Hamburgers

My husband loves hamburgers.  I've managed to get him to eat (and even enjoy) turkey burgers, but he still prefers burgers made from beef.  Sadly for him, I haven't bought beef (of any kind) for quite some time, due to the price.  However, I checked for clearance meat when I was at the grocery store this week and low-and-behold, there was 90% lean ground sirloin on clearance for 50% off.  The original price was over $7/lb, but they were on sale for $3.70-something/lb.  Pair that with the 50% clearance discount and it's a great deal!  When I told him we were having burgers, he was so thrilled that they were beef!

Hamburgers
1 lb ground beef
1 slice of bread, crust removed (I used whole wheat)
2-3 Tbsp milk
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place bread in a bowl.  Pour just enough milk over it to saturate the bread, but not more than the bread can absorb.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

You want your bread to be nice and soggy so you don't end up with chunks of bread in your burgers!

Preheat grill to medium-high or high heat.

In a large bowl, combine beef, soggy bread, yolk, worcestershire, cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.  The best way to mix it is with your hands!  Just be sure to wash your hands really well with warm/hot water and soap before touching anything else!  Form into 4 patties.  When forming patties, make them a bit larger (in diameter) than want them to end up.  They will shrink when they're cooked.  Also, make them thinner in the center than around the edges.  Sprinkle each side of all burgers with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Grill for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until burgers are cooked through.  If you want a cheeseburger, add cheese during last couple minutes of grilling.

For an extra yummy burger, slice onions into discs (don't separate the rings).  Drizzle with vegetable oil and place on grill with burgers (but don't place the onions directly over the heat).  Instead of using raw onions on burgers, use the grilled ones!

Philly Cheese Steaks

We are both native Californians, but our familial roots are in Michigan and Pennsylvania.  Our dad grew up in Detroit, and left Michigan when he joined the army.  Our mom was born in Lebanon (home of Lebanon bologna!) and grew up in Palmyra and Mechanicsburg—our grandparents are now back in Palmyra again.  We grew up eating some distinctively Pennsylvania foods—red beet eggs, chicken corn soup, pot pie (real pot pie made in a pot), and Philly cheese steak sandwiches, which I’d like to share with you today.  This recipe is neither healthy, nor cheap, but it is one of our comfort foods and we rarely eat it.

Now-a-days, you can order a Philly cheese steak at just about any American-food restaurant and California even has a chain called The Cheese Steak Shop.  I would agree that most of these sandwiches you can get at restaurants are tasty, but they are not the cheese steaks we grew up eating.

The main difference between our cheese steaks and those you get at restaurants is sauce.  We like Tallarico’s Philly style steak sandwich sauce.  I have never seen it here on the West, so we wait with anticipation for Christmas packages from Grandpa and Grandma which almost always contain a jar or two.  In the absence of the steak sandwich sauce, pizza or spaghetti sauce will suffice.  In fact, The Cheese Steak Shop serves a “pizza cheese steak” which is their basic sandwich with pizza sauce.

As far as the veggies go, I just add caramelized onions, but you can also include peppers and mushrooms.

For the meet, I use Steak-umm sliced steaks.  I know.  Processed and expensive.  But this is how Grandma and Mom make them so that’s how we like them.  You could use real steak, thinly sliced, chopped, and grilled if you prefer.

These are WAY over my $2/lb. spending limit for meat, but
we only have them a couple times a year---and it's
completely worth it!

They come like this.  Keep them frozen until you are
ready to cook them.

From what I’ve heard/read/seen, the classic Philly cheese steak should have American cheese on it.  It is great that way, but sometimes I like to mix it up and use provolone.  When I can’t decide, I do half and half.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Butter for sautéing and bread

1 large onion

1 bell pepper (optional)

Mushrooms (optional)

2 packages Steak-umms

6 soft sandwich rolls

1 jar steak sandwich sauce (or pizza or spaghetti sauce)

Provolone or American cheese

Heat sauté pan over medium heat.  Meanwhile, slice onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms.  Add 1-2 Tbsp. butter to hot pan; melt.  Add veggies to pan and slowly caramelize, stirring occasionally.

While veggies are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, break sandwich steaks into pieces.  Add to heated skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains.

If either the meat or the veggies are ready before you are, simply keep them warm in a 250° oven.  Heat sauce in microwave or on stove.  When onions, meat, and sauce are almost all ready, butter sandwich rolls and brown under broiler until golden.

This is what happens if you get distracted.  My family
didn't even know they were burnt because the filling
tasted so good.

Top one half with meat and the other half with veggies; spoon sauce over both sides.

It's a messy sandwich.

Cover all with desired cheese and place back under broiler to melt.

Soooooo good!!

And if you happen to visit The Cheese Steak Shop, be sure to pick up another one of our completely unhealthy favorite Pennsylvania comfort foods—Tastykakes!  The butterscotch krimpets are my favorite!  Kimiko likes the chocolate cupcakes out of the freezer.

