Category: Main Dishes

The main entree for your meal

Homemade Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Picture of homemade Red Beans and Rice recipeIt was just Mardi Gras in New Orleans and we were thinking about what we could make for a meal to celebrate the season and revival of New Orleans. One of our favorite Cajun meals is Red Beans and Rice. Outside New Orleans, Red Beans and Rice is often served as a side dish. But, it’s really a well rounded main dish that’s high in fiber and suitable as a single dish meal.

Our recipe for Red Beans and Rice will feed about four people. Now, this is a homemade Red Beans and Rice recipe, so it takes a bit of time for the beans to cook. So you need to start cooking this meal early. And since it’s homemade, there’s not artificial preservative or extra salt added.

Recipe for Red Beans and Rice

  • 1 pound dried kidney beans
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp chopped garlic)
  • 1 smoked ham hock
  • 1/2 pound Andouille Sausage
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram leaf
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 can of good beer such as Guiness
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Cook white (or Basmati) rice
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion
  1. Clean the beans and remove any foreign ingredients such as pebbles.
  2. Heat the canola oil in a large dutch oven, add chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, about 4 minutes.
  3. Add ham hock, red kidney beans, marjoram, bay leaves, sugar, and beer.
  4. Top with water to cover beans by about 2 inches.
  5. Cover, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook about 3 hours. Add additional water if needed.
  6. When beans are tender, take out the ham hock, and chop up the meat from the ham hock into pieces about 1/2 inch in size. Place the meat back into the pot, and discard the bones.
  7. Cook the sausage in a separate pan for about 10 minutes, turning to cook through. Then remove the sausage, chop the sausage into 3/8″ slices, and add to the pot.
  8. Cook the beans another 30 minutes so the sausage flavor blends into the beans.
  9. Remove from heat, and let cool about 10 minutes.

Serve with white rice and chopped green onions as a garnish.

Homemade Stuffed Cabbage Roll Recipe

Picture of prepared Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
This recipe is a bit of work, but the rewards are well worth the effort. We’ve made these cabbage rolls for years, and they’re always well received at the dining room table. Cabbage rolls require slow cooking for the flavors to blend, so they’re cooked in a slow oven. Some folks cook their cabbage rolls in a pot on the stove, but we find our cabbage rolls stay together better if we bake them in a covered baking pan. These cabbage rolls are really good on a cold winter Sunday afternoon served with buttered, toasted rye bread as we have in the picture.

Recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls also known as Blind Pigeons

  • 1 large head of cabbage
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 pound lean ground pork
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 1 tsp Nina chopped garlic (or 2 cloves garlic chopped)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup cooked basmati rice
  • 1 large (28 oz) can tomato juice
  • 8 to 10 slices of bacon
  1. To precook the cabbage, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. While the pot is heating, core the head of cabbage. Place the head of cabbage in the boiling water and cook just until you can start to peel the cabbage leaves off.
  3. Peel the leaves from the head of cabbage, and place the cooked cabbage leaves on a plate.
  4. Chop the onion finely.
  5. Cook the lean ground beef and lean ground pork along with chopped onions. Add
    salt and pepper to taste. Cook until onions are tender and beef and pork are cooked
    thoroughly.
  6. In the meantime cook rice according to package directions.
  7. Combine the cooked meat mixture and the cooked rice.
  8. Place strips of bacon evenly spaced in large roasting pan.
  9. Take a large cabbage leaf and cut a “v” out of the bottom of the leaf to remove the tough core section.
  10. Place a large spoonful of the meat and rice mixture towards the top and center of the leaf.
  11. To roll the cabbage rolls take the bottom edge of the leaf and fold it towards the center over the meat and rice mixture. Take the side of the cabbage leaf and tuck it under the meat mixture. Take the top and fold it down over the center of leaf. Take the bottom of leaf and fold it towards the center of the leaf. Roll the leaf so the open edge is under the cabbage roll.
  12. Place prepared cabbage rolls on top of bacon slices in roasting pan. Repeat until all meat mixture is finished.
  13. Pour tomato juice over prepared cabbage rolls. Place extra cabbage leaves
    over the top of the prepared cabbage rolls. This keeps the moisture in.
    Slow cook the cabbage rolls in a 300-325° F. oven for 1 to 2 hours*.

