Beef Stew (how to use leftover beef)

It has just been one of those days…for those who know I have some arthritis issues…a mild form of Lupus and well some days just really suck no matter how great my mind may feel my body is on a whole other flipping book!  LOL

So I have left over beef…about a pound or so…it is saute beef…thin sliced strips…so why not turn those into bit sized pieces..toss with some worcester sauce…set aside and then make a yum~O rue with a mixture of butter and olive oil….saute first some diced red onion, garlic and add of course some flour…duh!  get it all warm and brown..cook that flour color of white out and get rid of any taste of pasty flour until the color is wonderfully golden brown and so very rich in taste….time for some beer!  then add some fantastic beef stock….I mean we all  have that  in the pantry…freezer…frig becuase you just made some!

 

oh and wait look at the roasted tomato sauce….add that in….bring to a boil….add some diced potato (starchy) and some diced carrots….reduce to simmer, cover and cook until the veggies are tender crisp…turn off the heat…add peas, corn…cover and let hang out then serve….

or you can top with some puff pastry you have in your freezer…I mean just for fun…pour about 2 cups in some small round oven proof dishes….roll out some dough…cover..bake at 400 for about 20 mins or until golden brown and the stew is bubbling…and then rest and serve….Enjoy

as always…..Happy Eatings!

Stuffed Roast of Beast

At the market with The Jman and wondering aimlessly trying to find something for dinner…The Jman had a great lamb chop recipe in his mind but the lamb was $16.99 a lb…so to say the least that was veto’d….Upon walking up and down the meat section to the seafood to the chicken my eye cut a very pretty hunk of meat…AHHh I said we can stuff that bad boy add some fresh veggies we got at the Framers Market and we have dinner!

 

I took a bottom roast…took a sharp ling blade knife and wiggled in down the center of the meat to make a hole/tunnel I could fill with a bread, onion, garlic & mushroom stuffing…I used some Marsala to cook the veggie mixture in ….YUM~O!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the meat was stuffed I cleaned off the roast from any stuffing…pat to dry , then  salt and pepper ….then into a screaming hot pan to sear all the sides…then some whole mushrooms around it and in the oven it went at 350 until cooked medium rare…let it rest …while it was resting I roasted some veggies …cream simmered red potatoes and we can heaven!

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Signature Chili….

In honor of the rainy ..chilled Az weather I thought I would re post my chili recipe with steps….Enjoy!

 

So here is how I make  Chili….

So here is what the steps look like …..

 

The spices

 

Chili Powder

Garlic powder

Smokey Paparika

Chili Flakes

Cumin

Nutmeg

Pepper

Salt

The Onion and garlic

 

 

The x3 Meat

I use a lb or so each of:

Ground Beef

Ribeye

(if you have left over grilled Ribeye the is a great way to use it

This time I had Left over grilled Ribeye) 

Ground Sausage

 

The x4 Beans

 

Kidney

Cannenilli

Pinto

Black

 

 

The extra

 

a splash or so for a after side kick of heat…or leave it out…

 

 

saute up the meat with the onion mixture toss it all into a crock pot with some hand crafted GF sauce and simmer away for the day.  I started this early way early in the day or the night before and ….after all the ingredients have been put together I toss it all in a crock pot and cooked it on LOW right up until serving and sample along the way to make sure I have the spices just right…..WAY YUMMMMYYYY!

EXTRAS: I also add in minced roasted/ grill poblano chiles..2/3 depends on how big there are….I also use my roasted tomato base sauce and add in some chunk roasted tomatoes as well…For the Tomatoes choose what ever is at the market that is inexpensive and really ripe…:-)

 

 

The Finished garnished Chili…a dollop of sour cream some Cabot fresh shredded cheeses and sprinkling of Cilantro

 

What a great day!!!

Thursday May 13th was a great day in the lives of the @dinnersbydani Gals! We catered the @northeastvalleyrealtornetwork Get it Sold” Tour!!!   Then we were brought in my Monterey Homes to cater the Lunch….a wonderful time of food and fun!!!!

