Beef - Home-Ec 101

Short Ribs Braised in Beer Recipe

If you purchase a side of beef, there will always be a few less desirable cuts. For our family, it’s the beef short ribs. With three small children, beef ribs are anything but a go-to meal. Get out the napkins. This is worth the mess. This recipe works well either in the oven or in …

Dear Home-Ec 101 I have a couple of bread and butter roasts from our beef side, and I can’t figure out the best cooking methods for them. Actually, I’ve never heard of them. Can you help? Signed, Beefuddled The bread and butter roast is a cut of beef from the chuck region of the cow. …

Mushrooms: Burgundy Buttons

Heather says: I only have a tolerable picture of these earthy, savory delights. I was so excited about the meal that I forgot to take a picture of the mushrooms before we ate. I haven’t been to Outback in a long time, but I have missed their optional mushroom side. There was just something about …

Blade Steak: What is it and What do I do with it?

Dear Home Ec 101, I swear you had a recipe for blade steak, but now that I have one, I can’t find it. What do I do with this cut of beef? Signed, Chuck Heather says: Well Chuck, this image helps explain exactly where a blade steak comes from. It comes from the upper shoulder …

Heather says: This recipe is one of my favorites, there’s no kitchen bravery to be found only a meal that whispers comfort drenched in red wine. A good friend of mine once asked what cut of beef should I use for a pot roast? There are several to choose from, but my favorite is the …

Country style cube steak on a grey plate with potato salad, in the background is a glass of iced tea, a knife and fork

A classic recipe for country-style cube steak with bell peppers and onions excellent over rice or with buttered noodles.

Herb Crusted Steaks

Heather says: It has been unusually cool here near Charleston, SC, but our summer is just around the corner. Summer, in my world means grilling and not just steaks, but vegetables, too. Our third and final installment of recipes from BeefItsWhatsforDinner.com take us out onto the porch where I fired up the grill to prepare …

Walnut Crusted Roast: Beef it’s What’s for Dinner

Heather says:

Walnut roast with bleu cheese mashed potatoes, wilted walnut spinach, drizzled with a worcestshire sauce — Walnut roast with bleu cheese mashed potatoes, wilted walnut spinach, drizzled with a worcestershire sauce

I have to get this off my chest. Yum, yum, get your fork away from my plate, yum.

My husband’s grandmother recently celebrated her 75th birthday (Happy Birthday Nana!). His mother is planning a nice dinner after they return to Minnesota and she is on the lookout for a company worthy meal with low effort. Listen to me, this is it. Sure, it sounds all fancy schmancy, but the techniques are not complicated. With a good thermometer and the ability to resist the temptation to open the oven, anyone can make a good roast. The mashed potatoes could easily be switched with instant, it’s the blue cheese that makes them special. The wilted spinach? Can you heat oil in a pan? Then you can handle this. The Worcestershire sauce? If you can boil water, you’ve got it in the bag.

The recipes and nutrition information for the roast are after the jump.

Heather says:

My 14yo stepdaughter is here for her spring break and we bond over dinner preparation. She teases that I just enjoy having an indentured servant at my disposal. Well, I do miss having a sous chef. (For those unfamiliar with restaurant hierarchy, a sous chef performs a lot of the drudge work in a professional kitchen) Alas, our household budget doesn’t come close to including hired help. Her enthusiasm usually increases when she is given the opportunity to help plan the menu. With that in mind, I had her check out BeefitsWhatsforDinner.com, where she chose the Mediterranean Beef Pitas.

To round out the meal we also prepared a Greek salad and cucumber sauce, like tzatziki, for those who may not care for hummus. As my in-laws are also visiting, we laid out a buffet rather than filling individual pitas for everyone. I doubled the beef recipe to serve 8.

Recipes and commentary are after the jump.

Before I took the training wheels off my Internet, I used to hang out on AOL’s Kitchen Frugality message board. This soup recipe came from one of those fine ladies and has become a standard in our home. Even if you think you can’t boil water, I promise you can make this soup while standing …