Braising – Simple Comfort Food – Recipes that are simple and delicious.

Bistek Tagalog

November 1, 2018November 1, 2018 Dax Phillips 2 Comments

Bistek Tagalog… What the heck is bistek tagalog you might be wandering? Thankfully I took about 11 years of Spanish, so I know a few things. Kidding aside, bistek, which translates simply to Beef Steak, and well, Tagalog (as I know it) refers to the Filipino language, one of which I know very little but I love participating and using those Spanish words to try to decipher that language but I always fail for the most part. So to me, bistek tagalog simply refers to Filipino beef steak.

It is more than just beef steak though. If you have been following any of my recipes over time, you will know that Filipino cuisine uses some common ingredients and a few of them being soy sauce, garlic, chilies, black pepper, and bay leaves, only to name a few. This particular dish is so darn simple to make, smells amazing, and delivers just a great bite of food that it may make it onto your lazy susan of weekly dishes to make!

Let’s get started on this delicious recipe!

Ingredients:

2 lbs top sirloin (splurge for guests using beef tenderloin), thinly sliced against the grain (1/4 inch thick)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
1 whole, large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick, 1/4 of the slices reserved
1 head of garlic, skins removed, minced
1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
Cooked jasmine rice, per serving

There is one thing to take notice on the recipe and that is the beef selection. If you are wanting to elevate this dish, go with beef tenderloin, otherwise stick to top sirloin (lightly tenderize with meat mallet).

Start, as always, by preparing all of your ingredients. Often times it is easier to freeze the meat slightly for easier slicing, and more control over the thickness of the meat. Keep that in mind.

Once your beef, onions, and garlic are all set, then it is time to get to work. What I love about this is not only the flavor in this dish, but how quick it is to get it to the table.

In a mixing bowl, add the soy sauce, lemon and lime juice, garlic, and black peppers. Add in the sliced beef and massage the meat getting that marinade really concentrated into the beef. You can let this marinate for hours if you want, but simply 10 minutes should work just fine. Set aside.

Heat a very large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the canola oil and let it come to a shimmer.

Toss in the 3/4 of the onions, reduce the heat a bit, and cook for about 5 minutes. I like the onions to still have a bit of bite, so only a few minutes in the skillet, and you should be ready. You do not want to overcook these until they are limp, and definitely not fully raw.

Remove the onions from the skillet and onto a plate, and set aside for later.

Now, get the skillet back on the stove on medium-high heat. Add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef and garlic from the bowl and into the skillet, reserving the marinade.

Cook the beef for about 4 minutes, per side. Once cooked and a bit seared on each side, add in the marinade, along with any remaining garlic in there and bring to a simmer.

Cover, reduce the heat, and cook for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover, and top with the slightly cooked onions. Give this a good stir, and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Now you are ready to plate. You can do this two ways. Serve individually (what fun is that?) or serve family style. I go family style. Pour the beef mixture into a large serving bowl and garnish with the remaining quarter of raw onions on the top, while adding the cooked jasmine rice to another serving bowl.

Plate with rice, and top with the bistek tagalog. The flavors are out of this world. The tender beef along with those onions and garlic. Whoa, watch out people! This is not only loaded with flavor, but the beef should be super tender, and the onions slightly crunch and pungent that just goes phenomenal with sweet, cooked jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Filipino Bulalo

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I often wish that there would always be a pot of soup of the stove. Warm and ready to go any time of the day, all day, and every day. How cool would that be, especially if you had a wood burner or something and it was your task to keep that warm pot of goodness warm all day long. I know I would be into something like that! I don’t want to be premature but I think fall sprung in Wisconsin. What does that mean? Well, what it means every fall Sunday at the Phillips house; comfort food season.

This weekend was no exception. The chicken pot pie came rolling out as did pumpkin spiced ‘you name it desserts’, as well as soup. The thought of soup seemed like a warm blanket on a cold afternoon. Granted chicken pot pie is that thickening agent that just coats your stomach lining, and almost putting you instantly to sleep, but that soup on the otherhand, well that got me thinking. Thinking not only about how delicious each bite would be, but thoughts of making a rustic bread,, and leaving that soup of the stove all darn day only to be had more of later. That’s when I thought of the communal Filipino soup known as Bulalo.