Serve with toasted buttered rye bread.

*Cook longer to allow the flavors to blend. Since everything is cooked, the baking time is to allow seasonings to mix together.

Marinaded Pork Roast Recipe

Marinated pork roast prepared
This is a recipe for a tasty roast of pork. It takes only a little bit of time to mix the marinade ingredients, and a few hours to allow the roast to absorb the flavors. We cooked our roast in the oven, but with a little care you could barbecue this roast over slow coals and have a delicious smoked roast.

  • 3 – 4 pound pork roast

    • Marinade

Place all ingredients (except roast) in a reclosable plastic bag and mix well. Pierce roast on all
sides. Place roast in marinade in plastic bag and turn to coat all sides of
roast. Place in refrigerator at 3 hours or overnight. Make sure to turn the
roast as it marinades. Slowly cook pork roast uncovered until done 165
degrees.

Cacciucco Soup (Italian Seafood Soup)

Cacciucco Soup in a bowl
Back in the olden days, I worked in an Italian themed restaurant doing the low end chores that a lad of 16 would be offered. I actually had a fun time doing menial tasks, and the restaurant had a fun gang to work with. It was a really busy place too. Way back then there were ‘themed’ restaurants. At GD Graffitti Syndicated, the theme was a depression era sleep-easy.

The decor of GD Graffitti’s was a late 1920’s to early 1930’s speakeasy. The waitresses and waiters dressed in gangster outfits, with the menu items appropriately named such as ‘Lefty the Lobster.’ It was a really popular restaurant with a stupendous salad bar that came with the meal. Remember that this was in the olden days, and this was the beginning of the salad bar. Even in the modern era you’d be hard pressed to find a salad bar that could match what Graffitti’s provided, over 200 different items with at least 8 kinds of melons alone.

As part of being the hired help, we’d get a free meal at the end of the night. Generally everyone wanted the higher end foods, but to tell the truth they had a killer soup called Cacciucco that was offered as a main course. It was truly a great soup, and I ate it often. They made it in this huge steam pot that could hold 50 gallons or more of soup. Wow!

Over the years I thought about that soup alot, and my taste buds remembered it well, but I could never remember the name so that I could find a recipe. Well, I finally remember the name, and made the recipe last week, so here it is:

Recipe for Cacciucco Soup
This is a two step recipe.

Step 1 Stock

  • 1 carrot, chopped into large chunks
  • 1 leek sliced thin, white part only
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped in large chunks
  • 2 tbsp Parsley Flakes
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 10 Black Peppercorns
  • 1 can chopped clams
  • 1 cup white wine
  1. Put 2 quarts of water in a large souppot.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the wine.
  3. Bring to a bowl, and then simmer for 30 – 45 minutes.
  4. Add the wine, and allow to simmer 5 – 10 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Step 2 – Soup!

  • 1 small lobster tail (cooked)
  • 1/2 lb codfish
  • 1/2 lb mussels
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
  1. Cut the Lobster tail and the cod into bite sized pieces and add to the stock.
  2. Add all other ingredients (except the mussels), and simmer for 20 minutes
  3. Wash the mussels and add to soup. Cook for about 10 more minutes.
  4. Serve with fresh breadsticks and garlic-butter.

Great Salmon Cakes Made with Old Bay Salmon Classic

Old Bay Salmon Cakes
McCormick’s Old Bay Salmon Classic makes great Salmon Cakes simple. McCormick’s blend of seasonings in Old Bay is always great with seafood.

All you need to do is open up a can of salmon, mix in the Old Bay Salmon Classic and some mayonaisse, form the cakes, and then fry until crisp. It makes a simply delicious salmon cake in a jiffy. With Old Bay Salmon Classic, you can go from thinking about what to make for lunch, to eating a delicious salmon cake in just 10 minutes.

