MONDAY RECIPE POST - HEALTHY BEEF NOODLE DISH

This recipe came from What's In The Pan hosted by Olya.  You can see Olya's original recipe here.  We enjoy noodle dishes very much and this one was delicious, another to go in our make-again folder.  In all my recipe posts I recommend going to the blog to see any tips that I didn't post on my blog, also the food photographs.  I enjoy looking at what else is offered also, and there were many recipes I would like to try eventually.

Healthy Beef Ramen Noodle

Serves 4 - Approximate 394 calories per serving

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

½ head broccoli cut into florets

1 lb. ground beef

6 oz ramen noodles (2 packets with seasoning packets discarded)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

¼ c. soy sauce (we used low-sodium)

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. sriracha

1 clove garlic minced

1 scallion (chopped)

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. 

Add onions, peppers, and broccoli and cook until tender, 5 minutes. 

Remove from the pan.

Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes more. 

Drain fat and return vegetables back to the skillet

Make sauce: 

Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Sriracha, and garlic.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. 

Add ramen noodles and cook until tender, 2 minutes. 

Drain.

Add cooked ramen noodles to skillet and pour over sauce. 

Toss until completely combined. 

Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Then garnish with scallions and serve.

What did we think of this recipe, and what changes were made?

It was another excellent dish and one I wouldn't hesitate making for company.  

The changes we made were as follows.

Instead of the Ramen Noodles we used a packet of fresh noodles (an equivalent amount) that we already had in the refrigerator.  

Additions were a packet of button mushrooms that we sliced and added along with the onion, red peppers and broccoli.

There was no apple cider vinegar as we had thought but did have sherry vinegar.  Gregg thought the sauce seemed a little too acidic because of it and he added a smidgen of peanut butter and agave syrup. That did the trick.  However, next time we will use the Apple Cider Vinegar, or perhaps a Rice Wine Vinegar.

For garnish we added sliced green onions and Thai basil.  There is an Asian supermarket not too far away.  We pop in quite often as we both enjoy Asian cuisine and this is where we buy our Thai basil.  The other supermarkets rarely ever sell it.

This recipe would be good with any of your favorite veggies.

There were leftovers which we will have for lunch tomorrow.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - GROUND BEEF VEGETABLE SOUP

I wanted to share another soup recipe.  I have a long list of them in our soup folder as we make them regularly during the colder weather especially, and I like to keep a record of them on my blog.  

We put this together on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021.  It is a combination of two recipes, found when I was looking at All Recipes here and the other when visiting Carol's blog at Comfort Spring.  It had the addition of beef broth and cabbage,  and we enjoy adding cabbage to a lot of our meals.  I ended up adding, and substituting some ingredients for what I had available and the following is the recipe I followed.  The originals of both can be seen at the links provided.   Thank you to both sites that shared this soup, particularly a big thank you to Carol who really swayed my decision to making a delicious meal that we both felt was a ten out of ten.  Carol's soup is vegetarian though she gives options for adding chicken along with a couple of other ingredients at the end of her recipe.

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup – serves 6

1 pounds ground beef

4 to 6 carrots, sliced

4 celery ribs, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

A small green cabbage or half of a large one, roughly chopped

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

8 large-ish mushrooms, sliced

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed (I also added in a smaller can of diced tomatoes.  We always enjoy the extra tomatoes)

1 (15 ounce) can peas, undrained 

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed, or 1 (15 ounce) can of cream-style, which is what I had in my pantry

1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained and rinsed (we used unsalted)

2 large cartons (4 cups each) beef broth, or you can use vegetable broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf, or more to taste

Put ground beef into a stockpot over medium-high heat, break up meat and cook until it is no longer pink.  This should take about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease.

Stir your vegetables into the ground beef.  Cook and stir  for about 5 minutes.

Stir mixture until evenly mixed. 

Add thyme and bay leaf to the pot.  Also add the tablespoon of brown sugar.  I was told once that it cuts down the acidity of the tomatoes.

Pour in the broth and stir again.

Bring the soup to a simmer, place a cover on the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.

We served ours with a few leaves of cilantro and sour cream on the top, with freshly ground black pepper.

