Make it from scratch Monday: Beef and Rice casserole (in Pyrex!)

I have a very large collection of vintage cookbooks. I just can't resist them, especially ones from Better Homes and Gardens from the 1950s and 60s. While they may not exactly be current and hip for the foodie in me, I love the basic ingredients and easy preparations. And usually, for a weeknight meal, that's all I want in a recipe!

It doesn't hurt that some of the recipes are just fun/weird to look at and imagine- many of these books were the source for James Lilek's Gallery of Regrettable Food. But there are definitely gems in there if you can get past the aspic. This recipe is from BH&G's Hamburger and Ground Meats Cookbook.

Of course, just about everyone has ground beef (in our case, ground venison) in their freezer and rice in their pantry, so I found this recipe that uses those ingredients. It was OK- came together quickly, didn't require anything fancy- but if I make it again, I will alter it slightly to add some more depth of flavor.

And since I will be sharing this blog post with the folks over at the Pyrex Collective III, I thought it was a good opportunity to break out some of the Pyrex casserole dishes! Everything tastes better in Pyrex!

Cheesy Beef-Rice Bake


1 lb. ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. uncooked rice
2 T. butter
3 c. water
1 c. shredded carrot
2 t. beef bouillion
1 t. parsley (dried or fresh, chopped)
1/2 t. onion flakes or powder
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 c. shredded cheese

In large skillet, brown ground beef. Drain fat (not necessary if you are using super-lean ground venison!). Remove from pan and set aside.

In same skillet, melt butter and brown uncooked rice, stirring frequently until golden brown. As an aside, this is one of my favorite preparations, and a big reason I chose this recipe- the rice gets a nice nutty flavor before cooking.

Stir in water, bouillion, carrot and spices. 

I do not like dried bouillion cubes, so I used concentrated stock. You could also use 2 c. regular liquid beef stock or broth, just eliminate an equal amount of water. At this point, to improve the flavor, I would also add a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and eliminate another 2/3 cup water.

Bring to boiling, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

 Stir in browned meat.

Get your Pyrex ready! 

The recipe specifically calls for a 1 1/2 qt. casserole, so I thought that my 1 1/2 qt. Butterprint  fridgie would be perfect. Wrong. I filled it with about 1/3 of the mixture still left in the pan, so I had to get out a second casserole dish. My 2 qt. turquoise Starburst promo dish was begging for the job, and probably would have been big enough for the whole lot, but I divided it between the two dishes so no one's feelings were hurt.

Cover and bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (I used a mixture of jack and cheddar) and bake, uncovered, about 5 more minutes.

The verdict- everything tastes better in Pyrex, and even more so in a rarely used promotional piece! Thank goodness, because this dish was bland, bland, bland. I was kind of hoping it would be more like a cheeseburger casserole, but it wasn't. I would definitely add a can of diced tomatoes/green chiles to the mix to give it a bit more zing. I think with that addition it would be pretty good. But it was easy and required only the one frying pan, so that wasn't bad!

Make-it-from-scratch Monday: Crock Pot Roast

This is a favorite in our house. I make a roast in the slow cooker probably twice a month during the colder months. But since you don't need the oven, you could definitely do this in the summer as well.

I'm using a venison roast, but you could use any lean beef roast, like an eye roast or shoulder London broil (round roast).

Ingredients:

2 lb. lean venison or beef roast (can be frozen)

1 medium onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, sliced

about 7 juniper berries (optional)

1 tsp thyme

salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 envelope brown gravy mix, prepared according to package directions

1 oz dry sherry

1) Chop the onion and garlic and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.

2) Season the roast with salt, pepper and thyme, and put in slow cooker. I put my roast in frozen, if yours is fresh, halve the cooking time.

3) Prepare the gravy mix in a saucepan on the stove. I use one envelope of Serv-a-gravy, with 2 cups of water. I usually use a little less water (1 3/4 c.) than the pkg indicates, because the roast will contribute more water while cooking. Once the gravy has thickened, add the juniper berries and sherry and heat through. The juniper berries may be hard to find in your supermarket- try a specialty store or bulk foods store- but they are worth seeking out. They are my "secret ingredient", and with the sherry really complement the flavor of the roast.