The thing about bulalo is that it might be intimidating if it is served in front of you without ever have tried it. It’s almost like a Mexican caldo de res where you get large chunks of meat and vegetables. It’s definitely a spoon, fork, knife, and hand meal so probably best to eat around close friends and family in case you get down and dirty and want to roll up your sleeves, not have a care in the world and just get to town on some bone marrow!

Yes, the bone marrow. It’s the luxurious part of this soup and part of the beauty. Beef bones with marrow, cooked really low and slow until pot roast tender. That’s this soup. Simple, delicious, and slurpable.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs of beef shanks
water
2 bundles of bok choy, quartered whole
3 ears of corn, cut into half, or quarters
1 medium onion, quartered
2 tbsp black peppercorns
pinch of salt, to taste
1 head garlic, top cut off (exposing cloves)
1 tbsp fish sauce, more to your liking
1/2 small green cabbage, roughly chopped
limes, optional
cooked jasmine rice, per serving
fried shallots, optional
fried garlic, optional

Start by adding cold water to a stock pot. Add the beef shanks (find these on the cheap at local Mexican grocery stores), and turn on the heat to a medium high heat.

Cook the shanks for about 15 minutes or until they come to a boil for about 5 minutes. During the boil, get a large spoon out and skim the top surface of all of the bone scum. Discard the scum. We are going to discard the water and scum anyway but it’s always nice to get rid of the majority ahead of time.

Put a strainer in your sink and pour the beef and water into the strainer. Rinse the beef well.

Rinse out the stock pot. Place the bones back in the pot along with the onion, garlic, and peppercorns. Fill to cover with water, and return to a boil.

While the beef is boiling, continue to skim off any scum that comes to the surface and discard. After about 4 hours, remove the garlic, onion, and any peppercorns.

Season the stock with fish sauce and some salt. Stir and taste. If the stock is getting a bit low, add a bit more water to your liking, just keep the beef stock flavored as you add more water.

Add in the corn and cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or so. Once the beef is ultra tender, add in the bok choy and cabbage. I tossed in a small amount of fresh green beans from our garden as well (not necessary), and give that a good stir. Good for another 10 minutes or so, give a taste and adjust salt if necessary.

When you are ready to serve, transfer some of the soup mixture into a soup serving bowl, ensuring some beef bone, corn, and cabbage, then give a good squeeze of lime. Serve alongside a big bowl of cooked jasmine rice, and dig in! I like to top mine with fried garlic chips and shallots, and some fresh chili, but that’s just me.

Not only is this a great communal dish, but it is one that is perfect for long, cold days and evenings, and one that is sure to please a crowd.

Get a plate. Take some rice onto the plate. Slurp some broth. Spoon out some chunks of cabbage or beef onto the rice. Get into it. Repeat.

Hope you enjoy!

Pulled Beef Tacos

September 3, 2018September 3, 2018 Dax Phillips 2 Comments

I often find it funny on all of the posts for ‘Taco Tuesday’. Granted I love the name and the idea of it all, especially if you are planning out the weekly meals, but I feel that Monday (Meatless), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (Fish Fry in Wisconsin), Saturday, and Sunday get left behind. I’m sure those days are out there in terms of identifying food to a day but that is not how it goes down in our house. Sure, we try to get a meatless Monday in (and any day of the week for that matter), and hump day or Thursday results in (at least for me, ‘I’m tired of cooking) a let’s order something kind of night, but for tacos, heck, I could eat those every day of the week. So upon my wandering around the house looking for something to do or cook as I was bored, I came across a lonely poblano pepper.

Yep, one poblano pepper resulted in this Taco Thursday. The idea of the poblano made me think of the chicken poblano recipe that my wife loves, but I had just recently made that for her, hence the lonely poblano. So I came across a nice looking chuck roast that was calling my name, as was the pressure cooker for that matter.

These pulled beef tacos were super simple to make, and quick (due to the pressure cooker), and made everyone’s Thursday a very happy one.

Let’s get started.

4 lb beef chuck roast
salt and pepper, to taste
water (or beef stock) to cover beef
1 onion, halved
2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
1 poblano chile, halved, seeds and stem removed
4 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 tbsp Berbere spice blend (or taco)
additional salt, to taste
Shredded cheese, to your liking
hard shell tacos
Taco fixings (chopped onion, avocado, cilantro, tomato, beans, etc)

I left this one pretty generic as the taco game is pretty diverse. The idea here is to get your shredded beef ready and you load however you want. This particular evening I went with hard shelled tacos with cheese, onion, and garden tomatoes, along with some hot sauce.

