Beef Goulash

These days I love any recipe that involves browning meat and veggies and allowing them to either slowly simmer on the stove or continue cooking in the oven. When I saw this recipe for Beef Goulash on my friend Melissa's blog I knew it would be perfect for a cool fall evening.


I had this on the menu for a recent Sunday, but didn't end up eating it until lunch the next day. We had a crazy busy day with a birthday party and a baptism, plus we ate a ton of great Italian food at the reception following the baptism. When dinnertime rolled around we weren't hungry, although SP did have a quick taste and pronounced it delicious.

It might not sound like a lot of food, but this is a rich dish. I was worried when I saw how much the beef had cooked down, but a little goes a long way. The original recipe called for only 3/4 cup beef broth, but after an hour my pot was looking very dry so I added another cup. I would recommend using a full can of diced tomatoes (15 ounces) and 1 cup beef broth, then checking after an hour and adding another cup of beef broth if necessary. I also found that my large Le Crueset Dutch oven was way too big for this meal. Unfortunately I don't have anything smaller but if you do, I recommend a smaller Dutch oven. Or just double the recipe and freeze half for another time.

Beef Goulash
Slightly Modified from I Was Born to Cook

1 1/4 pounds chuck roast, excess fat trimmed, cut into large cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons flour
2 cups beef broth, divided
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
Sour cream for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in a oven safe casserole dish and add beef, cooking until brown. Add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are transparent. Add paprika and stir.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Dissolve flour in 1 cup beef broth and add to pot. Add thyme, then salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

Cover tightly and place in oven. Cook for 1 hour. After an hour, if the mixture looks dry, add another 1 cup beef broth. Cover and cook an additional hour. Serve with egg noodles and a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 3.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Home Cook, SP and Baby Girl. We hope everyone has a happy, healthy and delicious Thanksgiving!

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Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Boneless pork chops are my albatross. I just can't seem to find a good, healthy recipe for them. Since they're boneless I'm always afraid of overcooking them since pork can go from moist to dry in a matter of seconds. This recipe for Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops caught my eye, and even though it's a far cry from healthy I thought I'd give it a shot.


SP took one look at the crunchy chops draining on the wire rack and immediately said he'd be having two for dinner. Then I dipped them in the sauce and he was even more smitten. Unfortunately there was something off and slightly burnt-tasting once we dug in. I think it might have been the fact that I used grated, fresh ginger instead of dried, ground ginger in the seasoning for the flour since I didn't have any dried on hand. We ended up scraping off the coating and eating the chops plain. A huge disappointment for sure. SP wants me to try these again so I better pick up ground ginger at the store.

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Pork Chops
This Woman Cooks!

4 boneless pork chops
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 eggs
Canola oil

Sift together flour and spices in a shallow bowl or pie plte. Beat eggs in another pie plate or shallow bowl.

Dip each pork chop in the flour and spice mixture, then into the egg and then back into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the chop to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature (medium) here so that the chops do not brown too quickly on the outside before they are fully cooked on the inside. Fry them for about 5-8 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. Cut into one chop to make sure it is fully cooked.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked chops into the sauce. Serve with noodles or rice.

Honey Garlic Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3–4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a medium sauce pan add olive oil and garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but don't let it brown. Add the honey, soy sauce, and black pepper. Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

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Recipe Swap Roundup - One Pot Meals

The theme for this recipe swap was One Pot Meals. Sometimes I love nothing more then spending the day in the kitchen making complicated meals for my family. And sometimes, especially after a busy day at work, all I want is to get a delicious (and hopefully healthy) meal on the table. My hope is that the One Pot Meals below will help you out on one of those days where you don't really feel like cooking but don't want take-out either.