  1. Heat a 1 tbsp canola oil in a skillet.
  2. While oil is heating mix the salmon with the Old Bay Salmon Classic mix.
  3. Mix the mayonnaise into the salmon mixture.
    Make 4 large salmon patties.
  4. Test heat of oil by placing a drop of water in the oil. If the water sizzles
    in the oil the oil is ready.
  5. Place the salmon cakes in the skillet.
  6. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown on both sides.
  7. Can be served on a bun as a sandwich or by themselves.
  8. Serve with tarter sauce, and your favorite vegetable such as lima beans.

The Salmon Cakes can be broiled as well.

Homemade Beef Vegetable Soup

Picture of Beef Vegetable SoupThere’s nothing secret to making a good homemade beef vegetable soup. It’s really all about taking your time and letting the soup cook to allow the flavors to blend together.

We make our beef vegetable soup completely from scratch. There’s no need for any of those kits from the grocery store. All you really need is to plan ahead, and make a beef broth first. Patience is called for in making this soup. So about 6 hours before serving, place 4 large beef soup bones in a large stockpot, and cover with water. Place over medium heat and begin to heat to a boil.

While the water is heating, dice up a large onion, and 1 1/2 cups of celery. Toss the onion and celery in the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours [longer is better].

Using a set of tongs, remove the bones from the pot and place on a dinner plate. Allow to cool 5 minutes or more, or until you can handle. Scrape any marrow from the bones onto the dinner plate, and discard the bones. Add the marrow back to the stockpot.

Add the following to the pot:

  • 1/2 pound of baby carrots (cut in half, if desired)
  • 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp parsley flakes
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 3 medium sized turnips, peeled and diced (about 2 1/2 – 3 cups)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes

Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer. Meanwhile, cut up a about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of chuck roast into 3/4 inch chunks. Cook the beef chuck roast chunks in a covered, non-stick skillet, turning often, until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef, and add to the stock pot. Simmer the vegetable soup for 1 1/2 hours, then add:
2 cups frozen lima beans
1 cup egg noodles

Cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool a little before serving. Serve with buttered toasted sourdough bread, or piping hot biscuits. You can add salt to the served bowls of Beef Vegetable Soup but we don’t find it necessary.

Refrigerate any left over Beef Vegetable Soup, and add a little water when reheating. Beef vegetable soup always tastes better the next day.

Make a Delicious Beef Eye of Round Roast

Picture of Eye of Round RoastA beef Eye of Round roast can be an easy meal. There’s not too much preparation, and you stuff the roast in the oven and wait for it to cook. What could be simpler? The cooking time depends on how big the roast is and as a guess we’d say an hour to an hour and a half would be usual.

We season our roast with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. If you don’t have any Lawry’s around, you can also simply season the Eye of Round roast with salt and fresh ground pepper [but you really ought to try Lawry’s Seasoned Salt]. When we were young, and just growing up, it was always a treat to get the end cut of the roast, because that’s where most of the taste and seasonings are.

Our recipe calls for placing the roast in a Reynold’s oven bag. We find that the bag does a great job of holding the juices in so we end up with a juicy side of beef. You don’t have to use the oven bag, and can do just as well with a pan with a lid, or by tightly covering the pan with aluminum foil. But, one of the benefits of the oven bag is the easy cleanup — everything cooks in the bag so there is nothing burnt onto the pan.

  • Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
  • Adolph’s Tenderizer
  • 3-4 potatoes
  • 15-20 baby carrots, can be cut in half
  • 1 can sliced mushrooms
  • 1 large sweet onion,
  • 1 can low sodium beef broth
  • 3-4 lb eye round roast
  • Reynolds Oven Bag (or aluminum foil)
  1. Sprinkle Lawry’s Seasoned Salt & Adolph’s Tenderizer all over roast and
    pierce meat all over.
  2. Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks
  3. Place roast in extra large oven bag
  4. Peel and quarter onion.
  5. Distribute the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and onion in oven bag around roast.
  6. Pour enough beef broth into oven bag to keep vegetables moist during cooking.
  7. Put several slits in top of oven bag.
  8. Cook until roast has an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

‘Light’ Turkey & Rice Stuffed Green Peppers Recipe

Picture of prepared Stuffed Green Peppers
Here’s a recipe for a ‘light’ stuffed green pepper. It’s light because it’s made using lean ground turkey instead of ground beef, so it’s lighter in fat.

