker so you can get dinner on the table fast. Make this stew on the weekend an enjoy on busy weekday nights. It holds for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or you can freeze it. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, make it the traditional way. Don’t cook the carrots separately. Add the carrots and tomatoes to the pot, cover and simmer on low heat until the beef is done and the vegetables are tender. It will just take longer.

Choosing Meat

Beef stew recipes generally use stew meat which is a cubed mix of tougher cuts.  A more tender option is to buy top sirloin. I buy a 2 pound piece and trim away any fat or tendons. After trimming I have 1 1/2 pounds to cook with, which will serve 4, and extra freezes well.

Beef Broth – What to Buy and What to Avoid

Until I became a hawk at understanding labels and ingredients, I used Better Than Bullion. Bullion pastes have unhealthy ingredients like caramel coloring, crazy high sodium, sugar, molasses (sugar), evaporated cane juice (sugar), honey (sugar), beef “flavor” (who knows what that really is), potato flour (in broth?), and preservatives. A lot of stuff you don’t want to eat. If you have any of these products, throw them out. Use real beef broth or beef bone broth, which is widely available these days. . Most of the boxed stuff is pretty bad too. Higher quality bone broths do cost more, but they taste better and are better for you. Look for them in the frozen department. If the label says “all natural” don’t believe it. That means nothing.

A product I have relied on for years is Stock Options. Find it in the freezer section of better markets. One new to the market product that looks good is Kettle & Fire Bone Broth (low sodium) available for a good price on ThriveMarket.com

Why no sodium? Because that is how you make real homemade broth. Never with salt, so that you control the amount of sodium that goes into your final dish. It’s especially important if you plan to reduce the broth by half for bigger flavor. Reducing a broth with high sodium really increases the sodium in the final dish.

About Pressure Cookers

A pressure cooker is a worthwhile addition to your kitchen. When not being used as a pressure cooker, it works like any other pot. When you feel the need for speed, the lid can be locked on and the time it takes to cook soups, stews, rice, beans and many other dishes is greatly reduced. In a time-starved cooking schedule, a pressure cooker can be your best friend.

Prep and Cooking Tips

Trim your meat into large chunks, about 1 ¼”. Trim off any extra fat, brown the meat and set it aside. Cook the onion, celery and garlic until soft. Add red wine and reduce. Add herbs, spices, broth and browned beef. Lock the lid on and bring to high pressure. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow the pressure to drop naturally. This will take just a few minutes.




When the carrots are cooked with the meat they get too soft. Cook them in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes while the stew is cooking. Drain and add the carrots after the stew is done. For the tomatoes, they disintegrate in the pressure cooker, so I add them with the carrots at the end. They retain more of their shape and warm quickly when being added to the piping hot stew.

To Serve

Serve in a bowl by itself (paleo) or over whole wheat pasta, brown rice noodles or polenta for gluten free. Finish with a little fresh parsley for a nice shot of green color and fresh flavor.  Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days or can be frozen.


PREPARATION

Add oil to pot over medium heat and brown the cubed beef. When beef is brown, remove to bowl along with the juices and set aside.

 Add the onions and celery to the pot. If it seems dry, add another teaspoon or two of oil. Cook onions and celery over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook another 1 minute.

Add wine and cook down for a minute or two. Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, paprika, bay leaf, pepper, and broth. Add the beef back into the pot. Lock the lid on and bring the pressure cooker to high pressure. When the gauge goes up, turn heat to low and set timer for 15 minutes.

While stew is cooking, bring a medium pot filled with water to a boil. Salt the water and add carrots.  Cook carrots for approximately 4 minutes, or until tender. Alternatively you can stem them until soft. Cooking time will depend on the size of your carrots. Drain and set carrots aside. When stew has completed pressure cooking, turn heat off and slide pan to a cool burner.

Allow the pressure to come down naturally. It will take about 7-8 minutes. When the gauge drops, open lid away from your face, being careful of the steam. Add the warm carrots, drained tomatoes and chopped parsley. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate for enjoying later.

