Super Easy Shredded Beef!!

   So for this post I wanted to show you guys something that is versatile and that can be used in more than just one meal. I had a chuck roast in my freezer that I was dying to use so I got it out and defrosted it. Once I had it defrosted I decided I was going to stick it into the crockpot. As I threw this recipe together I was hoping it would be delicious. Well delicious is an understatement to say the least. 

Let's just jump right into this one. I'm so excited to show you guys!!! 

   Liberally season your chuck roast with sea salt and pepper. I patted it into my meat. Heat a pan drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Brown your roast on all sides.  

 After your meat is browned on all sides put your meat into the crockpot and add a quart of beef stock. Chop up half of a red onion and throw that in around your meat. 

Now add: 

2-3 Tbsp Worch sauce

2-3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 

2 Tbsp tomato paste

A few cloves smashed garlic

2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 

I cooked mine on low overnight. It was about 10 hours total in the crockpot. When I got up in the morning I went to shred the beef and it literally took 30 seconds with one fork. It was so tender. 

   That is literally it! So easy! So delicious! And so throw and go! You can make SO many different types of meals out of this. My husband and I ate sandwiches out of it with thick toasted bread and provolone or mozzarella cheese with Dijon mustard. As you can see the container in the picture below has been eaten out of. (Make sure and save ALL of the juices from it.) I'm going to make another roast within the next week and show you guys a pasta dish I have been dreaming about lately. Of course I ran out of beef before I had a chance to make it but I think you guys will love it. 

   Besides sandwiches I also made a couple meals with my shredded beef and baked potatos. Super easy and super delicious! Just bake off some potatos and add a little butter and salt. Top with the shredded beef and some of it's juices so the potato can soak it up. Top all of that with anything you prefer. I just used some sharp cheddar, sour cream and sriracha. I made a meal out of that with just a salad on the side. It was perfect. 

   You can use this beef for anything. I of course ran out way to quick before I could show you anything else but just be creative. You can make little mini pizzas and top it with the beef or use it in tacos, pastas, sandwiches, soups etc. 

I will be sure to post this pasta that has had the wheels turning in my head lately. 

I hope you guys enjoy!!! And don't forget you can freeze the beef and use it for something later. 

   New post coming soon after this one. I have a few in my "vault" I need to get to work on. 

Go like my fan page on Facebook!!! Just search Pinch of Sea Salt Blog and click the like button!! 

 Stay tuned!!

Spicy Chipotle Beef Stroganoff!

   We are moving very soon (fingers crossed everything goes well) and I will be able to cook more! I'm so excited. I have the cooking itch bad!!! It will be a lot less stressful and way more organized in our new place so I can actually enjoy cooking again. 

   Last night the itch got so bad I went to the grocery store at 10pm and got some stuff to make this amazing Spicy Chipotle Beef Stroganoff. First off I absolutely adore beef stroganoff. I remember being so happy when mom was making it for dinner. This just has a spicy kick to it that amps the dish up to the next level. 

  I fell in love with this recipe after finding it on a Rachael Ray website. This is my second time making it and it was just as good as I remember. I even made it a little more spicy than last time. You can make this recipe to your spicy liking. So if you like your food more mild it's easy to adjust the heat. Well let's get started!!

  As you all know I am famous for changing recipes. In this recipe the only thing I really changed was the cut of beef used. You can choose any type you like. (Especially if it's on sale!) I ended up using a ribeye. It turned out fantastic! 

I started out my sticking the ribeye in the freezer for about 10 mins so when I was slicing it I could get thin strips more easily. While your slicing your meat heat some vegtable oil in your pan so it can get HOT! You can use any high temperature oil. 

Make sure you start boiling water for your pasta. 

   Now brown your beef until it starts to get a deep brown color then take it out of the pan and set aside. While your meat is browning slice up about 8 oz of mushrooms. I used baby bellas. Make sure you wipe them off with a damp paper towel to get all the dirt off them. (I don't buy mine pre-sliced so they are easier to clean.) Do not rinse them in water because they will soak up the water and will turn rubbery when cooked. Plus they won't brown up well if they are "waterlogged".

   Now add a little more oil to your pan and get it hot again. Do not salt the mushrooms until they are browned up. Salt draws moister out and they won't brown well like that either. Man mushrooms are finicky arn't they?

  Make sure you don't burn them. While they are cooking slice up a softball sized onion and chop a few sprigs of fresh thyme up. (Remove the leaves from stem first!) If you have never used fresh herbs please please try it! You will never go back to dried after smelling the fresh! Especially thyme. The aroma is AMAZING! 

Add the onion, thyme and a few grated cloves of garlic to your browned mushrooms. Reduce heat and salt the veggies. You are just softening the onion not browning them. 

Now is the time to drop your pasta into salted boiling water. I used 3/4 pound of egg noodles. (If you use the whole pound make sure you make a tad extra sauce.)

   

   While your onions are softening now would be a good time to purée your chipotle in adobo. I had done it beforehand but at this point in the recipe is probably the most convenient time since the onions take a few minutes. Just add a splash of beef stock to help it purée smooth. 

   Now your onions should be softened up and ready for the next step. Deglaze the pan with a cup to a cup and a quarter of beef stock. Add about three huge tablespoons of sour cream or Creme fresh and one tablespoon of your puréed chipotle in adobo. (I used 2 heaping tablespoons of the chipotle and adobo but we like spicy!) Adjust it to your family's taste. 

   Mix it all together and add your beef. Season and taste. Let simmer for a minute or two then add your pasta. 

   Toss your noodles and sauce vigorously until well combined. 