First, cut the tops off of 4 green peppers. Then carefully cut out the center membrane of the pepper, and remove and discard the seeds. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350° F. Fill a 3 quart saucepan with water, and begin heating to a boil.

Meanwhile, dice up about 1/3 cup of onion. Dice the tops of the green pepper. Chop up 2 cloves garlic. Place the onion, diced green pepper and garlic in a large non-stick skillet along with about 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook the onion, garlic and green pepper for several minutes, stirring and turning often.

Add 1 pound lean ground turkey, 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning and cook, turning often until cooked through. Then add 1 1/2 cups Basmati rice, one can low sodium chicken broth, and 1 can diced tomatoes. Heat, and stir about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, blanche the green peppers in the boiling water about 4-5 minutes, turning to make sure all sides are cooked. Remove peppers from water, and set on a plate.

Place about 1/2 cup of the turkey rice mix in an oven safe caserole. Then place the green peppers in the casserole. Fill the peppers with the turkey rice mix, and fill sides with any remaining rice mix. Cover with lid or aluminum foil, and bake 30 – 45 minutes.

A Real Rib Eye Steak and Cheese recipe

Rib eye steak with cheese topping
If we ran a restaurant, there is one recipe that we’d offer on the menu and we know it would be a hit. Now, this isn’t a steak and cheese sandwich. It’s a Rib Eye steak, broiled to medium well (or your desired doneness) and then topped with a sauce made with savory . It’s absolutely the best tasting steak we’ve ever had.

To make this recipe, first prepare the cheese sauce (recipe below). Then broil a Rib Eye steak seasoned only with salt and pepper until the desired doneness is reached. Remove the steak from the broiler, top with the cheese sauce, and serve. Yum!

Cheese Sauce

  • 1 large sweet onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 tbsps butter
  • 2 tsps sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsps flour
  • 1/2 cup beef bouillon
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  1. Slice onion in half and the slice thinly
  2. Melt butter in large skillet
  3. Add sugar to melted butter
  4. Add onion to melted butter and sugar
  5. Cook onion until limp and lightly browned
  6. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes
  7. Add beef broth and milk
  8. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until thickened
  9. Add grated cheeses
  10. Cook until cheeses are melted
  11. Serve over cooked steaks

Any left over cheese sauce can be frozen and thawed when needed.

Using up the left over Roast Beef

Serving of Beef Hash RecipeIf you’re like us, you usually have larger eyes while cooking then when eating. That is, you end up making more food then you can eat at a sitting. We’ve tried our best over the years to reduce this effect, but only on a few occasions have we been successful. Many times the reason is due to the sizes of packages of food, seasoning mixes, and cuts of meats and so it’s out of our control without going to trouble to reproportioning mixes. Since we don’t like to waste food, we work hard to come up with creative ways to re-serve the same dish. So today we’re going to describe a hearty and tasty meal that we served for breakfast the other day, and it’s certainly suitable for a lunch or dinner meal too.

In the movie shorts The Little Rascals, there was a negative association with hash, and if I remember right, it was usually corned beef hash. Don’t accept the negative connotation for that hash [it was in the script, if you know what I mean] the hash we make is excellent. I’m certain that you can make an excellent tasting corned beef hash too.

But our recipe is for Roast Beef Hash, and in particular the roast we’re using is Standing Rib Roast. This recipe will taste good with most roast beef, so don’t feel limited to a Standing Rib Roast.

Recipe for Beef Hash

  • One cup or more of diced roast beef
  • Two cups peeled and diced potatoes
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup diced green pepper
  • 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
  1. In a large non-stick skillet cook the diced potatoes in about 1 tbsp canola oil. Simmer covered about 6 minutes, turning the potatoes every two minutes.
  2. Add to the skillet the diced onions, and green peppers, and stir. Cook uncovered about 3 minutes, turning a couple times.
  3. Add the diced beef, turn and stir in, and sprinkle with the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.
  4. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more, stirring and turning until beef is well heated and potatoes are cooked through.