Stew will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days and freezes well.

Recipe Notes

For a rich and deeply flavored beef broth, reduce no-sodium broth by half. Start with 1 cup and reduce by half to 1/2 cup which concentrates the flavor. If you don't have a pressure cooker, make it the traditional way with just a few small edits to the directions. Don't cook the carrots separately. Add the carrots and tomatoes to the pot, cover and simmer on low heat until the beef is done and the vegetables are tender. It will just take longer.

A note about trimming the meat - because you need to trim fat and tendon, buy two pounds which will yield about 1 1/2 pounds of trimmed meat to cube and cook for the stew.


INGREDIENTS

2 pounds top sirloin trimmed of fat and cut into large cubes, about 1 ¼”
1 tablespoon olive oil 15 ml, or butter
1 cup diced onion 150 grams
2 large ribs celery diced small
2 large garlic cloves or use a garlic press, minced fine
½ cup dry red wine 120 ml, optional
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup rich beef broth or bone broth
¾ pound carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
15 ounces canned diced tomatoes drained
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley


NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (701 g)    Servings Per Recipe: 4

Calories 520.9    Calories from Fat 201 49%    Total Fat 23.5 g 51%    Saturated Fat 7 g 45%    Cholesterol 102.5 mg 34%    Sodium 1200.2 mg 51%    Total Carbohydrate 40.9 g 13%    Dietary Fiber 6.1 g 24%    Sugars 4.9 g 19%    Protein 39.8 g 79%



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This homemade Mozzarella Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf is stuffed with melty cheese and wrapped in plenty of bacon for an easy comforting family dinner.

The recipe is cooked without ketchup and smothered in a BBQ sauce glaze instead. The classic meatloaf base is made with ground beef, eggs and with breadcrumbs.

Served with your favorite sides and a simple gravy, the cheesy middle of this meatloaf will be the best surprise at your dinner table!







A few people have mentioned that their meat never cooked through. A few tips on troubleshooting:

THE RECIPE WAS WRITTEN FOR A CONVECTION OVEN

Convection ovens generally need a little less heat. So if you’re using a conventional oven (no fan) make sure to set it to 350°F.

Otherwise the meatloaf will take longer to cook and the top might never crisp up and brown.

USE THE CORRECT BAKING PAN

Make sure you’re using a metal loaf pan, one like this you can get on Amazon*, not a ceramic one.

Metal pans have thinner walls and the heat spreads differently. I used a metal baking pan, so I strongly recommend doing the same for this recipe.

I know readers have successfully made this without a pan at all, so if you don’t want to deal with draining meat juices out of a loaf pan after baking, you can just lay out the bacon on a baking sheet, shape the meatloaf on top and stuff it with cheese, then criss-cross the bacon all around and over the top.








THE CHEESE CAN MAKE OR BREAK THIS MEATLOAF

Don’t use the cheapest cheese there is or else it will leak a lot of water, leading to either an undercooked meatloaf or one that doesn’t properly hold together.

It would be a shame to have such a delicious dinner swimming in too much liquid!

THE MEATLOAF MIXTURE IS A KIND OF DOUGH

Yes, that’s right.

Just like a yeast dough needs to be kneaded to hold together, the meatloaf mixture really needs a good kneading.

This helps the proteins in the meat stick together and make a firmer shape. It also prevents your meatloaf from turning out crumbly.

I usually do this with the hook attachment of my mixer, because who’s got the passion to knead a meat dough?! 

MAKE SURE YOUR OVEN IS AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE

Baking recipes can be so tricky! I really recommend checking your oven’s temperature with a thermometer.

Especially if it’s an older model – you never know what’s really going on!

For example, my oven takes about 45 minutes to get to 350°F even though it says to be hot enough after 10. I kept getting underbaked cakes until I started checking with a thermometer.