If you do not have a pressure cooker (I highly recommend that purchase) then feel free to use a slow cooker with less water, and cooking that on low for 6-8 hours. The pressure cooker however will get you done and ready within 45 minutes if that.

To the pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil on medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the chuck roast and sear it on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. You want some good browning so let it sit there, do not disturb it, then flip until both sides are seared.

Once seared, add in the garlic, onion, and poblano pepper. Cover the roast with water or beef stock, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes. Let your pressure come down before taking off the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions). The roast should be fork tender and should easily shred with a couple of forks.

Discard the onion, garlic, and pepper.

Remove the roast onto a cutting board, and reserve a couple of cups of the liquid.

Using two forks, shred the beef and discard any of the weird fat that may still be intact. No one likes that stuff, trust me.

Next, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add in the oil, and once shimmers, add in the beef. Season with a pinch of salt, then the berbere spice. Give that a good toss, and sear the shredded beef. Something about those slightly crispy strands of beef get me every time.

Once the beef is slightly seared to your liking, add in just a bit of remaining liquid, to your liking, to moisten the beef.

Once your remaining taco ingredients are ready, it’s taco time!

Load in the beef into your desired shell whether that be hard, or soft, and load in your fillings.

The result is super tender shredded beef with awesome flavors from that berbere spice, and just all of those goodies from your taco fillings. This shredded beef taco is not only easy to make, loaded with flavor, and perfect for any day of the week, but it also is a nice change to that classic American ground beef mixture that we grew up to love. Hope you enjoy!

Other Ideas:

Pulled Beef Tacos

Author: Dax Phillips

Recipe type: Tacos

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 55 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

4 lb beef chuck roast
salt and pepper, to taste
water (or beef stock) to cover beef
1 onion, halved
2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
1 poblano chile, halved, seeds and stem removed
4 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 tbsp Berbere spice blend (or taco)
additional salt, to taste
Shredded cheese, to your liking
hard shell tacos
Taco fixings (chopped onion, avocado, cilantro, tomato, beans, etc)

Instructions

I left this one pretty generic as the taco game is pretty diverse. The idea here is to get your shredded beef ready and you load however you want. This particular evening I went with hard shelled tacos with cheese, onion, and garden tomatoes, along with some hot sauce.
If you do not have a pressure cooker (I highly recommend that purchase) then feel free to use a slow cooker with less water, and cooking that on low for 6-8 hours. The pressure cooker however will get you done and ready within 45 minutes if that.
To the pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil on medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the chuck roast and sear it on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. You want some good browning so let it sit there, do not disturb it, then flip until both sides are seared.
Once seared, add in the garlic, onion, and poblano pepper. Cover the roast with water or beef stock, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes. Let your pressure come down before taking off the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions). The roast should be fork tender and should easily shred with a couple of forks.
Discard the onion, garlic, and pepper.
Remove the roast onto a cutting board, and reserve a couple of cups of the liquid.
Using two forks, shred the beef and discard any of the weird fat that may still be intact. No one likes that stuff, trust me.
Next, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add in the oil, and once shimmers, add in the beef. Season with a pinch of salt, then the berbere spice. Give that a good toss, and sear the shredded beef. Something about those slightly crispy strands of beef get me every time.
Once the beef is slightly seared to your liking, add in just a bit of remaining liquid, to your liking, to moisten the beef.
Once your remaining taco ingredients are ready, it’s taco time!
Load in the beef into your desired shell whether that be hard, or soft, and load in your fillings.

Eggplant Parmesan

November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Unfortunately our local farmers market season has ended and for us Wisconsinites that means only one thing. Winter is on its way. It’s actually snowing out while I type this and looking out of the windows yields a heavy, thick snowfall. It’s pretty for about 2 minutes, then well I guess I’m over it. But reflecting on the market days, I always try to buy an array of things from various farmers. Eggplant was one of those items this season. I’ll be up front and honest, I’m not not a fan of eggplant and never really have been, but I keep trying, much like I will keep trying beets (yes, not a fan). When I brought them home, I immediately thought of making baba ghanoush (that I am a fan of), but then I thought I would go with an eggplant parmesan and see how my kids would like it. They love lasagna so maybe if I tried to disguise it as a lasagna on a meatless Monday, how would they react?

