Tag Archives: beef

How to Cook "American Style", Recipe

Chili Recipe

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Let me begin by apologizing for being gone so long. Yes, I have been cooking. It just has not been anything new. I have not been sleeping well and have been rather tired. I even did take out once or three times. I will hopefully be cooking some new things this weekend. Let’s see how it goes.

I have been making my own chili for years. The recipe has only changed in instances where I am trying to accommodate other people’s tastes who are eating it with me. For example, I did not make hot and spicy chili for the cub scouts or my fellow coworkers. Those batches were milder. Now that a have made it this year it is finally time I can share it with you guys my loyal readers.

The recent batch that I made and heated up for lunch I could actually put green peppers in. When cooking at home I never use green peppers. Jennifer does not like them and more importantly she is allergic to raw peppers.

So now here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

Chili

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

1 Big Ass Pot

INGREDIENTS

4 lbs. chop meat (option: substitute 2 lbs. chop meat for ground turkey)

2 medium onions diced

1 small green pepper – seeded & diced (optional)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 16 oz. can tomato sauce

1 16 oz. can of water (option: Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer)

1 can red kidney beans (optional) this was not in the camping chili

1 can cannellini beans (optional) this was not in the camping chili

1 can black beans (optional) this was not in the camping chili

1 box Carroll Shelby’s Chili Mix

            If no chili mix is available double this:

2 tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

½ tsp. cumin 

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper and/or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Cook onions and green pepper in olive oil over medium low heat until translucent in a large heavy pot.  Add chop meat to pot and stir in onion. Cook chop meat until no longer pink and drain off most of the fat. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add Carroll Shelby’s Large Spice Packet, ¼ of the Small Cayenne Pepper (hot) spice packet, and some salt. Save the Masa packet to throw away at the end.  Add garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh ground pepper. Cover and let simmer on low stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. Cook 30 minutes. If the chili is not to thin and watery then throw away the Masa packet and your chili is done. If the chili is too “soupy” then add the Masa in thirds to thicken (I’ve never had to use it) and cook 10 more minutes.

Serving suggestions: Serve hot chili in crock pots and cover with grated cheddar cheese. Melt cheese under broiler and then top with diced red onion and serve HOT! Also an excellent hot dog topping!

NOTES

This is great as a hot dog topping (particularly without the green bell pepper) in winter or at a summer barbeque.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe

Lentil Soup (beef)

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Good morning, Happy Wednesday. It is Wednesday, right? Last night I made Lentil soup for lunch today. If you follow me on Instagram, I posted pictures there.

I don’t know if you remember me telling you, but the first time I had this amazing soup was at my friends Frank’s house when I was in elementary school. His mother made it and offered me some as we ate lunch. I had never had lentil soup before (which she could not believe) but I am always willing to try new stuff, even way back then. Frank did not like this soup evidently and tried to get me not to eat it. Well long story short I have been eating it ever since. Thank you Mrs. Carola.

Below is my recipe, I’m afraid I never did get Mrs. Carola’s. This recipe is a beef lentil soup where you can omit the beef if it seems too redundant. I will also be making (in the very near future) a vegetable lentil soup for Jennifer’s class.  She has at least four other adults in her classroom as she works with children with special needs. So today is beef for everyone in my office and tonight, I will be making vegetable lentil soup for Jennifer to take to work. I will post that recipe as soon as I have a picture of it (Thursday).

Thursday’s lunch (for my office) will be Italian sausage, peppers and onions over rice so that will be made tonight as well.

Also coming soon – Red Lentil Soup

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

LENTIL SOUP (beef)  

Serves 6 – 8

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Pot

INGREDIENTS

1 pound stew meat cut into ½ inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic minced

¼ cup finely carrots

¼ cup finely chopped celery

4 cups beef broth (I use I box of Swanson’s beef broth)

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

1/4 cup tomato sauce (or one heaping tablespoon of tomato paste)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Black Pepper to taste

Salt or 1 to 4 beef bouillon cubes (depending on taste)

1 tsp. Gravy Master (if you have it)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (if you have it)

DIRECTIONS

In a large stockpot over medium heat, combine the oil and onions and meat. Sauté until the meat is browed and onions are tender. Next add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the broth, carrots, celery and bring mixture to a boil. Add the lentils, sauce and seasoning. Add Gravy Master and/or the Worcestershire sauce only if you have it.  Return to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. I use beef bouillon cubes instead of salt for a richer flavor. Again The Gravy Master and Worcestershire sauce just make the soup taste richer.

