Tag Archives: Beef

Hamburger Soup (Crock Pot)

This is so tasty – it’s something I have made many times and everyone who eats it is always delighted with the great heartiness and warmth. Beings this is a crock pot recipe, you can start this one before work, come home, drop in the noodles and in 20 minutes you’ll have a healthy soup ready to go. Serve with some low fat biscuits or some Cheesy Spirals.

Hamburger Soup (Crock Pot)
Hamburger Soup (Crock Pot)

6 servings
260 calories per serving

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
1 stalk celery in slices
1 package Lipton dry Beef Mushroom soup mix
14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
6 c water
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
2 c frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 c uncooked fine egg noodles

Brown ground beef and drain thoroughly. Combine all ingredients except the noodles and frozen veggies in the crock pot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. 20 minutes before serving add thawed veggies and noodles and mix well. Increase heat to high, recover and cook another 20 minutes.

Beef Chow Fun

This dish is a FAVORITE of mine when I go to Asian restaurants. Now I’ve recreated it at home ! I’ve added some more veggies that you usually get in the restaurant dish and it makes it a nice complete meal. This tastes so authentic and so delicious !

Beef Chow Fun
Beef Chow Fun

4 servings
385 calories per serving

8 oz. rice noodles (pad thai work great – the wider the better, but whatever you can find !)
1/2 c beef broth
4 teaspoons black bean garlic sauce (available in the Asian section of your market)
1 T soy sauce
2 t brown sugar
2 t cornstarch
4 t peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 small onion, thinly sliced
5 ½ c sliced and cut stir fry veggies (snow pea pods, carrots, broccoli, celery) (if using frozen, thaw them)
1/2 c water, divided
8 ounces sirloin steak, cut into thin slices
¼ c douchi (fermented black beans available at your local Asian market)

Prepare noodles according to package instructions then rinse in cold water and drain and set aside. Mix Sherry, sauces, sugar and cornstarch and set aside. Heat 2 t oil in a non stick skillet and cook ginger 30 seconds. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until softened up a bit then add the rest of the veggies plus ¼ c water. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until the veggies are softened a bit. Add the veggies to the noodles and wipe out your pan. Add 2 t oil to the pan and cook steak 3-4 minutes to brown it then add in the cornstarch and cook 2 minutes to thicken the sauce. Now add the veggies and noodles to the pan with ¼ c water and the fermented black beans. Heat through for about 2-3 minutes and serve immediately.

Pesto Stuffed Steaks

These steaks are just DELICIOUS! I had my doubts of how the pesto and parmesan flavors would go with steak, but this was just great. It was a mild yet super flavorful addition to the steak and added back a lot of moisture that grilling can deplete. Serve with a quick salad such as Tomato, Cucumber and Egg salad for a great BBQ meal.

Pesto Stuffed Steaks
Pesto Stuffed Steaks

6 servings
284 calories per serving

2 beef rib eye steaks, about 1 ½ inches thick (2 pounds)
¼ c pesto sauce
2 T shredded parmesan cheese
1 T oil

Heat the grill. Make a horizontal slit in each steak to form a pocket and stuff with pesto and cheese and then press closed. Drizzle with oil and then grill 7 minutes each side or to desired doneness. Cut into thin strips before serving.

Chili Rubbed Steak

The rub on this leaves a mildly spicy coating on the meat – none of the individual flavors stands out by itself – they all mingle and create a great flavor that leaves you coming back for more.

Chili Rubbed Steak
Chili Rubbed Steak

6 servings
290 calories per serving

2 t caraway seeds
2 t cumin seeds
½ t coriander seeds
2 T tomato sauce
1 T red chili paste
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¾ t chili powder
2 lb. boneless beef sirloin
½ t salt
¼ t pepper

In a skillet mix the 3 seeds and cook on medium high for 3 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, being sure to stir constantly then cool completely. Using a coffee grinder, pulse seeds to a fine powder and then combine with tomato sauce, chili paste, oil, garlic and chili powder, salt and pepper. Spread the spice mix over and refrigerate 2 – 4 hours. Grill meat 20 minutes or to desired doneness. Remove from heat, tent with foil and let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

Stir-Fry on the Grill

By using a grill basket, you can get the great grilled flavor with just about anything, even small pieces of meat and veggies. Some would do these as kabobs, but I find them too tedious to put together and then some of them always fall off the skewers and into the grill. Get a grill basket and you can do all sorts of things without any lost pieces 🙂

Stir-Fry on the Grill
Stir-Fry on the Grill

6 servings
283 calories, per serving

2 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces
1 lb. beef cubes (lean)
2 baby eggplant, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
½ head of broccoli cut into florets
½ head of cauliflower cut into florets
½ c steak house marinade
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t onion powder
½ t garlic powder.
Pam

Place the meat and chicken in a Ziploc and add the marinade. Mush it all around to coat all the meat and then place in the frig and let marinate 2 hours. Place the veggies in a bowl and sprinkle with the spices. Heat the grill and a grill basket. Spray the basket with high heat Pam and add the veggies. Cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Move the veggies to one side of the basket and add the meat to the other side. Cook 6 minutes or until chicken is done. Mix all together and server immediately.

Spinach Burgers

This is flavorful and as good as you’ll find at any restaurant…I think even better ! It’s what a gourmet burger should be. The sautéed spinach and cheese are heaven. Eat yours without any toppings or add some Dijon or a slice of lettuce and tomato.