It was not actually all meatless, as I used about a 1/4 pound of ground meat just to get the kids thinking it was possibly what they thought it was. It worked out just fine.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

3 whole, small eggplants, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
28 oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
3 whole eggs, beaten
salt, to taste
cracked black pepper, to taste
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 lb ground beef, cooked and fat drained

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

Season your eggs and breadcrumbs with salt and pepper.

Take each eggplant round and swipe it through eggs, then the breadcrumbs, then place on a baking sheet. Repeat with all eggplant. Drizzle the tops with olive oil.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until the eggplant’s coating is a nice golden brown.

Next, add about 1 cup of marinara to the bottom of a casserole or lasagna dish. Layer in half of the eggplant, top with half of the mozzarella cheese, layer with the remaining eggplant, then more cheese, then top with the ground meat, and finish with more marinara and all of the remaining cheese.

Place into the oven, uncovered, and cook for about another 25 minutes or until the cheese and sauce is nice and bubbly. Remove and let it cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

The result? Well, eggplant parmesan. Were my kids a fan? Not really! Was I? Not really, but it was nice knowing I wasn’t indulging in a mound of meat and potatoes. It was easy, clean, and well very good if you are into that type of stuff. Hope you enjoy!

Lechon Kawali

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 Dax Phillips 2 Comments

Snack, Crackle, Pop. Repeat. I’ve said this before but Filipino food is on the rise, and much like many top chefs have predicted, Filipino food will begin to surprise you. If you have never had Filipino food, just give it a try. Granted, I have yet to find a sweet Filipino dessert that I like (but then again I do not like many desserts as I am not a sweet tooth), but the savory dishes are to die for. This one might be the one to top it off. There are many common, top, Filipino dishes that you might already be aware of such as Pancit, lumpia, or even Kare Kare, but there is one that is top notch, and that is lechon kawali.

Your cardiologist may not like you after this, nor probably your primary physician, but in moderation, this Filipino crispy pork is so simple to make, and makes a perfect party food. Traditionally made with pork belly, you can also try it with pork ribs just make sure you have plenty of fat to render on the second cooking cycle. Yep, there are two cooking steps going on here.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless pork belly, cut into 2 inch long strips
1 head of garlic, skins removed, bulbs smashed
4 whole bay leaves
3 tbsp black peppercorns
3/4 cup soy sauce
water
salt
canola oil
dipping sauce
- White Vinegar, to your liking
- Soy sauce, to your liking
- Chopped garlic, to your liking
- cracked black pepper, to your liking
- 1 Thai birds eye chili, smashed, optional or Thai chili flakes

I recently made this for my son’s birthday party, as well as another Filipino gathering and both times they rocked the socks off of the party guests. You know you’ve done right when the Filipinos are giving you a thumbs up, a hug, or a high five after eating your food. This is a winner.

Start by adding the pork belly, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, soy sauce, and enough water to cover the pork belly into a large pot or dutch oven. Cover, and bring to a simmer, cooking for about 1 hour. This is to tenderize the pork, and infuse all of the great flavor from those aromatics.

Filipino Lechon Kawali Recipe Ingredients

After 1 hour or so, get a baking sheet out and line it with a wire rack.

Take the strips of pork belly and lay them on the rack, making sure any of the excess liquid goes back into the pot. Once the strips are laid out, lightly salt them with kosher salt. This will assist with the dehydration process and get them ready for the next step the following day, if not hours later in the day.

Place the baking sheet, uncovered in the refrigerator. I do this over night.

When you are ready to go with the next step, take the pork out of the refrigerator and cut them into bite sized cubes, about 1-2 inches in size. Go larger if you prefer.

Heat a pot of oil, about 2-3 cups of canola oil, in a medium sized pot, and bring this to about 350-375 degrees.

In batches, fry the pork. This should take about 5-7 minutes per batch. Once golden and the fat is rendered and crispy, remove with a slotted spoon or kitchen spyder and place onto a paper lined plate to remove any excess oil. Let the oil in the pot come back to temp, then repeat until the lechon kawali is cooked.