NOTES This is Yummy (double or triple the recipe if you want leftovers and leave the amount of beef the same as I did to feed a big crowd)

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

How to Cook "American Style", Recipe

Sauerbraten

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INGREDIENTS

5 pound Pot Roast

2 lagre onoins

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablesppon salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tablesppon brown suagr

1 head of garlic

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

10 ginger snaps very finely crushed in a zip top bag for the gravy

DIRECTIONS

In a large zip lock bag, add the vinegar, water, whole garlic cloves, brown sugar, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Chop two large onions and add that to the bag. Add the meat, squeeze out most of the air and close it tight. Place the meat in the refrigerator. Marinate the meat for a least 5 days.

On the fifth day, place the meat in a Dutch oven. Then pour in the marinade over the top. Bake at 325 for 6 hours.

Gravy: Crush the gram crackers in a zip lock bag. I use a meat tenderizer, but a small pan works well too. On stove, stir the crushed gram crackers into the cooked marinate and meat juices. Heat the gravy up on medium high heat until the gravy simmers and thickens. the gravy should coat the back of a spoon. If necessary add more crunched cookies one at a time until the sauce it the perfect consistency .

Insta-Pot directions: Add the meat and marinate to insta-pot. Turn on to the stew setting. Set the time for two hours. Let it cool on the “Stay warm” setting one hour.

When you can open the lid without having to let out any steam remove the meat and make the gravy right in the insta-pot. I add the crushed cookies and stirred them in. Then turn on the pot to sauté and stir until it simmers. Done. Unplug and Serve.

Serve with red cabbage, potato dumplings and beer!

Blog Post

LUNCH

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Some mornings the coffee just does not perk fast enough. I guess that’s why so many people prefer the Keurig. Its instantaneous coffee. I can no longer drink the coffee from it. To me the coffee from a Keurig taste likes it was made with instant coffee. I rather wait for a good pot coffee. I suppose too if you can’t wait for a pot of coffee to perk to might have trouble waiting 5 days for your sauerbraten to marinate. Yes, my meat has now been marinating 5 days and toady is the big day I get to cook it! I hope it turns out to be worth the wait.

I will share the sauerbraten recipe with you today at lunch. Having never made it before I may need to tweak it a bit, so I am waiting to taste it first before I send it to you, my dear readers. Remember the first rule of cookery: try it before you server it. That’s why I will post the recipe having eaten eat first.

Last night, I peeled, boiled and riced some potatoes. Today is also potato dumpling day. This is to go with the sauerbraten. I also went to the supermarket last night for a jar of pickled red cabbage. Who knew they would be out? They always had this red cabbage stuff when I didn’t need it. It is not as if it is that popular of a food item here in New York. They were out of a lot of stuff. What? Ugg. Apparently they are having a hard time getting deliveries. I will try another place on my way to work this morning. I do not love shopping at the crack of dawn or do I? Considering what I have been doing for this “cookbook hobby” of mine perhaps I am beginning to think I am masochistic. Nah! I just need that dam cup of coffee. Come on cook already!

So pictured below is the potatoes I made last night. It looks like rice right? I guess that what happens when you boil potatoes. Then you have to let them cool to room temperature and put it through a potato ricer (pictured below).

Well I’m to work. Enjoy your day and enjoy your own lunch!

The Drunken Chef (Russ) 

Blog Post, How to Cook "American Style"

The Sauerbraten Saga Begins

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Good morning. It’s Tuesday October 5th 2021 and too early in the morning for me to be up but I am. I am still not sleeping well. I seem to wake up at 4:30am every day. Then I have to be up an hour later for work so I can’t fall back to sleep. Maybe when we turn the clocks back I will be able to fall back to sleep.  Enough about my problems. There is cooking to be done.

Last night I started the sauerbraten marinating. The beef (two small chuck pot roasts) is marinating in a vinery mixture of: 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, two onions, a tsp of black pepper and a whole head of garlic. I squeezed it all into a zip lock bag. (see picture above) This needs to marinate for five days so it will not be until Friday before we will see and taste the fruits of our efforts. I will also be making some side dishes. I will write more about that tomorrow. Rich, from my office, has requested applesauce to go with his. This seems to be a reasonable request so apple sauce for Richie it is.

I also made moms meatballs and sauce last night. I served them with spaghetti. Mine is the one that has parmesan cheese on it. It was yummy but I feel like I gained ten pounds. I miss my teenage metabolism. Lunch today will have to be low calorie soup and a salad.