Mary Ellen loved the idea of her Beer Braised Sausages with Warm Potato Salad as a perfect cold-weather meal:


Jenna used to hate stuffed peppers, but her tastes recently changed and she was excited to find a great go-to recipe for them. Her Stuffed Peppers recipe for the swap was perfect, especially since it doesn't call for tomato sauce:


Melissa loves anything buffalo-flavored so she was excited for her Buffalo Chicken Chili:


Ashley felt her recipe for Dutch Oven Beef and Noodle Casserole needed a little something to make the flavors pop:


Rachel had my recipe for Pot Roast, although she had a brain lapse and bought cut-up chuck instead of a roast. She still enjoyed the dish, which ended up being closer to stew:


Melissa was happy for an excuse to eat a meal that contains beans, which her husband doesn't like. Her recipe for Turkey & Black Bean Chili was a big hit with her:


Christen was happy her Crockpot Chicken White Bean Pumpkin Chili was a "skinny" recipe:


Katie loved the smell of the sauce simmering all day for her Crockpot Spaghetti and Meatballs, a meal that her whole family loved:


Nicole's recipe for Crockpot Pork and Butternut Squash Stew was a real winner, not only delicious was a real bang for your buck calorie and money-wise:


My recipe for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham was comfort food at its best:


One Pot meals are not something the Cookaholic Wife often makes, but her recipe for
Pierogi and Kielbasa Bake was easy and delicious:


Elisha had a few hiccups while making her Half-Hour Chicken Gumbo, but the result was still yummy:


Christine had been planning to make Cheesy Chili Mac sometime soon, so she was thrilled when it was her recipe for the swap:


Jaida's recipe for Latin-Style Chicken and Rice combined two of her favorites - chicken and rice - for a quick weeknight meal:


Ellie had to invite family over to finish her Lentil, Kielbasa and Garlic Stew, but it was a hit with everyone who tried it:


Maryanna had been in a cooking rut before falling in love with her recipe for Creamy Baked Fettuccine with Asiago and Thyme:


Jey loved only having to wash one bowl and a saucepan for her Couscous Stuffed Peppers, which were absolutely delicious:

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Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

I'm always on the lookout for new main course salads, so when my friend Jessy posted this one for Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad I immediately added it to my weekly menu.


I ended up bringing this into work for lunch instead of eating it at home. Now that I'm taking a weekly exercise class we end up doing FFY (Fend For Yourself) one night a week and my plan had been to eat this when I got home, but SP got me a sandwich instead. I chopped everything the night before and kept the veggies and chicken separate from the lettuce and the dressing, combining everything in the bowl at the last minute.

I think I need to admit to myself that I'm just not a chipotle fan. Or maybe I am but in very small doses. I dipped a piece of lettuce into the dressing before putting it on the whole salad and it was overwhelmingly chiptole flavored, which is great if you love the flavor and not so great if you're like me. Combined with the lettuce, chicken and veggies the flavor is more muted but I found myself wishing for good old Ranch dressing instead. Even so, I cleaned my plate. I love a good salad, especially if it includes avocado. Couldn't let that go to waste.

The only real change I made from Jessy's recipe was to omit the black beans and sub Mexicorn for the regular corn. I bought two cans (and only needed one) when I made the BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad and really dug the bits of peppers mixed in with the corn.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
Gourmet Day to Day

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine (or spring mix) lettuce
2 cups chopped roasted skinless chicken
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 diced peeled avocado
1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I omitted but add them in if you like beans)
1 can Mexicorn, rinsed and drained

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

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Weekly Menu - Week of November 20, 2011

Thanksgiving week is finally here! I'm so excited for this meal. I've got a good blend of new recipes and old favorites. I wouldn't have expected it, but I'm also incredibly excited for the meal plan I've got for the rest of the week. Lots of comfort food as the perfect lead up to the big event on Thursday.

Sunday - Beef Goulash over egg noodles - We have a very busy day so I wanted something for dinner that I could throw into the pot and forget about. This sounds like the perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon.

Monday - Quick Barbecue Pork Chops, Buttermilk Mac and Cheese, green beans - I've been on the hunt for a great, easy weeknight pork chop recipe and I'm hoping this is it. Cassie raved about this mac and cheese, which sounded like it would be perfect with the chops.