Beef Chimichangas

As I said last week, I’m in a Mexican mood.  So it was a no-brainer when it came time to figure out what to do with this beef roast I found in the clearance section a couple weeks ago—beef chimichangas!!

Final price:  $2.09/lb.  Slightly over my spending limit,
but beef roast wasn't under $2/lb. in my area at all
this winter.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Kimiko posted a recipe for oven-fried chicken chimichangas, which are easier and healthier than my beef ones.  But Cinco de Mayo is on Saturday, so I splurged and went authentic by frying mine.

Of course, in Near to Nothing style, I did bump up the nutrition and lower the cost by filling them with half fat-free refried beans and half beef.  That means I got twice as many chimichangas out of one roast!

To save prep time right before dinner, you can fill and roll the chimichangas ahead of time.  Take them out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you are ready to fry them.  You could also choose to oven fry these according to Kimiko’s directions.

The meat can be made ahead of time too.  I made my meat in the slow cooker one day, shredded it, and refrigerated it until I was ready to use it the next day.  Just microwave it enough to loosen it up so it is easy to work with.  And this meat can be used in just about any Mexican dish—burritos, tacos, enchiladas…

Beef Chimichanga Filling

2-3 lb. beef roast

4 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. oregano

1½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cumin

Few dashes pepper

1½ Tbsp. vinegar

½ c. water

Place roast in slow cooker, fattiest side up.  Crush garlic over top.

My apologies for the fluorescent lighting pics.

Add chili powder, oregano, salt, cumin, pepper, and vinegar.  Pour water over, washing some of the spices down the sides of the roast.

Cook on low 10 hours.  Brush spices off top and remove any fat.  Shred meat.

Beef Chimichangas

Vegetable oil for frying

Flour tortillas

Fat-free refried beans

Beef chimichanga filling

Garnishes (optional):  shredded cheese, sour cream or yogurt, avocado or guacamole, hot sauce, shredded lettuce

Fill skillet with about ½ inch oil.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, warm tortillas to make them pliable.  On each tortilla, place spoonful each of beans and meat about 1/3 of the way from the bottom.  

Fold sides over filling, then fold up bottom, and roll closed.  

(Kind of reminds me of making baby burritos.)  Secure with a toothpick.

To test oil, toss in a small piece of tortilla.  If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.  Fry chimichangas 2 or 3 at a time—avoid overcrowding the pan.  Once first side browns, turn and fry other side.  Drain on rack, paper towels, or paper bag.

Remove toothpicks once they are cool enough to handle.  Serve with garnishes.

Meatball Subs

Monday I posted a super delicious recipe for meatballs and I suggested serving it over pasta.  However, we were actually able to get more than two meals out of our meatballs, but instead of feeding my family the same exact meal for a week straight, I changed it up a bit by making meatball subs!  They're really easy and quite tasty!

Meatball Subs
French rolls
Meatballs in marinara
Shredded mozzarella
Shredded parmesan

If you're making this with leftover meatballs and sauce, reheat them on the stove or in the microwave.  Meanwhile, hollow out the rolls (this allows room for the meatballs and keeps them from rolling out of your sandwich), then toast the rolls under the broiler or in a toaster oven.  Place desired amount of meatballs, sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan on each roll, then place back under the broiler or into the toaster oven to melt the cheeses.  Remove and enjoy!

The hollowed out roll.

Meat Patty Skillet

I’m unusually tired today, so my apologies.  I would normally introduce my recipe with a background information, preparation tips, or money-saving pointers, but I just don’t have the energy right now.  So without further ado, I will share one of Robbie’s favorite dishes.  I received the recipe from Fern, a dear woman in the church I grew up in.  She contributed it to my wedding cookbook.

Meat Patty Skillet

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 large onions, sliced

Patties

1 lb. ground beef

2 c. bread crumbs

¼ c. onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten

½ c. water

1 tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. nutmeg

⅛ tsp. thyme

Sauce

¾ c. brown sugar

⅜ c. (3 oz. or 6 Tbsp.) water

2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

¾ c. vinegar

Heat large skillet over medium to medium-high.  Add vegetable oil and sauté sliced onions until golden brown.

I speed-cooked these so they're not as golden as I like and
a little charred in some places.

Meanwhile, combine all patty ingredients; form into patties, making thinner in the middle.  Set aside.  Remove sautéed onions from skillet.  In same skillet, brown patties on both sides.

Your hands are the easiest tool for this part.

While patties are browning, mix all sauce ingredients.  Return onions to pan; pour sauce over meat and onions.

Cover and simmer 35 minutes.

Serve over white or brown rice.

My kids tend to be food separatists so they
get theirs next to their rice.

Sooooo gooooood!