That all for now good readers. Follow along this week and see how this Sauerbraten saga plays out. Until tomorrow wishing you a happy healthy Tuesday!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

How to Cook "American Style", Recipe

Beef Vegetable Soup

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Good Morning. Its a chilly morning here on Long Island New York. Thursday for dinner, I made one of my favorite soups, Beef Vegetable Soup. Just like always, it seems this recipe takes me back to my childhood. I remember how large my mother would cut up the carrots and celery. The reason of course was my brother and I, but mostly me. I remember not always liking the carrots in the soup so I would eat around them. That’s when she just stopped putting them in my bowl. I guess making them a nice large size helped her to avoid them. That’s a mom for ya! Always trying to make their children happy!! Thankfully tastes change and today I love carrots in soup and use them ALL the time. You can’t have a mirepoix without carrots and mom knew that. Today the only thing I have changed over the years is now I add baby bok choy to the soup in the last ten minutes of cooking. I am excited to share this recipe with you all and hope you enjoy it.

Beef Vegetable Soup  

Serves 6 – 8

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Pot

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. Beef Stew Meat (cut into large bite size pieces)

2 cups Celery (large cuts)

2 cup2 Onion (cut into 1 inch pieces)

2 cups Carrots (cut into 1 inch pieces)

4 medium Potatoes (peeled and cut into pieces)

8 cups of water

6-8 bouillon cubes (or 8 tsp of better then Bouillon)

¼ tsp pepper

 2 – 4 tablespoons of Olive oil

2 heads baby bok choy (optional)

1 package wide noodles (Optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot sauté beef in small batches in olive oil until is browned and there no juices in the bottom of the pot. Drain off excess fat and then add onion and celery. Sauté until onion are translucent.  Add back in all the beef. Add water, carrots and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add baby bok choy if you like and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Serve Hot!

Serving suggestion:

Wide noodles; prepare wide noodles according to package directions and serve them in a separate bowl. Add a little olive oil or butter to keep the noodle from sticking together. This was your family members can then add as many or as few of the noodles as they like. Plus, when you refrigerate the leftover soup overnight. The noodles don’t get all soggy and absorb all that luscious beef broth.  

NOTES: Serve with crackers and butter.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe, Uncategorized

BEEF SHORT RIBS (Insta-Pot)

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Beef Short Ribs (Insta-Pot)

Serves 4  – 6

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Insta-Pot

INGREDIENTS

2 packages short

2 cups of beef broth

2 carrots (sliced one inch thick)

2 stalks celery (sliced one inch thick)

1 large onion (cut in half)

2 cloves garlic (whole)

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Begin by trimming excess fat off the tops of the short ribs. Brown the ribs on both sides with the insta-pot set to Sauté. Remove the ribs to a plate. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with 2 cups of beef broth. Add the celery, carroras, onion and garlic. Layer on the short ribs. Cover and cook on the stew/beef setting for one hour. Let cool. When steam is released, they are ready to serve.

NOTES: After one hour. While the ribs are cooling off so you can open the lid, prepare the Mashed Potatoes.

Serve with a Espagnole Sauce aka Brown Gravy.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Uncategorized

Beef Short Rib Saturday

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Good Sunday morning. It is with a delicious cup of coffee in hand that I write about the wonderful fall day yesterday. It started out as any Saturday, not being able to sleep in anymore. I guess you hit a certain age and you just don’t need as much sleep I suppose.

I woke up, made my coffee and wrote my blog post. To which I still need to post the those recipes. Then I made breakfast and got dressed to go out. Breakfast was easy. Jen: leftover Chinese food. Me: Egg and cheese on an English muffin.

Jen had decided on a fair she thought was happening in Sayville. As she got ready she texted our friend Allyssa to see if she would like to join us. We would all be ready in 20 minutes when Jennifer needed to get my mother in-laws mail mailed down to Florida. Oh yes, did I mention my mother in-law is now down in Florida at her own house? She is, I’m happy. Anyhow, this made us a tad late and left Allyssa sitting and waiting for us on our porch. We also found out, upon returning to the house, the Saville apple fair was canceled. Damn!

We were all hungry now as it was an hour after Jens Chinese food and me having only a tiny egg sandwich. Soooo for “brunch” I ordered us all some heroes from Hometown Hero’s.

We ate and the sandwiches were yummy. Now it was off to a “craft fair” close by. This was a much smaller version of the craft fair that happens behind the library in the same town every year. The original library fair was canceled and the church held this one, only there was no food. Boohoo. I love food from any fall fair.

That meant apple picking. We tried to find a place close by without having to get into the mess and traffic that is out east. (Shiver) We drove North and tried a few farms but alas non of them had apples, much less apple picking. All except one that had a small stand of apples for $1.99 a pound so we picked up some. Along the way we also got candy apples and cider doughnuts. Now with some snacks in the car it was time to head back home.

We lounged in the back yard under a big maple tree and enjoyed the breeze as we ate our apple cider doughnuts.

Later for dinner, I made Beef Short Ribs, Mashed Potatoes and

Steamed Broccoli.

You can still follow me on INSTAGRAM: HTTPS://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/DRUNKENCHEF82

The Drunken Chef (Russ)