January’s challenge is beef/wild game. The challenge:
- Choose a cut of beef, venison, or wild game that was locally grown in your area. This includes anything that comes from beef or wild game – roasts, steaks, bones, ground beef, meaty shank soup bones, stew meat, ribs.
- Make a dish with that cut of meat. It can be cooked in the oven, on the stove top, in a crockpot, on the grill, in the instant pot. It can be a dish where it is mainly by itself or can be part of a stir fry where it is a small part of the whole dish. The key is that it is a cut of beef or wild game that was locally grown. Check our currently available page to get some beef from us.
- Serve it with thankfulness and enjoy it!
- Comment here or email me that you made this. You can include a recipe, and your thoughts on how it tasted and how those who ate with you liked or didn’t like it, and what you would do differently next time.
- Deadline to comment or email me is February 6, 2018.
For details for the whole challenge – 2018 Local Food Cooking Challenge
What beef dish are you going to make?
I have made two dishes, both with ground beef – 5 spice casserole (without the other 4 spices) and Inside out casserole. Both are dishes we had growing up. I have modified them for the size of the family and the way we eat. Inside out is more popular than 5 spice, but my family enjoyed both. I plan to make them both again.
Pizza Supreme Chili(can be halved)
I made this on Saturday, January 20, for our church potluck on Sunday night, January 21. I cooked the meats, green pepper, onion and garlic in a pan. While that was cooking, I got out my largest soup pot and put the other ingredients in it. When the meat mixture was finished, I added it to the soup pot.
My daughter said that the chili powder gave a little burn but it could have used more.
I took it to church in my 6 quart crockpot. Not much headroom in the crockpot. At church, one man said, This is amazing! It tastes just like pizza! Another said, I went back for more Yours was the only one I took seconds of and I could keep eating it.
I came home with 1 bowlful.
The recipe:
Ingredients
1 lb. ground venison
1 lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground sausage
3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian stewed tomatoes, diced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
4 cups water
1 package (5 ounces) mini pepperoni
1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms (or 1 cup fresh)
2 teaspoon pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 ½ teaspoon salt
Chili powder, to taste. I used 1 ½ tsp.
Oregano, a couple shakes
Basil, a couple shakes
Shredded mozzarella cheese, optional
Directions
In a large pot, cook venison, beef, sausage, green pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, pepperoni, mushrooms, pizza seasoning, salt, chili powder, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired thickness. I like to refrigerate and serve the next day to allow the flavors to settle. Extra water may be needed to thin the chili.
Let each person garnish his own dish with mozzarella cheese. (I don’t put it on my soup because it becomes too stringy and challenging to eat. Maybe serve sliced mozzarella with it on the side.)
Yield: 12+ servings
Other Options/Substitutions: Bacon, Chicken, Italian Sausage, Banana Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, 3- or 6- Cheese Blend
Original recipe
Pepperoni Pizza Chili
(Original recipe from Taste of Home, published as Pepperoni Pizza Chili in Taste of Home February/March 2001, p25)
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups water
1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
Shredded mozzarella cheese, optional
Directions
In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, pepperoni, green pepper, pizza seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired thickness. Garnish with cheese if desired. Yield: 8 servings.
I made Meatloaf Supreme. I usually make it with ground turkey or ground chicken, so it tasted a little different with ground beef. There was fat to drain off after I made it. Because I am only cooking for 2, we had a lot of leftovers. I was able to freeze these and we will eat them in the coming weeks.
Here is the recipe:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup Saltine cracker crumbs (I used Ritz crackers)
Salt and pepper, to taste (I omitted the salt)
1 cup sour cream
Heat the oven to 350°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well until well-combined.
Pat the meat mixture into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
Bake the meatloaf in the preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours.
Let stand for 10 minutes.
Drain off fat and transfer to serving platter.
Greek Beef and Green Bean Stew
2 lb. stew meat
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup portabella mushrooms
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper (to taste)
4 cups stewed tomatoes or whole tomatoes, broken up
1 cup red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 lb. green beans (frozen or fresh)
Parsley
1 lb. spaghetti
Grated cheese
Wash and dry the beef. Season the meet with salt and pepper. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and brown the pieces of meat on one side, without stirring and then brown them on the other side. Try not to overcrowd the pan. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces of meat to a plate.
To prepare the sauce for the Green beef stew, add to the pot chopped onions and turn the heat down. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the carrots and celery and continue to sauté till the onions begin to brown. Stir in the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and sprinkling of crushed red pepper. Pour in the red wine, turn the heat up and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon stick, and salt and pepper. As soon as the sauce comes to a boil, add the beef along with its juices to the pan. Stir well to combine. After the liquid comes to a boil, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer until meat is very tender, about 1 ½ hours. Discard cinnamon stick.
Stir in the green beans and continue to simmer for 45 – 60 minutes, or until the beans are very tender. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
Boil the spaghetti in another pot, according to package directions. Serve the Greek beef stew with a drizzle of olive oil over the spaghetti. Sprinkle some grated cheese atop stew.