INSTRUCTIONS


Preheat a convection oven to 320° Fahrenheit (conventional ovens to 350°F).

Mix ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs and spices in a large bowl.

Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan first with parchment paper and then with 2/3 of the bacon, leaving an overhang.

Shape a long log with 2/3 of the meat mixture and fit it inside the loaf pan. Make a groove in the middle and add the mozzarella cheese to it. Cover with the remaining meat mixture. Fold the bacon overhang on top and cover entirely with the remaining 1/3 of bacon. Spread with 1/3 of the barbecue sauce.

Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Spread with another 1/3 of the barbecue sauce. Continue baking for another 20 minutes, spread with the remaining sauce and serve hot.








INGREDIENTS


2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
Salt pepper and smoked paprika, to taste
9 ounces thin-cut bacon
4 ounces mozzarella cheese chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce



NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (160 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 8


Calories 320    Calories from Fat 150 49%    Total Fat 15.9 g 23%    Saturated Fat 6.7 g 30%    Cholesterol 108.6 mg 36%    Sodium 530.6 mg 22%    Total Carbohydrate 15.5 g 5%    Dietary Fiber 0.5 g 2%    Sugars 7.5 g 30%    Protein 19.8 g 39%




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My take on a homemade Philly cheese steak pizza! I’m loading up my homemade pizza crust with a quick garlic white sauce, lots of sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms. So why order out on Friday Night when you can make it at home?







Homemade Pizza!

This is seriously it. The pizza to end all pizzas. This cheese steak pizza has so much goodness all loaded onto my homemade pizza crust. It’s beefy and cheesy but also has something for my veggie lovers — onions, peppers, mushrooms. It’ll satisfy the whole family all in one go.

And your MOUTH will thank you.


I don’t know how much convincing is necessary when we’re talking about canceling on your local pizza guy and instead making this beautiful pie as home. But really, let’s just take a minute and a virtual whiff of this melty, cheesy, garlicky steak pizza. Oh chyeah, totally forgot to mention the best-ish part about all of this! The homemade garlic white sauce.

In this house we have major adoration for all things garlic.









Here’s how we make this cheese steak pizza. It all starts with the pizza crust. Now you can certainly buy store-bought pizza dough and just whip that up but if you’ve got a little time over the weekend, I urge you to give my homemade pizza dough a try. It freezes well so you could just make a batch and freeze it to have on hand whenever you NEED this cheese steak pizza in your life.

The next thing we need is the garlic sauce. It starts off just like any other white sauce. We begin by whisking together a little butter and flour in a small saucepan once the room smells like cooked pie dough, we stream in the milk. Remember, always use COLD MILK when making a white sauce, you’ll never get lumps that way. While the milk heat up, we’ll add in 1-3 cloves of pressed garlic. And when the sauce reaches a simmer, we’ll add in the final touches. A little salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese.

And the steak. Leftover cooked ribeye, skirt or flank steaks are all perfect for this recipe. You’ll need a total of 6 ounces of cooked steak for 1 pizza. I keep the seasonings pretty simple on the steak since our white sauce is LOADED with garlicky goodness.







For the veggies, I loaded on lots of onions, green peppers, and sliced mushrooms. We have a divided household when it comes to the best kind of pizza. I root hard for the veggies and the hubby is all about the meat. But i’m sure this comes as no surprise as this is probably the case in most households. You can sauté the onions, mushrooms, and peppers a little before adding them on to the steak pizza or just add them raw. I find that mushrooms tend to get a little watery when added raw so I almost always give them a quick sauté. Also, you can caramelize the onions completely if you want a little more of that sweet depth of flavor. You really can’t go wrong with this one, use the veggies how ever you like.


And friends, there’s no such thing as too much cheese on your pizza. We like shredded mozzarella but provolone, or even an Italian cheese blend would be delicious. Use whatever you like!

And there you have it! Golden crust, bubbly cheese, sweet onions, and steak all loaded onto this Philly cheese steak pizza.