Tuesday - FFY

Wednesday - Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage - Since we've got a lot of cooking to do for the big day I thought an easy dinner was perfect. I decided to use some Italian sausage we have in the freezer instead of the pancetta.

Thursday - Thanksgiving Dinner!

Salted Herbed Roast Turkey Breasts - We bought two turkey breasts instead of a large turkey so we could focus on making the white meat super moist.

Stuffing - My supermarket was out of cornbread so I'm just doing two loaves of regular bread instead.

Mashed Potatoes - Yukon golds mashed with plenty of butter, milk, salt and pepper.

Yam Gratin with Gruyere - Our supermarket was giving away tons of free samples this weekend and one of them was this gratin. I had planned to just to roast the sweet potatoes but after one bite I changed my plans. I prefer savory sweet potatoes so this recipe is perfect.


Whiskey-Glazed Carrots - I've turned quite a few people on to this recipe, which is now a must-have on our Thanksgiving table.

Creamed Onions with Thyme and Sage - I made these last year and was shocked by how good they were. I use frozen pearl onions instead of chopping my own.

Green Beans with Sliced Almonds - This is usually how we cook green beans for Christmas, but we all wanted something a little simpler this year.

Cranberry Sauce, Gravy and Rolls will round out the meal, with these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes for dessert, my draw for the Thanksgiving Desserts recipe swap. I seriously cannot wait to get into the kitchen.

Friday - Leftovers from Thanksgiving. I'm also hoping to have enough turkey left to make this Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Saturday - Celebrating my stepdad's birthday, menu TBD by my mom.

Sunday - Sweet Pork Tacos with Cilantro Ranch Dressing - I'm going to give my crockpot another chance with this recipe from Cassie, who never steers me wrong.

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Recipe Swap: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Want to see what other One Pot Meal recipes were made during the swap? Here is the link to the One Pot Meal Recipe Swap Roundup

The theme for this recipe swap is One Pot meals. Most people love having meals in their arsenal that involve mixing a few ingredients together and letting the oven or crock pot do most of the work. I've always wanted to make Scalloped Potatoes and Ham so I was excited to get Ashley's recipe.


In the interest of full disclosure, SP was not a fan of this one. At all. He was put off immediately by the red potatoes, claiming scalloped potatoes should only be made with Yukon gold or russets. After baking this I have to agree. Even after an hour and a half of baking the red potatoes were still a bit crunchy. Yukon gold or russet seem to break down better when cooking, which is why they are preferable for a recipe like this. Even so, I absolutely loved this recipe and his dislike meant I got all the leftovers. I actually ate this three days in a row, which is pretty impressive. I'm usually a dinner and lunch the next day-only leftovers eater.

Based on my experience making this I made quite a few changes in the recipe below, swapping the red potatoes for Yukon gold or russets, pre-cooking the potatoes in the milk and cream mixture like I do for my potato gratin, and modifying the seasonings to suit our tastes. I think the changes will elevate this to excellent and hopefully I can convince SP to let me try again.

This is true comfort food and perfect for this time of year. Thanks for a delicious one pot meal, Ashley!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Modified from Cheesecurd in Paradise

2 large cloves garlic, 1 halved and 1 minced
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
12-16 ounces cooked ham steaks

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub an 2 1/2-quart baking dish with the cut sides of the garlic halves and discard the halves. Coat the inside of the dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

In a large pot, combine the milk, cream, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, fresh thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add the potato slices to the milk mixture. Repeat with remaining potatoes. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add shredded cheese and stir to melt.

Meanwhile, heat a large, dry skillet over medium heat. Add the ham steaks and cook on both sides until it begins to brown in spots and some of the liquid is released. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before cutting into cubes.

Transfer half of the potatoes to the prepared dish. Add half the ham. Top with the remaining potatoes and ham. Pour all of the milk mixture over the potatoes. Cover the dish with buttered aluminum foil, buttered side down.

Bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake until the potatoes are tender, the liquid bubbles thickly and the top is brown and crusty, about 20 minutes longer. Remove from the oven, let stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

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