Tag: ground beef

Ancho Chili

Posted on by M.

I have been craving a really good bowl of chili with a side of cornbread for weeks now. Fortunately it’s also the perfect time of year for it as the weather has gotten ‘chili-er’ hahah…see what I did there? No, it just looks wrong without the extra ‘l’. Chillier. Is that even a word? It could be the sleep deprivation or I might actually have lost my grasp of the english language.

Regardless…I’m quite happy with how this turned out since I started with no spice guide in my head. Sometimes, going with your gut pays off.

I’ll spare you the photos of me chopping veg. Here is EVERYthing at once.

This is my favorite part.

Stir it all up and let the vegetables get to know each other for a few minutes.

My hamburger was still half frozen, ok, so I had literally just pulled it out of the freezer. Don’t judge me. Anyway, I browned the meat separate because of this but you can just dump it into the veggie mixture if it’s thawed.

I like to use at least one can of red kidney beans and one can of black beans. The third is always the What-the-hell-is-this-kind-of-bean-and-what-do-I-put-it-in can. Mine was White Acre Peas. Worked great, who knew?

I didn’t this time, but you can always add canned corn, black olives or anything else. Chili is a canvas in my world. Whatever paints you want to throw at it, it makes you look like a Picasso in the end.

I don’t remember who that is, but I know he painted something, somewhere at some point, ok? He seems to be kind of famous, since people are always referencing him. Actually, was he a him? I don’t even know that. Ok, moving on.

Isn’t it beautiful?

I should do this for a living.

Oh yeah, we’re not done. This is a less pretty picture but it shows the bubbling pot after all the tomato stuffs have been added. What tomato stuffs, you croak? THESE. Ha, you thought I forgot, didn’t you?

Honestly, you could dump it all in and it will still be delicious. The more tomatoey goodness the better, I say. Spell check tells me that is not a word. I didn’t ask you, sir. English is entirely borrowed, stolen and fabricated anyway. I have made a new word. You may thank me later.

Allow everything to bubble happily on medium low for, I don’t know, an hour or so? Cooking time in my house is more often determined by how hangry everyone is. Like spaghetti, this meal just gets better the more it’s cooked. As long as you don’t scorch it.

How to Make an Easy Burger in the Oven

Posted on by M.

I needed an indoor Easy Burger without the mess.

top view of easy burger with brioche bun and fries on blue floral plate

If you live in an apartment like I do, with no grills allowed on patios and the one communal grill ludicrously far away…you find a way to make an easy burger in a skillet.

On the stove.

The grease splatters everywhere and it seems to take forever to cook them.

One day I realized I was ignoring my broiler. It is my new favorite way to cook anything you would normally grill – it takes less than half the time, creates no mess and tastes great.

Fast and easy, these burgers only have 3 ingredients and are broiled in the oven which means no mess!

Believe me when I say that it doesn’t take long and you are more likely to over cook them than anything else, but I guarantee dinner will be served much quicker than you thought and with much less cleanup. Also, they will be delicious!

homemade broiler burger on a bun with lettuce, tomato and cheese served with fresh fries

Broiler Burgers

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
  • 1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Lb. 80/20 Ground Beef

Instructions

  1. Combine ground beef and seasonings. Set aside.
  2. Yeah. That’s really it. I grew up with all sorts of nonsense like breadcrumbs and egg and whatnot in burgers to 'hold them together'. I find that is all ridiculous and unnecessary. Keep it simple.
  3. Form into patties about 4 inches across and 1/2 inch thick.
  4. They will shrink. It’s normal. That’s ok. You can poke a hole in the middle if you want them to cook at the speed of light and potentially dry out, but they will still shrink.
  5. If you want them to end up a certain size, make them 1 – 2 inches wider than you want them to be in the end. Personally, I don’t care.
  6. Heat your broiler to the highest setting. Mine goes to 500*.
  7. Arrange patties in well seasoned or lightly oiled large iron skillet.
  8. Place on top oven rack or directly under your broiler, wherever that is.
  9. Cook 1 – 2 minutes. If you want to flip them half way, cook 1 minute each side.

Notes

  1. I recommend 80/20 for the sheer fact that too little fat content means they try to fall apart and I don’t have the patience to deal with that.

© A Kitchen of Herbs
Category: Dinner

Quick & Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Posted on by M.

Traditionally, shepherd’s pie is made with lamb.

But the whole purpose of these cottage-type recipes is to do with what you have and make a delicious meal. So remember, my recipes will always be predicated on the idea that you should use what you have, season the heck out of it and it will be a success!

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melted cheese on top of mashed potatoes, vegetables and ground meat for shepherd's pie

Simple Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

  • 1/2 – 1 lb. Ground Meat Stuffs (use anything you like, even plant-based)
  • 4 – 5 Potatoes (I peeled mine just because they had super tough skins this time.)
  • 4 Carrots, peeled or 1 small bag Mixed Vegetables
  • Handful chopped Celery
  • 1 Small Bag or 1 Can Peas or Peas and Carrots (even if you have nothing else, some peas or corn make the difference)
  • 1 Small Bag or 1 Can Sweet Corn
  • 1/2 Onion
  • 2 – 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
  • 3 T. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/4 c. Butter (any kind)
  • 1 – 2 t. Salt/Garlic Salt/Lawry’s Salt
  • 1/4 c. Milk (any kind)
  • 1/4 c. Sour Cream (optional, but makes a difference!)
  • 4 oz. Cheese Block (or use grated cheese or sliced cheese…there are no rules here.)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350*.
  2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat or 'meat'.
  3. Place a large pot of water on the stove at high heat.
  4. Add a couple dashes of salt.
  5. Throw in your potatoes, peeled or not, according to your preference.
  6. Boil the potatoes until they are very soft.
  7. Meanwhile, chop your chosen vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
  8. Dice and saute the onion and garlic in a large skillet. (I like to use iron or stainless steel so that I can shove the whole thing in the oven to finish it off.)
  9. Add the chopped vegetables to the onions.
  10. Stir the cooked meat into the vegetables.
  11. Generously season the whole mixture with the steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.
  12. Save 1/4 c. of water from the potato pot.
  13. Drain the rest of the water from the potatoes.
  14. Add butter, salt, milk and sour cream to potatoes and mash vigorously.
  15. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat and vegetable concoction.
  16. Grate the cheese and sprinkle liberally over the whole pan.
  17. Bake in the oven just until the cheese is melted!
© A Kitchen of Herbs
Category: Dinner

This is one of my favorite dishes to throw together at the last minute because even if you don’t have time to thaw the ground meat, it will cook just fine from frozen. Just throw it in the pan and cover it with a lid. Dinner doesn’t have to wait just because you didn’t remember to pull the meat out of the freezer or simply couldn’t decide what to make until just now.

If you have a mixer, I like to let it do the work with a whip attachment. If you don’t even have a potato masher, like I apparently don’t, a sturdy wire whisk is an effective tool as well!