May your Fridays always look this good!







PREPARATION


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 475ºF. Roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. Create a lip or rim by thickening the dough around the crust portion. This keeps the sauce in instead of running over the sides. Let dough rest for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for 1 minute or until it smells like baked pie dough. Slowly stream in the cold milk while you whisk. Add the pressed garlic and allow the sauce to come to a gentle simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove the sauce from the stove; whisk in the parmesan cheese. Allow the sauce to cool for 5-10 minutes, you can prep your veggies in that time.

The veggies can be used raw on the pizza if you prefer. I like to heat a skillet with a teaspoon of oil and cook each onions, peppers, and mushrooms for just a couple minutes separately. You’ll use a total of 3 teaspoons of oil to do this. I sometimes let the onions go low and slow for a little longer to get them to sweeten up a bit more, however this is totally optional.

Top the dough with sauce, cooked steak, veggies, and shredded cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling and golden. For the last minute of baking, you can turn it to the broiler setting jus to get everything extra bubbly if you’d like. Slice pizza and serve!







INGREDIENTS

SAUCE:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup cold milk
1-3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/8 teaspoon salt
a pinch of black pepper AND nutmeg
¼ cup parmesan cheese

PIZZA:

½ recipe homemade pizza dough (store bought works too)
6 ounces of cooked ribeye, skirt,or flank steak, or roast beef (see notes for cooking instructions)
½ green bell pepper, sliced
3-5 mushrooms sliced
½ sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 teaspoons oil (optional)
1 ¼ cup shredded cheese (such as mozzarella or provolone)




NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (215 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 3


Calories 401.2    Calories from Fat 272 68%    Total Fat 30.2 g 46%    Saturated Fat 16.9 g 84%    Cholesterol 91.1 mg 30%    Sodium 610 mg 25%    Total Carbohydrate 12.2 g 4%    Dietary Fiber 2.4 g 9%    Sugars 4.9 g 19%    Protein 20.7 g 41%




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World’s Best Steak Marinade adds so much lovely flavor to your juicy steak.   It helps to tenderize and infuse the steak with flavor and creates the best steak you ever had!







WHAT DO YOU USE TO MARINATE A STEAK?


This steak marinade is made with dried herbs, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.  These ingredients all come together to give you such amazing flavor and the perfectly cooked juicy steak!






HOW DO YOU MAKE A STEAK TENDER?

There are two ways that I use to make a steak tender.  Acidic tenderizers are a great way to get a tender steak.  I include lemon juice in my marinade to help to soften the steak.  I also break down the fibers by pounding the meat before I cook it.

WHY IS MY STEAK TOUGH AND CHEWY?

The muscle fibers in meat have to be broken down and the proteins turned into gelatin in order to make meat tender. This happens very quickly over high heat with tender cuts of steak like filet mignon, but tougher cuts of meat require slow cooking, usually in some sort of liquid to keep them from drying out.







HOW LONG DO YOU MARINATE STEAK?


As soon as your marinade is ready to go you add your steaks and let them soak up all of that delicious flavor.  It also tenderizes as it marinates.  The minimum to let these steaks marinate is 2 hours, but can also be marinated overnight.  The flavor is seriously out of this world!







I love to cook my steaks in a skillet.  It only takes minutes to get that crispy brown edge and medium cooked inside.  But you can also use this recipe to grill.  It is perfect for both.  It is going to give your steaks the very best flavor!

I know that you will agree that this is the world’s best steak marinade with the very first bite!



INSTRUCTIONS


In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, and a pinch of red pepper. Add steaks to a resealable zip lock bag or large bowl and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for 2 hours or overnight.

To make the steaks in a skillet:

Turn the skillet to high heat. Add the steaks. Cook on each side for 3 minutes or until outside is browned. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook the steaks to the desired doneness. Mine took about 10 minutes flipping 3 times to get a medium well.

Top with butter and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.