4) Pour the gravy over the meat.

5) Cook for 4-6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

6) Slice and serve with gravy. I usually make herb-roasted redskin potatoes and a green vegetable, like broccoli.



Make-it-from-scratch Monday: Venison (or Beef) fajitas

Today's recipe can be made with venison, or with beef flank steak. You will need about 1 1/2 pounds to generously feed 4. I am using one whole venison loin (some hunters call this the "backstrap") cut into finger-size strips.

 I know I have a few new followers since the last wild game recipe I posted, so I feel like I need to insert the usual disclaimer-- that we try to live off the land as much as possible, by hunting, fishing, and growing our own food. Wild game is by nature organic, free-range, contains no added hormones, antibiotics, is virtually fat free, etc, etc, etc... The animals that we hunt and fish feed our family, and our kids appreciate their food and know exactly where it comes from.

So without further ado:

Venison Fajitas

1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean beef or venison, cut into 3" strips (about 1/2" wide)

One large onion, sliced

One large green pepper, sliced

2 tsp chili powder, divided

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper to taste)

2 tbsp oil, divided

1) In medium bowl, mix pepper and onion slices with 1 tsp chili powder.

2) In another bowl, mix meat slices with garlic & onion powder, red pepper flakes, and remaining tsp of chili powder.

3) Heat half the oil in large cast iron pan until smoking. Add pepper and onion slices and cook, stirring occiasionally, until translucent. Remove to a separate bowl while meat cooks.

4) Heat other half of oil, and add meat in batches, searing until no longer pink. Cook no longer than 5 minutes per batch.

 It is important to cook the meat in two or three batches, so that the pan is always hot enough to cook the meat without letting excess juices boil the meat. If the meat starts to look like it's releasing water, there is too much in the pan and you will not get the "sear" that you need. The meat will be tougher and not as appetizing.

5) When all the meat is cooked, return the vegetables to the pan to heat through, about 3 minutes.

Serve with whole wheat tortillas, grated cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

Wrap and enjoy!!

Meat Rope! (no, nothing to do with Lady Gaga...)

It's really starting to feel like fall around here. Cold, dreary, rainy... just perfect for some comfort food!

I don't know about you all, but I definitely cook differently during warm and cool months. In the summer, it's lots of grilling and salads, and in the winter more soups, stews and roasts.

I think tonight I'm going to make a meat loaf. We always laugh about this at my house, because when my son was about 3, he couldn't say "loaf" and always called it "meat rope". It kinda stuck, and now we all call it "meat rope"!

And as you might expect, we make it a little differently here as well....

I've mentioned before that we do a lot of hunting and fishing and that is primarily how we put meat on the table. With the exception of chicken and the occasional steak, most of what we eat is hunted, fished or raised ourselves. And archery season for deer just opened around here so we need to make room in the freezer for fresher meat.

When we harvest a deer, we are very careful to use the entire animal- nothing goes to waste (we even tan the hides to make buckskin) in the spirit of the Native Americans and Pioneers. So even the smallest scraps of meat get ground into hamburger. Since my husband is a butcher by profession, this is fairly easy for us- we even have our own commercial grinder and slicer.

Venison is extremely lean and is one of the healthiest red meats you can eat. Since deer are wild animals, they are not fed commercial feed and of course are not given antibiotics, hormones, etc. All the meat is by definition free range and organic.

When you cook with venison you can use it just as you would a cut of beef, but you need to remember that the meat is much tougher and leaner than commercial beef cattle. When you grind it for hamburger, you need to add some fat for it to hold together during cooking. We usually add about 10% beef fat to the ground venison, and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in taste between it and ground beef.

For a recipe like a meatloaf, it is perfect. There is very little fat (sometimes beef/pork meatloaf can be very greasy) and adding breadcrumbs, ketchup and a packet of onion soup mix make up a tasty meatloaf that is also better for you. Add some mashed potatoes from our garden and a salad of the season's last tomatoes and I don't think you could have a better "locally sourced" meal.