NOTE: If you are frying these bad boys, make sure you reserve some for yourself because if you turn your back, trust me, these babies will be gone. This happened to me when I brought them to a party for our friend Miguel to chop up and fry. I didn’t even get a single piece! No worries on that part however, as I know that when I am snacking with the family, that I am sure to get a few pieces.

And that dipping sauce? Go for it. The combination of garlic, vinegar, soy, and chili. That’s a whole other level when it comes to dipping sauce.

If you are looking for a great party appetizer, and don’t mind frying with a bit of oil, this one is sure to please and is a real crowd pleaser not only for those wanting to try some Filipino flavors, but for those who love great, easy food. Hope you enjoy!

Mexican Barbacoa Recipe

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

The slow cooker rarely gets put away in our house. Based on our busy schedules is pretty much the reason why, and I am typically the one hustling around trying to feed four hungry people every day. Not that I have a problem with that, but the slow cooker always comes to the rescue, and typically anything I throw in there is a real winner. This particular recipe known as Mexican Barbacoa is a real winner, and is something that is only typically served in our our Mexican restaurants on the weekend. This homey doesn’t have time for that, plus I typically stay away from local tacquerias on the weekend.

For one, we are big fans of shredded meat, especially when it comes to tacos, and this one is no exception. You are going to love the texture, flavor, and simplicity of this Mexican barbacoa.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

4 lbs beef chuck roast
3 tbsp canola oil
8 oz can of chipotle chilies in adobo
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced, or chopped (your call)
2 cups of beef stock
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp ground Mexican oregano, crumbled
1 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
flour or corn tortillas, warmed
black beans, cooked, optional
fresh jalapenos, thinly sliced, optional

Start by adding the 2 tablespoons of oil to a large dutch oven or large skillet. Bring this to a medium heat. The goal is to add the beef in batches to get a nice sear on all sides before placing it into your slow cooker.

Once browned, add each piece to the slow cooker, and repeat with any remaining beef. Once the beef is added, rinse out the skillet or dutch oven, return back to the stove, let the water evaporate, then add in the additional oil bringing it back to a medium heat.

Add in the onion, garlic, and chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. Add in the beef stock, and let this come to a quick boil. Add in the cumin powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and lime juice, and give a good stir Add the mixture to slow cooker, and add to your high setting. Cook this for about 6 hours.

After 6 hours, check on the beef and make sure it is fall apart tender. If not, continue to cook until it is and shred all of the beef, making sure everything gets nicely incorporated. Cover and let this cook for about 20 minutes longer to all of that shredded beef and soak up all of that delicious stock.

During this time, cook your beans, and warm up your tortillas. Slice up any additional things such as limes, jalapenos, or onions.

Now it’s ready to serve. I like getting a bit rustic, laying out some barbacoa, beans, chilies, and have things on standby like fresh cilantro, and salsa.

Layer your tacos to your desire and dig in like it’s no one’s business. Forget about waiting for the weekend for this Mexican barbacoa. Go for Tuesday, because who doesn’t love a Tuesday, right?

Pork Ribs Adobo

January 3, 2017January 3, 2017 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I have a really great feeling about Filipino food trending this year. As my father-in-law, as well as plenty of extended family are Filipino, I have been blessed to hear stories of their great cuisine, or been around it to try it. I’ve tried enough of the main staples, and have posted them on this site, and hands down (besides lumpia and pancit) on of my favorite dishes is Filipino adobo. Whether that adobo be chicken or pork, it does not really matter. There is something about the aroma, the simplicity, and when eaten with a bit of rice, well, you have yourself a really awesome meal.

My wife will always tell stories about her road trips when growing up as a kid, and her dad busting out a pan of adobo when traveling across country, and that aroma perfuming the car. I’m not too certain if she was a fan of that aroma at that age, but it is one she loves, and my entire family has loved since I’ve been making it. This is pork ribs adobo. It has the bone, plenty of fall apart pork off of that bone, and one that is truly freaking delicious.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

6 lbs of pork ribs, silver skin removed, cut into 2 rib portions
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of vinegar
1 tbsp black peppercorns
3 whole bay leaves
generous pinch of salt
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic, minced
garlic fried rice, optional (but you know you want it)

Start by adding all of those pork ribs to a large sealable bag or bowl. Next, take the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, onion, bay leaves, and salt, and mix that into a bowl.