And then!!!  We stopped at a Favorite wine Bar of mine @terroir!!!  The wine that was selected for us was great, I may have taken a bottle home withe me! Cathi ordered some mozz and tomato crustini thingy and she was ever so happy.  Shes loves that combination!    And THEN! we had a great un expected meeting with the owner Brian Mahoney and found out that we can partner up and provide wine tastings and pairings now to our dinner parties we cater!!!  AWESOME!!!!

and FINALLY I followed up …pout pout alone to a BNI Visitor Day Happy Hour @theyardhouse in Dessert Ridge….it was there that as I was talking to Dr. Summer Swanick about what services are provided by Dinners By Dani and how we can make Gluten Free …Egg Free and Dairy Free meals and then talking about my medical condition of a mild case of Lupus and several forms of arthritis she challenged me to go 5 weeks GF!!!  to see if I noticed any differences in my over all being of health…so here it is DAY of GF….I know I can do this…I mean I still get to have my wine and cheese..RIGHT…all is good!!! 

I ended my day with take out for the Jman and snuggle on the couch time…and yes this gal was in bed by 9pm….:-)

Well there is my exciting news and day wrapped in one neat little blog for ya!

Happy Eatings!

Dani

Dani gets to RE Taste Test Cowboy Ciao! yum~O!

So after a fantastic time at my networking groups Visitor Day / Happy Hour I get to go grab a ‘nibbly’ with my friend Gary….I have been wanting to re try Cowboy Ciao for a while now…I am a FB Fan of theirs…and the food pics have been making me hungry!  So we go…..

I say surprise me on the wine….the very hip dude behind the bar gives me a blend from….oh my gosh…ARIZONA!!!  Dude does not know me and would have never thought to even suggest that to me but hey I said he was ‘hip’ so I said ok…choking on  my own words as Gary looked on thinking this should be interesting….HOLY COW….I loved it!

So then the ‘hip’ dude wants to know what I want to eat…I say surprise me…he says any food limitations…I laugh and said NOPE!  So off he goes….and this is what he came back with

seared scallops over beet risotto!  YUM~O!!!!

so then he says….so anything else….I said just one more….there was a post I tell him on FB that made me want to come in….he goes and calls the marketing gal to find out what it was…comes back with ” it was our Hallibut dish”  well I was thinking smaller so he says I have an idea…and off he goes again….and he comes back with …now remember I do not like sweets…but then who would have thought Iwould like a wine from AZ…????

This delight is NOT on their menu…but it was savory and sweet with out being too sweet…went great with the wine…and the toasted marshmellows were an awesome touch!  YUM~O!!!

So to sum it up Gary and I were delighted and I am sure he was delighted that I was delighted !!!  LOL

Happy Eatings!

Dani

A Treat for Dani…..Bar FOOD! Yum~O

Today I treated myself to Bar Food!  Not just any ole bar food but great bar food!  I love a great cheeseburger, hot wings and some fresh cut dipped made onion rings!  Bring on a pint of dark beer such as a black and tan you have one happy Dani!!!

To find these things only a really great Dive Bar can do the job!  Today  I went to Pat Murphy’s in way south west Arcadia~! Pull up a bar stool and say hello to Kelly (my fav bartender) and order some hot wings ….Brian will make them just the way you ask….I like them medium done well with a side of hot sauce and blue cheese dressing…if you are super nice you can ask for mostly drum pieces, I am not a flat wing fan …LOL

So take a look at the pics and give this Dive Bar a 100% try! You will be glad you did!!!

Friendly people, yum~O food and a comfy atmosphere….All the things that make a great Dive Bar!

Next week I just may treat myself to the best burger in town….stay tuned!

Happy Eatings!

Dinner Out

It has been a while since my days of dining out all the time!  However as of late I have started to venture out about town and see what is there that I have not tried…..

In January I went to The Parlor     http://www.theparlor.us/  …Way YUM….I have even been back for lunches

Then St. Francis     http://www.stfrancisaz.com/     for Happy Hour ‘ish with my Vt High School friend Laurie….it was…ok….not enough to make me want to go back for dinner..hhmmm and parking STINKS!

Last night….I went to Central Grille….used to be called the Top Of Central….the building itself has been around for years…so when you walk in and it smells like well….old…you can understand…My first thought was this place was trying to be like Durrants    http://www.durantsaz.com/  …..So sorry NO ONE can be Durrants or even like Durrants!  Geessshhhhh!!!!