INGREDIENTS

⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
pinch of red pepper
1½ pound steaks, I used rib eye, New York is also great
2 tablespoons butter
fresh chopped parsley




NUTRITION INFO

Serving Size: 1 (138 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 4


Calories 41.9    Calories from Fat 20 50%     Total Fat 2.3 g 3%    Saturated Fat 0.3 g 1%    Cholesterol 0 mg 0%    Sodium 1090.1 mg 45%    Total Carbohydrate 4 g 1%    Dietary Fiber 0.5 g 1%    Sugars 1.1 g 4%    Protein 1.8 g 3%




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The BEST lasagna he has ever had. Yes, including ones with real noodles and beeeef. Better than his mom Lasagna (sorry Mom!)

You couldn’t even tell it was zucchini. And, guys, my man is a not a lover of the veggies. Every time I serve him ANYTHING that even REMOTELY resembles a vegetable he gets this “I am MAN, I need MEAT” hostility towards me. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Until THIS.

It actually tasted like real pizza. But, also tasted like lasagna. At the same time. I would call that a great success. The beauty of all of this is that you can get a little ca-ray-zay with it. I mean, you can put whatever pizza toppings you like on it! Don’t like olives? Me either! Confession: those little guys you see there are totally just to make it look like really authentic pizza and stuff. As authentic as pizza can be that is made with zucchini. And has no crust. Whatever. It’s good. And, it’s healthy, low carb AND gluten free.

You can practically eat the whole thing.





PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mandolin, slice the zucchini into thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick,
Lay them out flat onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp salt.

Bake them for 10-15 minutes, until just lightly beginning to brown, to get all the moisture out. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium/high heat. Add in the ground turkey, diced onion, diced garlic, 1 tsp of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook until the onion is soft and the turkey is browned.

While the turkey cooks, beat together the ricotta cheese, egg and another pinch of pepper. Set aside.
Once the turkey is done, it's time to assemble the lasagna!
Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Start by pouring half the jar of pizza sauce on the bottom, followed by half the turkey, then layer half the zucchini noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the pepperoni slices,and finish with half the grated mozzarella cheese.

Repeat the layers once more, except add the chopped pepper and olives on top of the last layer of mozzarella. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.

Turn the oven up to 375 and cover the lasagna with tin foil.
Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.
Turn the broiler up to HIGH and broil for 2-3 minutes more, until the top is golden brown and bubbly!

Notes

This can be made a day ahead, covered, and left in the fridge. It also makes great leftovers! The leftovers keep very well in the freezer.




INGREDIENTS


3 Large zucchinis
1 Tbsp Salt
For the lasagna:
1 lb Ground 99% fat-free Turkey
1 Cup Onion diced (1 small onion)
2 Tbsps Olive oil
1 tsp Salt pepper
1 1/2 Tbsps Fresh garlic diced
1 14 oz Jar of pizza sauce
1 15 oz Container of light or fat-free ricotta cheese
1 Large egg
8 oz Light Mozzarella cheese grated
2 Tbsps Parmesan Cheese (I use that really fine pre-grated stuff)
2 Cups Turkey Pepperoni slices 48 pepperonis to be exact
1/2 A Large green pepper chopped
1/4 cup Slivered olives


NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories 280 Calories from Fat 98     Total Fat 10.9g 17%     Saturated Fat 5.3g 27%     Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g    Monounsaturated Fat 1.5g     Cholesterol 86.1mg 29%     Sodium 1761mg 73%     Potassium 252.9mg 7%     Total Carbohydrates 13.3g 4%     Dietary Fiber 2.4g 10%     Sugars 7.4g     Protein 32.4g 65%     Vitamin A 20.1%     Vitamin C 28.2%     Calcium 20%     Iron 6.4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.



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Swap in corn tortilla chips for a platter of gluten-free cheesy goodness perfect for family lunch or play day. These nachos have all the good we love about the traditional home cooking, like melty cheese, meat, jalapeños, and tomatoes.