Pour this mixture into the sealable bag, and let this marinate 24 hours, preferably, but you can probably get away with 4 hours. Your call.

At some point in time, massage that marinade into the ribs.

When you are ready to cook, add the ribs and marinade into a dutch oven, or something that can hold all of those ribs, and cook on the stove on low heat for about 4 hours.

The ribs should be close to fall apart tender. Once you hit that stage, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Place however many ribs you want onto a baking sheet, and into the heated oven, and cook for about 10 minutes or until you get an nice crisp on the outside.

Take some of the cooked marinade and cook on medium-high heat on the stove. Bring to a boil, then add to a fat strainer if you have one. The ribs do give off a bunch of fat so you will want to remove as much as possible. Keep in mind you can make this a day ahead, store the ribs separately from the cooked marinade, then on the next day, when the fat has solidified from being in the refrigerator, scoop off and discard, keeping just the non-fat marinade.

Once the ribs have gotten nice and crisp on the outside, remove and pour over that cooked marinade.

Plate and serve. You not only get fall apart pork, but the aroma is to die for. It’s that vinegar, mixed with the garlic that just perfumes that pork that it is super hard not to love. So much that I heard my boys moaning a bit, and my wife and daughter who just kept their heads down not saying a word but just scooping forks and spoons of this stuff into their mouths. Yep, it’s that good.

Get your Filipino food on this year. Trust me, it’s hard not to love. Hope you enjoy!

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich

October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I have been craving French dip sandwiches lately. The French dip could be one of my favorite sandwiches of all times. That time came when I really wanted one and so I decided I would take things in my own hands and make a batch of slow cooked beef and try to accomplish everything I love about this classic sandwich. The great thing about this recipe is that it only takes a few minutes to prepare, and you throw things in your slow cooker, head out to work, and everything is ready when you get home. By the way, it was so flipping delicious that my wife was talking about it the next day!

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin, cut into thin strips, fat removed
1 lb roast beef from your favorite deli, thinly sliced
1 package onion soup mix
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
4 cups beef stock
1/2 tbsp salt, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
provolone cheese slices
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced, optional
1 additional onion, thinly sliced, optional
1 tbsp canola oil
bolillo rolls

Start by marinating your beef. To a bowl, add the beef, roast beef, onion soup mix, sliced onion, salt, pepper, and garlic, and garlic powder and mix well with your hands. Cover and marinate overnight.

The following morning, add the meat mixture to your slow cooker. Add in the stock, give a gentle mix, cover, and set on low for 6-8 hours.

Before serving, heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add in the oil if you are using the bell pepper and onion mixture. Add the peppers and onion to the skillet, and cook just until tender. I like a bit of crunch left on my mixture for a bit of texture.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich Ingredients

When you are ready to serve, grab a roll, add as much beef mixture as you would like, top with the cooked onions and peppers, and add a couple of slices of provolone. Ladle a bit of the au jus from the slow cooker into a dipping bowl, plate, and dig in.

This was so good, and my wife was right the following morning when she talked about the French dip sandwich with excitement. It was one of those that you could keep going back to, and one that was hard to put down as you you could not wait for the next bite. Fortunately I have leftovers, even though my kids devoured theirs, so I know what we will be eating tomorrow! Now granted you could just eat this with straight up beef and bread and take a dunk in the gravy, but it never hurts to get your veggies on there, along with some nice sharp cheese! Hope you enjoy!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

September 12, 2016September 12, 2016 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Recently we went to our aunt’s annual pool party. It’s a blast as usual and our kids love spending all day in their pool, along with eating grilled burgers and hot dogs. Upon leaving their party, I was asked if I wanted a cabbage. I wasn’t about to turn it down, but in all honesty I had no clue what the heck I was going to do with it. So I thanked them for the cabbage, and then thought long and hard what the heck I was going to make with it. That’s when the light went off, and that’s when I decided to make stuffed cabbage rolls. When I mentioned that to my wife, I did not realize how excited one could get over the idea of stuffed cabbage rolls, but low and behold she did.

This was not only a great use of using up a lot of cabbage, but these things were delicious to boot.