Spinach Burgers
Spinach Burgers

8 servings
310 calories per serving

10 oz. baby spinach
2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
Salt and pepper to taste
8 small Portugese rolls
Pam

Preheat grill. Spray a skillet with Pam and heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minutes. Add spinach and 1 T Worcestershire and cook until spinach is wilted down. Remove from skillet and chop (I find kitchen shears work great here) the cool to room temperature or cooler. Mix beef, cooked spinach, salt, pepper and 1 T Worcestershire. Make 8 burgers and grill to desired doneness.

Basil Garlic Marinara Sauce (Crock Pot)

I am very passionate about my sauce ! My Italian Grandma and Mom taught me well 🙂 I have been making my own since I was 16 and over the years developed a recipe that is LOVED and CRAVED by many. That recipe included cooking sausage and meatballs in the sauce – and that gives it a very rich flavor. But it also adds calories. So in my quest to keep things lower cal, I’ve been trying a few batches of sauce without meat and this one is really, really good. It comes quite close to my regular recipe !

I’ve added beef bouillon to make up for some of the lost flavor from the meat, I’ve added roasted garlic which gives a great depth of flavor (much different than dropping in raw or sautéed garlic) and I make sure to use tomato paste. Tomato paste is to tomatoes what lemonade concentrate is to lemonade – – it is highly concentrated and adds a different flavor than any other tomato product out there. And finally I add 2 secret ingredients – shhhhhhh ! Fennel and anise seeds add the flavor you would get if you cooked sausage in the sauce. It is the finishing touch that so many sauces are missing. You only get the slightest hint of taste of the seeds in the finished product. But let me tell you, without them, the sauce is just not the same.

If you’ve never tried sauce before – try !! This one starts from canned products, not raw tomatoes – so it is NOT labor intensive. And even a bad batch of homemade is better than a jar of Ragu 😉 It’s what makes a pasta meal special, so do it up !

Basil Garlic Marinara Sauce
Basil Garlic Marinara Sauce

12 servings
58 calories per serving

8 cloves roasted garlic, minced
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¾ c water
1 T oil
2 t basil flakes
6 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 t oregano flakes
½ t red pepper flakes
½ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
½ t whole anise seeds
1 t whole fennel seeds
2 packets or 2 cubes beef bouillon
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ c parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients in a crock pot, cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.

You can also put this in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes or simmer stove top for 2-3 hours.

The length of time does make a different – the sauce tastes much richer when simmered for hours than a quick sauce (which have their place in some recipes, but don’t equal a traditional slowly simmered sauce).


Freeze your extra portions and next time it’s pasta night, just defrost in the frig over night and quickly reheat in a sauce pan.

Let me know how you like it ! 🙂

Grilled Onion Burgers

So savory and sooooo tasty ! Cooking the onion right in the burgers is a nice touch and there is sooooo much flavor from the grilled onion.

Grilled Onion Burgers
Grilled Onion Burgers

4 servings
320 calories per serving

1 large onion
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 ½ t garlic powder
4 slices low fat Swiss cheese
2 t oil
4 slices thick, hearty bread, toasted
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel onion and cut off 4 ¼ inch thick slices. Shape meat into patties and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then press one onion slice into each burger and shape meat around the onion so it is even with the meat. Place burger onion side down on a hot grill and cook 5 minutes. Flip burger and cook another 5 minutes. Top with cheese during the last minute of grilling.

BBQ Burritos (Pressure Cooker)

Using a pressure cooker to cook the meat means you get a super, super tender shredded meat which is just perfect for a steak burrito. This is an exceptionally good meal. Serve with some avocado slices, no fat sour cream and salsa for even more flavor.

BBQ Burritos
BBQ Burritos

6 servings
350 calories per serving

1 lb. London broil or other lean sirloin steak
6 flour tortillas (80 calorie Smart and Delicious)
1 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium avocado, chopped
¾ c barbecue sauce
Pam

Marinade – mix together
1 5.5 oz. can spicy V-8 juice
2 T lime juice
1 T oil
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
½ t ground cumin
½ t chili powder

Pierce beef with a fork several times. Mix marinade and place in a zip loc – add the beef and coat well and then refrigerate 8-24 hours. Pressure cook mat for 1 hours. (you can also crock pot this for 8-10 hours). Let rest 5 minutes and then using 2 forks, shred the meat. Mix in a bit of the left over juices. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (don’t mistakenly set it on BROIL like I did and then burn the holy heck out of your first batch! Thanks for help with the recon mission, Lisa ! LOL) Microwave tortillas 30 seconds or so to warm them slightly. Place beef, cheese, onion, and tomato in each wrap and fold all four sides. Place folded side down in a baking pan sprayed with Pam. Brush with barbecue sauce and bake 4-6 minutes. Serve with a slice of avocado on the top. Optionally add sour cream and salsa for even more flavor.

Skinny Surf and Turf

Surf and term usually includes a large portion of meat and a lobster tail dripping in butter. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative, try a Skinny Surf and Turf with a lean piece of filet mignon and some Lemon Shrimp. Just as good, much lower fat, and a perfect celebration meal.

Skinny Surf and Turf
Skinny Surf and Turf

2 servings
346 calories per serving

2 4 oz. filet mignons
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter Spray

Add 2 servings of LEMON SHRIMP for the perfect ‘surf’ !

Preheat grill. Sprinkle meat with garlic, salt and pepper. Grill a couple of minutes each side or until desired temperature. When done, spritz with ICBINB Spray.

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