I'm sure you have your own favorite soup recipe.  We were very happy with this one.  The broth alone was outstanding and got even better the day after, as often happens.

You can change these veggies around to suit your own taste. 

This would be easily made into a vegan-vegetarian recipe.

We ended up with a large pot of soup with lots of leftovers, some which we will freeze.

We didn't use any salt in the cooking process, so you might want to add your own to taste. 

Both of us gave this a 10 out of 10. 

 

MONDAY RECIPE POST - PORK LO MEIN

This was originally in one of our Blue Apron deliveries. It was a hit and we have made it again at least twice. At the end of this recipe I will share a few changes we made. 

10 ozs. ground pork
2 stalks of celery, sliced and cut at an angle
10 ozs. baby Bok Choy, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 lb. fresh Lo Mein Noodles
2 tablespoons of sherry or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of black and white sesame seeds  

Fill a medium pot of water 3/4's of the way up with salted water; cover and heat to boiling on high.  

Wash and prepare all the vegetables.  

Combine the chopped Bok Choy and garlic in one bowl.  

In a separate bowl combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water.  

In a large pan heat the sesame oil on medium-high heat until hot.  

Add the sliced celery.  Cook stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened.  

Add the chopped Bok Choy and garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Transfer to a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm.  

Wipe out the pan.  

Meanwhile, add the noodles to the pot of boiling water, stirring gently to separate.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2 to 4 minutes, or until tender.  

Drain the noodles and rinse under warm water for 30 seconds to a minute.  This prevents sticking.  

In the same pan as you cooked the vegetables, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium high heat until hot.  Add the pork.  

Cook without stirring 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.  

Very carefully add the sauce to the meat (you don't want it to splash and burn yourself).  Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pork is coated and cooked through.  

Turn off the heat.  

Add the cooked vegetables and cooked noodles, stir until combined.  Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.  

Serve the finished pork and noodles garnished with the sesame seeds.  

Enjoy!  


Here are our changes:

1/2 lb. ground beef 

2 stalks celery, sliced and cut at an angle

1/2 of a green cabbage, roughly chopped

1 sweet red pepper, deseeded and sliced thin lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon hot chili paste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (we only had the regular kind in our pantry)

1 Ramen Noodle packet with the seasoning packet removed
1 tablespoon  sweet chili sauce

Wash and prepare all the vegetables.

Combine the chopped cabbage and garlic in one bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of chili paste, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water.

In a large pan heat the sesame oil on medium-high heat until hot.

Add the sliced celery.  Cook stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened.

Add the chopped cabbage and garlic.  Cook stirring occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened.

Add the sweet red pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

Transfer all to a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm.

Wipe out the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the Ramen Noodles according to the package directions. This is the type we used.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil, carefully add the noodles to the boiling water, reduce heat to medium and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain the noodles and rinse under warm water for 30 seconds to a minute.  This prevents sticking.

In the same pan as you cooked the vegetables, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium high heat until hot.

Add the ground beef.  Cook without stirring 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.

Carefully add the sauce as you don't want the liquid to spatter.  Cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the ground beef is coated and cooked through.  

Turn off the heat.  Add the cooked vegetables and cooked noodles, stir until combined.  Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.  We found it was just fine without, to our own taste anyhow.

Serve the finished beef and noodles garnished with the sesame seeds.  We also added a dab of sweet chili sauce which makes a nice accompaniment.  This is the one we used.  We purchased it at our local supermarket.

This meal is one of our favorites.  What we did and knowing how much we like this dish, we doubled up on all the ingredients, except the ground beef as we had it leftover from making cheeseburgers the night before.  Gregg would have liked more meat but this dish is very versatile, in that you can also use shrimp or scallops for a seafood twist, or tofu if you want to go vegetarian.  An ingredient we added when cooking our meal was hot chili paste, this one.  

We bought it from an Asian market we like to go to.  We have bought other brands at our supermarket before.  

It was very nice eating the leftovers the next day.  They seemed to taste even better.  

Thank you for looking and I wish for you to stay safe and healthy, and have an enjoyable week.