Cheeseburger Cups

This is another recipe from Emily Bites. I've tried several of them with varying degrees of appeal. I decided to try this one on a night when I knew I needed a quick meal that could easily be reheated.

I chose a night that I had Zumba class scheduled. These nights mean that Vince comes home from work, gives Max dinner and then gets him ready for bed. While Vince is taking care of Max, I whip something up for grown-up dinner. I don't eat before my classes (that would be a disaster) so I make something that Vince can eat once Max is in bed and that I can reheat for myself when I get home. This recipe fit the bill.

I was actually a little surprised that I liked it so much. I was a little leery of the ingredient list but it come out really tasty! It does not really taste like a cheeseburger, more like cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. It was quick, easy, tasty, and very few points. All pluses that have made this a recipe that I've made several times with great success. It has gotten rave reviews from Vince, Max, and my sister-in-law who is also watching her points. I typically serve two cups with a large salad for a complete dinner.

Cheeseburger Cups

Adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients

1/2 Pound Lean Ground Beef
2 Tablespoons Dried Minced Onion
1 Tablespoon McCormick Hamburger Seasoning
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
4 oz Can Chopped Mushrooms
4 oz Can Salt Free Diced Tomatoes
4 Wedges Laughing Cow Lite Queso & Chipotle Cheese
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
1 Tablespoon Mustard
16 Wonton Wrappers
1 Cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Liberally grease 8 muffin cups with cooking spray.
3. In a large skillet, brown the meat, onions, and garlic powder.
4. Drain off the fat from the meat.
5. Mix the mushrooms and tomatoes into the meat.
6. Mix the Laughing Cow cheese, ketchup, and mustard into the meat mixture.
7. Mix thoroughly until the cheese is completely melted and coats all of the meat.
8. Line each muffin cup with one wonton wrapper.
9. Using half of the meat mixture, fill each muffin cup.
10. Using half of the shredded cheese, top the meat in each muffin cup.
11. Place another wonton on top of each cup.
12. Repeat the layering of meat and shredded cheese.
13. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until crispy.
14. Let the cups cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Yields: 8 Cups

IKEA Swedish Meatballs

I've only been to IKEA a hand full of times and I've never actually eaten there. The one thing that everyone seems to rave about is their Swedish meatballs. Whether buying them frozen to make at home or eating them at the store's food court, it never fails that when you mention IKEA someone brings up the meatballs. Not having eaten them before, I can't say if this recipe is anything like the version that you can buy either at the food court at IKEA or frozen from them. I think on my next trip I'll be trying them out just to compare because honestly, these meatballs were awesome!

They come out moist and flavorful. The gravy is thick and rich. The first night I served it over egg noodles, which was ok, but then I read that IKEA serves them over mashed potatoes with a side of lingonberry jam. I didn't serve the jam but did dish these beauties up over herbed mashed potatoes. It really made all the difference! I can see how the jam would be a nice compliment to the flavor of the meatballs. I will try it out next time.

This is a great meal to make ahead and freeze. Just make a big batch of meatballs and freeze them before making the gravy. Thaw them out and then heat them up with a batch of fresh gravy. Yum!

IKEA Swedish Meatballs

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 Cup Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/3 Cup White Onion, minced
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Cup Milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 pound Ground Beef
1 Pound Ground Pork
1 Large Egg, beaten
1 Large Egg White, beaten

Gravy:
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional:
Lingonberry Jam for serving

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the butter.
2. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and pepper.
3. Cook, stirring, until soft (about 5 minutes).
4. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
6. Put the breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl.
7. Pour the hot milk mixture over the breadcrumbs.
8. Stir to make a thick paste, then let cool.
9. Once cool, add the beef, pork, egg, and egg white to the paste.
10. Mix until well combined.
11. Oil a baking sheet with cooking spray.
12. Roll the meat into 1 inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet.
13. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
14. Preheat the oven to 400F.
15. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
16. Once the meatballs have cooked, make the gravy.
17. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
18. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth.
19. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sacue.
20. Bring to a simmer.
21. Add the cream and the meatballs.
22. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes.
23. Season with salt and pepper.
24. Serve over mashed potatoes and with lingonberry jam.

Yields: 10 servings (4 meatballs & gravy)

Beef Wellington Hand Pies

I've always wanted to make beef Wellington but was a little intimidated by the work involved in making the real thing. Add to that the fact that I rarely have that much time to prepare a meal and well, I've never made it. Last Christmas I received a copy of the Harry Potter Cookbook. There are several recipes in it for "pasties" or hand pies. These are pretty common in the UK and are really tasty. They are basically like little pot pies with all sorts of meat and vegetable fillings.

I had bookmarked a recipe for Beef Cornish Pasties and had planned to make it this week when I ran across this recipe for Beef Wellington Hand Pies. I was so excited to finally be able to try to make an easy version of beef Wellington that I immediately started making them, without checking to see if I had all of the ingredients first. Low and behold, I was out of red wine. The horror! How could I let this happen!?! I ran upstairs to my awesome neighbor to steal 1/4 cup for the recipe. She sent me home with the entire bottle. Because really, it would be a tragedy to not be able to have a glass or three with dinner. I love her. :)

The recipe itself is not what I would call "easy" but it isn't difficult either. It is pretty time consuming but you could make a large batch and freeze some to have at another time.

The flavor was really good and it went well with the Merlot I was drinking that night. I will definitely be making these again.

A couple of tips to help things go more smoothly:

Keep your puff pastry dough in the fridge while you are working. It gets really gooey and hard to handle if you let it sit out.

I found it was easier to move the pies from the rolling surface to the baking sheet if I waited for the meat to be cool before filling the pies. Filling them while the meat was warm ended up making the bottom of the pie gooey and difficult to pick up.

Beef Wellington Hand Pies

Adapted from Caitlin's Cooking

Ingredients
3 Sheets Puff Pastry, thawed
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
1 Tablespoon Butter or Margarine
2 Cups Cremini Mushrooms, diced
1 Sweet Onion, diced
1 10 oz Bag Frozen Peas and Carrots
2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/4 Cup Red Wine
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Large Egg


Directions

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.
2. Drain the beef and set aside.
3. Heat the butter and olive oil in the skillet.
4. Add the onions, mushrooms, peas and carrots.
5. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and thyme.
7. Deglaze the pan with the red wine.
8. Stir in the cream and Worcestershire sauce.
9. Add the beef and mix thoroughly.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
12. Heat the oven to 400F.
13. Roll a sheet of puff pastry out to about 1/8" thickness.
14. Cut the sheet into four equal size squares.
15. Spoon the beef mixture onto one half of each square, leave about 1/2" at the edges.
16. Whisk the egg with a little water to create an egg wash.
17. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry squares with the egg wash.
18. Fold the pastry tops over the meat to create the pies.
19. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
20. Arrange the pies on the prepared baking sheet.
21. Repeat steps 13-20 with the remaining two puff pastry sheets and filling.
22. Once all of the pies are made and on the baking sheet, brush the top of each one with egg wash.
23. Cut two small slits in the top of each pie, for venting.
24. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Yields: 12 servings