Make Mine Beef

Our ranch's new sign

May is Beef Month, and while our meals include a lot of beef year round, we appreciate the month to call attention to our product. With warm weather and salad meals we may find ourselves using other meats, but here is a tasty beef and pasta salad recipe to enjoy this summer. 

It is best eaten the same day, after mixing at room temperature, since the tomatoes will continue to break down. But leftovers that have been kept in the refrigerator are also great. Sometimes I warm my serving just a little in the microwave to enhance the flavors after it has been chilled. It makes a lot! Good for a salad lunch when you need to take a big salad, or for when you need leftovers for a few days. 

COWBOY PASTA SALAD      

 

Serve with crackers or rolls for a complete light meal. 

Ingredients:

½ pound dried mini pasta shells

5-6 slices bacon, diced

1 ½ pound ground beef

teaspoons cumin

pinch red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot chili sauce

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

(I altered the original recipe to reduce the pasta and increase the ground beef, as well as a few other tweaks)

Directions:

1.     Bring a large pot of water to a boil; cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

2.     In the meantime, sauté bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Wipe out skillet, leaving a little of the bacon grease. Add the ground beef; cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Season with the cumin, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drain off fat. Set aside to cool completely.

3.     In an extra large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot chili sauce until combined and smooth. Add the cooked pasts, bacon, beef, corn, tomatoes, and cheese; toss to combine and coat.

4.     Enjoy right away or refrigerate until ready to serve.

You will need a large bowl to mix the ingredients together.

March is Ag Month

After lunch, more left for later in the week!

March has been declared Kansas Agricultural Month. Here, in this family, on this ranch, every day is Ag Day! Agriculture is still our state's largest economic driver and a strong tradition throughout the state. Beef is our main agriculture product, and that of many ranchers in Kansas. Kansas has 6.1 million head of cattle (compared to 2.9 million people). Beef is a nutritious choice, providing a high quality protein (helps preserve and build muscle), zinc (healthy immune system), iron (helps the body use oxygen), and many other nutrients. Beef is also an economic choice. Ground beef is one of my go-to's for a variety of recipes. It can be fancy - bacon wrapped patties or lasagna, or simple - sloppy joes or meatloaf. Ground beef adapts well to any cuisine, whether you're hungry for Italian, Mexican, or Asian. 
In honor of Ag and Beef, and Rancher's birthday today, I'm sharing our favorite meat loaf recipe. Easy and satisfying. We often have this on Mondays to also have leftovers and meatloaf sandwiches later in the week. 

Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs
1 cup oats (quick cooking)

1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onion

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 can (6 oz) tomato sauce

Mix ingredients together, form into loaf pan and top with garnishes of catsup and french-fried onion rings. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let set 10 minutes before cutting. 

For a 'fancy' meat loaf, I put one-half of the meat mixture in the loaf pan, spread sour cream and sliced mushrooms over the meat, and top with the other half of the meat mixture. 

The next best thing about Meatloaf Monday, is Sandwich Tuesday! A slice of cold meatloaf fits a sandwich just right, add mustard and pretzels for my favorite lunch. 

Shepherd's Pie

yes, I do have that vintage Cornflower Corning ware!

Or as we nicknamed it "Rancher's Pie". This basic casserole is made with a layer of cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked in the oven until the mashed potatoes are well browned. A generous topping of shredded cheese adds to the appearance and taste.  I'd not thought of this entree until it was served at a luncheon meeting last month, and although it seemed a strange choice for a women's group lunch, it was a tasty meal. I made this recipe at home last week and we liked the comfort of the simple recipe with ground beef.
Shepherd's Pie traditionally came to us from England, and was made with lamb or mutton. In England (and Australia and New Zealand), they would call the beef dish a "cottage pie" and the lamb dish "shepherd's pie".

Shepherd’s Pie

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped                                            

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

3 tablespoons catsup

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 bag (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups mashed potatoes (3 large potatoes)

½ cup shredded cheese

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 425°. Brown the ground beef, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Drain meat.

2.     Add thyme, ketchup, and flour; stir until combined. Add ½ cup water and vegetables. Cook until vegetables are warmed through and liquid has thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3.     Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the beef and vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

4.     Bake until potatoes are lightly browned and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Ready to go in the oven

Deer Hunt to Shrimp Dinner

Not the deer that netted the shrimp, but a photo of what we might
see in Greenwood County. 

Who would think that a deer hunt would produce a dinner of Shrimp Gumbo? That's what happened when we allowed a hunter from Louisiana to hunt on our property. (We only allow a few bow hunters, those the Rancher thinks can respect the property and the deer). After a successful hunting trip, the hunter returned to pick up his blind from where he watched for deer and brought us some bags of frozen Louisiana shrimp. This is a real treat, we've only had shrimp that was purchased from the store or served at a restaurant.
After searching and considering recipes, I decided a Shrimp Gumbo would be good on a cold damp winter day. Maybe we can pretend we are in the sunny south! This recipe is from Betty Crocker, but I've made some changes, adding more veggies and different seasoning. We enjoyed it over brown rice and it was both warming and filling.

Shrimp Gumbo         

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 large onion, sliced

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 cups sliced celery

2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups beef broth

2 dashes red pepper sauce

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 box (10 oz.) frozen cut okra, thawed and drained

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pound uncooked peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen and tails peeled

3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onions, ball pepper, celery, and garlic in butter 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly , until bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in remaining ingredients except shrimp and rice. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir shrimp into gumbo. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Serve soup in bowls over rice.