Asian Beef & Broccoli with Noodles

by the Beef Council

1.25 lbs steak-cut into 1/8 inch strips (easiest to do while still slightly frozen)
6 oz oriental flavored ramen noodles-broken up
1.5 teaspoon cornstarch (dissolved in ½ c water)
½ lb broccoli florets
2 carrots thinly sliced
1 teaspoon orange rind

Toss meat in seasoning packets and cornstarch. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil, and stir fry veggies. Add noodles and 1.5 cup of water. Cook until most of the water is absorbed. Stir fry beef, and serve over noodles and veggies.

(Thinly cut London Broil, and frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mixture make this a dead simple meal, that the whole family enjoys. Once the cole crops are available at the farmers markets this is even better!)

Beef Barley Soup

6 servings

3 lbs beef soup bones (shank cross cuts)
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery with leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup medium pearl barley
9 oz frozen French-cut green beans

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Add beef, 5 cups water, salt, thyme, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer at least one hour.

Remove meat. Cut beef from bones; cut beef into ¾ inch pieces. Skim fat from soup. Stir in beef and barley, continue cooking, covered, 50 to 60 minutes or until the beef and barley are tender.

Add green beans, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard bay leaf.

(This recipe also works well with left over beef from roasts. We made it with left over meat we had braised with onions the day before. The thyme was a bit heavy for our palate-we’ll use a bit less next time.)

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.)

Marinated & Grilled London Broil

London Broil Marinade

Per pound of beef use:
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon red wine (or balsamic) vinegar
1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix these ingredients together and marinate London broil for 6 to 24 hours. (By 48 hours meat is too heavily flavored.)

Remove from marinade and discard marinade, unless you cook it thoroughly.

Heat Broiling unit in oven, or grill. Broil or grill, turning once, until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees. Remove meat, and let rest 10 minutes. Slice thinly, against the grain. Served with mash potatoes this is comfort food! This is one of Tommy’s favorites! See grilling suggestions below.

(Adding the oil to the marinade is optional, it does however act as an insulator to the meat which has very little fat of its own. If you can tolerate the calories I’d add it. Pricking the meat with a fork will allow deeper penetration of the marinade. This method works best with shorter marinade times to prevent the marinade from overpowering the meats own flavors.)

London Broil Grilling Suggestions:

London broil roasts should be marinated for 6-24 hrs in an acidic marinade (red wine or balsamic vinegar and a steak seasoning blend works well). They then can be grilled (or broiled) till the center is medium-rare. When sliced thin against the grain these strips of steak are tender and flavorful. Grilling a roast works well for groups of people because the outside portions will provide fairly well-done slices while the interior will provide medium-rare or rare slices. This allows you to provide a variety of doneness without having to buy each individual a steak.