Beef and Noodle Casserole

by Jo Robinson in Pasture Perfect
Serves 6 hungry cowboys

6 oz dried egg noodles
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt to taste
Ground white pepper to taste
1 cup finely chopped red or yellow onion
¾ cup finely chopped red or green sweet pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1.5 lbs ground beef
½ lb fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tablespoons top quality chili powder
Freshly ground black pepper
Ground cayenne pepper
One 15 oz can tomato sauce (or 2 cups homemade)
One 17 oz can cream style corn (or 2 cups homemade)
1 cup (about 8 oz) freshly grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large pot, bring 2 quarts water to boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to halt cooking and keep the strands separated. Set aside.

To make white sauce, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour, blend well and cook, stirring until bubbly, about 1 minute. Slowly stir the milk into the flour and butter mixture with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat, season to taste with white pepper, and reserve.

Assemble the meat mixture. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sweet pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute longer. Stir in the ground beef and mushrooms and sauté just until the meat loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Butter a 2.5 quart oven-proof casserole dish. Arrange about half of the noodles in the casserole. Cover with half of the meat mixture, half of the tomato sauce, and half of the corn. Add the remaining noodles, meat, tomato sauce and corn in the same order. Cover the top with the reserved white sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until bubbly, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Beef Brisket with Caramelized Onions

by Jo Robinson in Pasture Perfect
Serves 8

1 beef brisket, 4 to 5 lbs (can use smaller brisket)
2 teaspoons flour
Lots of coarse pepper
1 tablespoon oil
8 onions, halved and thickly sliced
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1 heaping teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove visible fat fro the outside of the brisket. Don’t worry about the fat that goes inside. Dry the meat with paper towels and dust with flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high. Brown both sides of the roast. Remove the brisket to a baking sheet or other large pan.

Add the onions to the pan on medium-low heat and stir to brown and caramelize. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until the onions are soft and brown, but not burned. Scrape into a roasting pan and place the browned meat on top. Spread the tomato paste on top of the brisket like frosting. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper. Scatter the garlic on top.

Cover with foil and cook 2 hours. Remove the meat to a cutting board and slice across the grain into ¼-inch slices. This will be a little strange because the grain runs crosswise on a brisket. (that’s why corned beef is so often tough and stringy-it’s just cut wrong!) You may want to cut the whole thing in half across the middle so the slices won’t be long and unwieldy. Re-form the roast in the pan and cook another 2 hours.

I refrigerate it after slicing. Before serving I add carrots, potatoes, turnips, etc., and cook it the last 2 hours. The onions make a lovely thick sauce that’s delicious on mashed potatoes spiked with a little horseradish.

(I used one of our 2 lb half brisket roasts with great success when I tried this recipe. The result was very tender!)

Beef Burgundy Casserole

2/3 c flour (divided)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-3 lbs London broil, stew or kabob cut into 1” cubes (meat from the round)
1-2 cloves fresh garlic minced
1/3 c oil
4 cans beef consommé
2 c burgundy wine (I use merlot since it is easier to find than burgundy)
½ tsp dill weed
½ tsp crushed marjoram
1 lb green beans (fresh, frozen, or 3 drained cans)
24 oz mushrooms (fresh chopped, or 3 cans)
Biscuits

Combine 1/3 cup flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, toss meat in and coat well. In large pan, brown meat adding the garlic. Add consommé, wine, dill weed and marjoram. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hrs, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables and cook 10 minutes longer.

Make thickening (1/3 c flour & ½ c water) as for gravy. Stir into mixture, cooking until thickened and bubbly. Pour all into two 2 qt casseroles, top with biscuits and bake at 400 degrees 12 to 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

The meat and veggie mixture freezes well, and can be topped with the biscuits after defrosting.

(Since John isn’t a big fan of biscuits, I generally serve the meat and veggies over rice or mashed potatoes. I’m going to dry making cooking some dumplings in the meat next time I make this.)

Beef Roast Au Jus

adapted from A Smith’s recipe on www.allrecipes.com

1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
½ teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon ground cayenne powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
Beef roast (up to 4 lbs)- London Broil, Eye of Round, or Sirloin Tip
1 packet dry onion soup mixed with 1 ½ cups water

Mix dry spices in a small bowl. Rub onto all surfaces of the roast. Place the roast(s) in a slow cooker and add liquids.

Cover, and cook on low for 8 plus hours. When the meat is tender and well done, transfer roast to a serving platter. Skim fat from juice, serve with meat. Optional: thinly slice or shred meat an hour or two before serving and return to cooker. Then serve on toasted hamburger buns or French type rolls

(The whole family really enjoyed this roast-John and kids thought it was one of the best they remembered. I liked how easy it was to get started, come back and cut up and then serve-all between dealing with newborn lambs and other chores. The spices in the rub are all changeable to make the mixture better match your family’s tastes. I used a 4 plus year old beef rump roast I found when I cleaned out the family’s deep freeze and the meat was quite tasty and tender. The slices that had the rub on them had quite a bit of zip-so you might want to shred the meat or avoid serving those slices to those with more delicate palates. Homemade whole wheat hamburger buns were a great accompaniment. We hope you’ll give it a try and let us know what you think.)

Beef Stromboli

Serves 6

½ to 1 lb Lau Family Farm lean ground beef
1 cup (or more) chopped yellow onion
½ cup (or more) chopped bell pepper (red or green)
2 cups chopped carrots (optional)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 can (2 cups) crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ lb or more bread dough (frozen or freshly made)

Brown beef, add onion, bell peppers, and carrots. Cook until tender. Add garlic, cook 1 min. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, salt, black pepper. Simmer at med high until slightly thickened about 15 min. Put into a medium casserole. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough into a rectangle large enough to cover casserole. Arrange over filing. Bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

This too is a recipe where more vegetables can be added (I often add grated zucchini or celery). I like to use my bread machine to make the dough for this recipe-I often use the pizza crust recipe. Since I sauté the meat and cook the veggies in an oven proof pan, I put the bread right on top and pop the whole thing in the oven without dirtying another casserole.