Beef Burgundy Tips

1 1/2-2 # Stew Meat browned (use a roast and cut it up in bite size pieces to save a little money)
1-10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1-4 oz. can sliced mushrooms
3/4 c. red cooking wine
5 T Homemade Gourmet Sunday Roast Mix (can use in place: 1 pack Onion Soup Mix & 1 bay leaf)

Place all but mushrooms in slow cooker. On Low, cook 4-6 hours. Add mushrooms and cook additional 1-2 hours.


*Freezer directions: Bag & freezer after adding mushrooms.
*To prepare: Thaw, reheat & enjoy! Serve over noodles, rice or potatoes.

Note: Mary made this recipe for one of our Soup Swaps & everyone who had it RAVED, so it is tried & true!

Beef Barbacoa

Ingredients:
1/3 c Apple Cider Vinager
3 T. lime juice
3-4 canned chipotle chiles
4 garlic cloves
4 t. freshly toasted & ground cumin seeds
2 t. dried Mexican oregano
1 ½ t. ground black pepper
1 ½ t. salt
1 ½ t. freshly toasted & ground cloves
2 T. vegetable oil
4-5 lb. chuck roast
¾ c. chicken broth
3 bay leaves

1. Make the adobo sauce by combining vinegar, lime, chipotles, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and cloves in a blender and puree on high speed until smooth.

2. Trim fat from meat & cut into 6 smaller pieces. Sear all sides of the chunks of meat in the vegetable oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven until browned. Add the adobo sauce to the meat, pour in chicken broth & add bay leaves. Cover pot and braise (simmer) over med-low heat 5-6 hours or until meat easily flakes apart. Turn meat every 30 minutes as it cooks. After 4 hours keep lid off pot. At the 5 hour mark you should be able to tear meat off in bite size chunks with tongs.

Tidbits:
Toast whole cumin seeds & cloves separately in small sauté pan over med-low heat. Toss often & watch the spices closely so they don’t burn. Done toasting when fragrant & slightly brown. Use a clean coffee grinder to grind each spice separately, then measure for recipe.

**Note: In reading the comments section several people indicated that you can also just stick meat in a crockpot for the day on med-high setting, which is what we will be doing!)

See this updated post for more info and tips.

Beef Stew

1 lb beef stew meat or roast cut into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes
1 can beef broth
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
3 med carrots cut into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces about 1/2 lb)
2 med potatoes (about 1/2 lb) cut into quarters. (If baby red potatoes are used-cut in 1/2)
Optional: celery & onion chunks

Put beef and chopped veggies in a freezer bag. Add spices to a smaller bag & include in the main bag. Freeze.

To cook: Empty both bags into slowcooker (no need to thaw!). Add one can beef broth and 1/4 cup water. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours.

Serves 4

Enchiladas

Enchiladas (beef or chicken)

* indicates the ingredients are used in both the sauce and the filling

Sauce:
2 T oil
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove 1 chix (or beef) bullion cube or 1 tsp granuals
1/2 c hot water
2-8 oz cans tomato sauce
1-2 T chili powder
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 c cold water
1 T cornstarch

Filling:
2 T Oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/2 c shredded (small cubes or thin strips)
cooked chicken or beef
4 oz can diced green chilies, drained
1/2 tsp salt

12 (6-inch) tortillas
4 oz. (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese (I normally use Co-Jack)
4 oz (1 cup) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
OPTIONAL - sour cream to place on top of cooked enchiladas

To prepare sauce: in medium sauce pan heat oil; saute 1/3 cup onion and 1 garlic clove until tender. Dissolve bouillon in 1/2 cup hot water; add to onion mixture. Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder, sugar, salt and cumin. Combine 1/2 cup cold water and cornstartch; gradually stir into tomato sauce mixture. Simmer 10-15 minutes or unitl slightly thickened, sitrring occasionally.

To prepare filling, in large skillet heat oil; saute 1/4 cup onion and 1 garlic clove until tender. Stir in remaining filling ingredients and 3/4 cup of sauce; simmer 10-15 min or unitl thickened.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1/2 cup sauce evenly over botton of 12x8 inch baking dish. Set aside. In ungreased skillet, heat 1 tortilla over medium-high heat about 15 seconds or until warm (can also be done in the
micrwave) turning frequently. Fill each tortilla with 2 T filling, roll up. Place seam side down in pan. Pour remaining 1 1/4 cups sauce over filled tortillas. Bake for 10 min. Sprinkle with cheese, bake additional
3-5 minutes or unitl cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through.

Serves 6

***Note: As the IL Freezer Co-op has discovered, it is best to roll the chicken mixture into the tortillas and place them in a gallon size zip lock for freezing, and keep the sauce separate until just before baking. The bonus to this is that you can also take out as much or as little as you need each time you prepare.

Preparing from frozen:
Place tortillas in a sprayed baking dish and thaw slightly. Assemble w/sauce & remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees until heated through.

Cheeseburger Quiche

1 unbaked pie shell
1 pound ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp dried minced onion

Preheat oven to 350. Brown and drain ground beef. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with milk, mayonnaise and corn starch. Arrange beef on the bottom of the pie shell; top with cheese and onions. Pour egg mixture into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Allow quiche to cool before wrapping and freezing.

To reheat, thaw completely. Bake at 300 for 20 minutes.

You may also want to make this using the "quiche in a bag" method. Combine all ingredients except the pie shell and pour into a freezer bag. Freeze flat. To prepare, thaw bag enough to get all the ingredients out. Pour into a pie shell. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or longer if quiche was not totally thawed.

Basic Meatballs (or Meat Loaf)

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken or combo)
2/3 cup dry oats (or cooked brown rice)
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup ketchup (or tomato sauce)

Mix all ingredients well, until combined.

For meatballs:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Using a small cookie scoop, form about 60 meatballs. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Sacrifice one meatball to make sure they are no longer pink in the center.

Cool completely (or flash freeze) before transferring meatballs to a freezer bag or container for storage.

Place frozen or thawed meatballs in desired sauce and reheat over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.

For meat loaf:
Meat loaf may be baked before or after freezing. If freezing raw meat loaf, it must have been fresh when you made it and thawed completely before baking.

Place mixture into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.



Nutritional info (based on ground beef, oats, and ketchup options) for 6 meatballs: 270 calories, 19.4 g fat, .6 g fiber, 13.4 g protein.

Chinese Orange Beef

I found this recipe in the June 2009 issue of Woman's Day along with four other slow cooker recipes. This one looks like it would freeze well. How easy would this be- take the bag out of your freezer, throw it in the slow cooker and 8-10 hours later, dinner is done!

1 slow-cooker liner (such as Reynolds)
2 lb cubed beef stew meat
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 red pepper, cut in 1/2 inch strips
6 oz snow peas, strings removed
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Line a 3-qt or larger slow cooker with liner. Add beef, teriyaki sauce, orange marmalade, garlic and ginger to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours until beef is tender.

Turn to high. Stir in pepper strips and snow peas; cover and cook on high 10 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender. Top with scallions.

click here for original recipe with nutrition info!