This recipe is way too easy to make, plus it is one that is totally hearty, great for a busy work week and one that I was able to use up another batch of my tomato sauce.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 whole head of green cabbage
1 lb ground chuck
1/2 cup of onion, diced
1 whole egg, beaten
1/2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
2 cups tomato sauce
additional salt for boiling cabbage

Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Generously season with salt. Once boiling, carefully add in the whole head of cabbage, and cook for about 4 minutes. The goal here is to soften the leaves, leaving them tender for rolling.

Carefully remove the head of cabbage and remove 6 of the outer, larger leaves. Set aside, and then return the cabbage back to the salted boiling water, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove again, and set the cabbage aside.

Next, make your meat mixture. To a mixing bowl, add the ground chuck, salt, pepper, onions, garlic powder, egg, rice, and worchestershire sauce. Mix well.

Now it is time to roll the cabbage rolls. Take one of the reserved cabbage leaves and lay it on your work surface.

Add about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into the center of the cabbage leaf. Now it’s going to be like rolling a burrito or egg roll.

Fold over the meat mixture, fold in the sides, and continue to roll. Place seam side down onto a place. Repeat with remaining leaves and meat mixture.

Take the remaining cabbage leaves, about 10 or so, and place onto the bottom of your slow cooker. This helps to prevent the cabbage rolls from burning.

Arrange your cabbage rolls in the bottom of the slow cooker, pour over the tomato sauce, place the cover on, and cook for 6-7 hours. This is a perfect way to cook while you head to work.

Serve each cabbage roll on a plate and spoon over any additional tomato sauce.

These cabbage rolls rocked. Not only were they super tender on the inside, but the cabbage lent the perfect vehicle for stuffing. Was my wife still excited? You bet, and she even took one the next day for lunch, they were that good.

If you are looking for an easy meal, and have some cabbage laying around, give this one a shot. Hope you enjoy!

Beer Braised Taquitos

September 9, 2016September 9, 2016 Dax Phillips 1 Comment

The taquito. What’s not to love? It’s one of those menu items that often gets overlooked due to all of the other delicious items on a Mexican restaurant’s menu, but take a pause, slow down, and look at that name. The taquito. Some know the taquito as a flauto. Fine. But at the end of the day, the taquito is essentially a corn tortilla stuffed with meat and cheese, and typically deep fried. It’s crisp. It’s perfect, and I’m pretty sure I do not know anyone that would not pick one of these up and devour it. This is how my taquito started. A mistake if you will, but a great mistake at that.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef chuck roast, exterior fat trimmed and removed
12 oz can of your favorite beer (I used Oskar Blues Priscilla)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 package of fresh corn tortillas
1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
cooking spray
Guacamole, optional
Sour cream, optional
Your favorite hot sauce or salsa, optional

This is a slow cooker recipe, however if you decide to braise, by all means get in and go for it.

I initially started this slow cooked beef as my wife wanted kebobs on the grill one weekend. Well, time got away from me, and as I was not up for kebabs on the grill (laziness), I made something else, but decided I would add keep the beef cooking and use it the following day. Did I mention I love the slow cooker?

Start by cubing your beef. It does not matter how large or small. This stuff is going to cook for more than eight hours, if not longer. Did I mention I love the slow cooker?

Add the beef, along with the salt, pepper, and beer to the slow cooker. Set to low. Forget about it for about 6-14 hours, then return to it.

Slow Cooked Beer Braised Beef Taquitos Recipe

With a slotted spoon, or spider, strain the beef, reserving about 1 cup of the liquid mixture, add in the garlic powder, and shred the beef with a couple of forks. It should be falling apart tender.

Add in the reserved liquid, stir, and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take your package of corn tortillas, add them to a plate, and microwave them for about 1 minute.

Remove and cover with a clean towel, or place into your tortilla warmer.

Take a tortilla, add some shredded beef, a bit of cheese, and roll into a log. Place onto a baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with all tortillas, beef, and cheese.

Spray the taquitos with cooking spray and place into the preheated oven, and cook until golden brown, roughly 20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them as you don’t want them to overcook.

Remove, and serve with your favorite side items.

The end result is not only an awesome taquito, but when taking a bite has you thinking ‘what the heck is that flavor in that beef?!’. Yep, that’s the beer, and the salt and garlic. It’s pretty slick to say the least.

So if you are looking for a great snack, lunch, or dinner, heck even breakfast, these taquitos are your go to. Hope you enjoy!