Plate up and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. This garnish really brings an amazing finish to the dish. It probably helps that I'm a huge cilantro fan. :)

   This dish is so incredibly easy and fast. It should only take about 30 minutes to make. My husband and I love spicy food but remember you can adjust the heat of your dish. You can even remove the seeds from the peppers in the adobo before puréeing to give the dish more of a smoky flavor than spicy. I hope you guys enjoy!

I hope you come back to visit because as soon as we move I will be cooking up a storm!!! Stay tuned! :)

Shopping list:

• 1 pound beef of your choice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 pound mushrooms
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1-1 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1-3 tablespoons pured chipotle in adobo sauce 
• 1/3 cup sour cream or creme frache
• 3/4 pound dried egg noodles
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Update:

   I forgot to tell you guys after I purée the chipotle and adobo I put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. That makes it so much easier for the next time I need it. Just break and peice off the size you need!! 

:)

Beefy Vegetable Soup!

   So the other day I threw together a soup that turned out amazing! I was pretty proud of myself. I hadn't been grocery shopping yet that week and had some things that I needed to use up so I made this soup on the fly. It turned out delicious! Obviously I threw a bunch of stuff in it but you can substitute anything you would like. Maybe it will inspire you to make your own soup on the fly with stuff you already have in the kitchen! :-)

  I started out with some stew meat I had left over. I seasoned it up with salt and pepper and browned it in my pan. Not to cook it through but to "braise" it basically. 

I fried up a few pieces of bacon I had then set those aside. 

 

   I chopped up some celery, carrots and red onion and sweat them out a bit. 

   Then I chopped up the rest of the huge zucchini I got out of my garden and a few red potatoes. Then I grated in about 4 cloves of garlic.

 

   After I let that cook out for a couple minutes I added two cans of white beans, one can diced tomatoes and one can if corn. Add them with all their juices then add four more can fulls of water. I also added some of my cherry tomatoes and diced up some of my other tomatoes from my garden. 

 

   After I added all of that I thought why not add that little bit of ground beef I had left over. So I browned that up and added it to the soup with the stew meat and diced up bacon. 

   Now let it all simmer for 45 minutes to an hour so your stew meat can get super tender. About 10 minutes before I was about to serve I added 3/4 cup of my favorite pasta for soups. Acini Di Pepe. 

 

   Now just serve it up!!! 

   See how easy that was?? It was super delicious! Make sure you season this with salt and pepper to your liking. If I would have had some fresh parmesan I would have grated some up on top. Mmmm! 

I know it's summer but we love to enjoy all types of food year round. People think we are crazy because we BBQ with a foot of snow on the ground and eat soups in the winter!! I don't mind it a bit! ;-) 

  Hope you all enjoy! 

Beef Enchiladas!!!

Ok so for my first recipe post I wanted to share something pretty easy. (As you can tell I only know how to add photos to the bottom of the post and not throughout. I'll figure it out eventually.) I came up with this recipe a while back and have been tweaking it ever since. I think I finally got it down to the way WE love it. You guys can make it your own. It really is pretty versatile. You might not even make this recipe. It could inspire you to make something completely your own!
I'm going to show you how I make Beef Enchiladas. My brother and sisters are pretty picky eaters and they all four loved this. It's simple and super tasty.

I start out with a pound to a pound and a quarter of ground beef. Use whatever you like. If you have one that has a higher percentage of fat just make sure you drain it. Don't add oil to the pan because we want to make sure and brown the beef not boil it. You can add a little oil if you are using ground turkey. Get your pan hot and add the beef. Let the bottom get a little bit of a brown crust on the bottom before you mess with it. I use a potato masher to "grind it up" after the bottom has browned a bit. (I learned that from Rachael Ray and it works wonders!)

Get all of the beef nice and brown then add about a half an onion, more of less if you prefer. I used a red onion. Then cook that out a little and then add a few cloves of garlic. Like I said add the amount that would suit your taste. Cook all that out until the onions have softened.

This is the part where you can change things around if you want. I had taco seasoning on hand so that's what I used. I usually do. I added about a pack and a half of taco seasoning to this. You can definitely mix up your own seasonings if you'd like. ( chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, etc.)
You can even add fajita seasoning.
Add the water and simmer. After simmering for a bit I slice up a jalapeño and add it to the beef mixture to cook out a little.

While I was doing all of this I cooked up about 1/2 cup of white rice. After the jalapeños have softened add the rice and stir together well.

Now it's time to assemble. Put a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of your baking dish so it just covers the bottom. Add a scoop or two of beef mixture to your tortilla. ( I bought the super soft ones) Roll it up and set it in baking dish fold side down. This always makes me a 9x13 pan. After your pan is stuffed full of your enchiladas pour the rest of your enchilada sauce (I use about 2 cans of sauce for the whole recipe. I like it spicy so I buy the hot ones.) over them so they are all covered. You don't want your tortillas to burn. Then top it all with LOTS of cheese. I was running a little low on cheese so mine looks a little skimpy.

Bake this on 350 degrees until your cheese melts and starts to brown.

Top with any fixings you'd like.
More cheese! Avocado, sour cream, lettuce etc. The list could go on and on.

I usually serve this with refried beans. I always thin my beans out with a little water or beef/chicken stock. Sometimes I add hot sauce or chipotle and adobo too.

Side note: Don't be afraid of a recipe that calls for chipotle and adobo. It's in almost every grocery store I've been in. It's either by the pickled jalapeños or in the Mexican food isle.
Plus it's super yummy!!!!

Usually I add cilantro to this dish. I was out this time. I am a cilantro addict!

I hope you guys enjoy. Like I said I'm super new to blogging. Hopefully I'll learn as I go. I just want to share my ideas more than anything.
(Btw if you know how to add pics throughout the blog and not just at the end let me know! :) )