So here the link…http://www.centralgrille.net/index.php a teeny tiny menu of choice…and the 1st server we had…well glad we got a new one….and then when I was asked about dinner….you really should not ask me about food I do not really enjoy…I will give it to ya!  After saying my piece I find out the Head Chef who is suppose to be so famous…never heard of him or who he trained under was sitting at a high top bar table behind me….HA….he did not hear me…:-)

Anyway….Phil says the baked potato was bad…the steak..we split a 8ox filet was good..the one I made at home the other night he said was far better…and he was glad our server was replaced as well…oh and yes his bottle of Bass was prefect!…Please keep in mind PHIL is NOT I repeat IS NOT  a foodie…and he had to make a comment and asked me if I was going to blog about it….I find this very funny!!!

So here is my over all thought….drinks maybe…could be fun in the later Spring early Summer on the patio…dinner again….nah!

Happy Eatings,

Dani

Baked Ziti

So every Wednesday and Thursday Phil’s son Austin is with us…that whole blended family thing.  Well, Austin is a very…I mean a  VERY picky eater….if he even suspects there is an onion gasp! a speck of veggie in something I make he will not eat or if he does he picks around every little piece!  UHG!!!  So with this is mind it is one of the reasons I have begun to make my own pasta sauces.  Below is the step by step pics of the Baked Ziti that even Austin loved…:-)

The Ingredients

Browning of the ground sirloin and Sweet Italian Sausage

Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Add in partial cooked Ziti pasta.

RESERVE 1 cup of the pasta water and add cheese mixture

(cheese mixture: 1 cup fresh grate parm and mozz cheese

1 container ricotta and 1egg room temp)

Mix well and our over pasta

Add in browned meats and combine

Top with Sauce and about 1/2 cup of parm and mozz cheeses

Baked at 350 for about 45 minutes

Let stand for about 15 minutes

SERVE!!!

Happy Eatings!

Dani

Hand Crafted Red Sauce

Take some basics in your pantry and simmer it away in a crock pot all day….spin it through a blender….freezer baggy up about 2 1/2 cups at a time…and you are set for about the equivalent to 4 jars of store-bought sauce…but yours will be GLUTEN FREE and taste a heck of  a lot better

What ya need to get started

Plum Tomatoes

Thyme

Basil

Garlic

Onion

Mushrooms

Toss all the above minus the bottom 3 into a crock pot

Now …..Saute up  the Onion, Garlic and Mushrooms

Then add it to the crock pot….cover and let it do it’s thing

When it is done…about 8-10 hours on low…

Blend away…you can blend til it is smooth

My group of boys does not like “chunk” in their sauce…and side note if you have a picky eater on the veggie angle…you can add carrots and other veggies to this sauce…blend to smooth and you just ‘hid’ some great veggies that the kiddos will never know were there!  LOL

The start…..

….Looks pretty cool

Enjoy!

x3 Meat by x4 Bean Chili

So it was super Bowl weekend…Phil and I once again were having some friends over to celebrate the football experience with us..LOL….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So on the menu I was making queso dip

tortilla wrapped mini dogs

Pulled Pork sliders

and

x3 Meat by x4 Bean Chili….

I was also suppose to make Phil is beer soaked spicy Brats….but I forgot to put them on the grill…OOoooppppssss!!!!

So here is how I made the Chili….

So here is what the steps look like……recipe to follow at the end…..

The spices

Chili Powder

Garlic powder

Smokey Paparika

Chili Flakes

Cumin

Nutmeg

Pepper

Salt

The Onion and garlic

The x3 Meat

I use a lb or so each of:

Ground Beef

Ribeye

(if you have left over grilled Ribeye the is a great way to use it

This time I had Left over grilled Ribeye) 

Ground Sausage

The x4 Beans

Kidney

Cannenilli

Pinto

Black

The extra

a splash or so for a after side kick of heat…or leave it out…

saute up the meat with the onion mixture toss it all into a crock pot with some hand crafted GF sauce and simmer away for the day.  I started this the afternoon before the Super Bowl and cooked it on LOW right up until the game…..WAY YUMMMMYYYY!

EXTRAS: I also add in minced roasted/ grill poblano chiles..2/3 depends on how big there are….I also use my roasted tomato base sauce and add in some chunk roasted tomatoes as well…For the Tomatoes choose what ever is at the market that is inexpensive and really ripe…:-)

The Finished garnished Chili…a dollop of sour cream some Cabot fresh shredded cheeses and sprinkling of Cilantro