Extraordinary Entree: Stewed Ground Beef, previously Kheema

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (ground turkey or ground lamb works well, too)
1 packet Sazon
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Green Grind Seasoning
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic!)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon geera (optional)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala (I'll post a homemade recipe as soon as I test one!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, optional
4 medium vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
1-1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas and diced carrots, thawed
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few extra leaves for garnish


Directions

Season ground beef with onion powder, garlic powder, Sazon, and Green Grind Seasoning.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until onion is translucent but do not allow garlic to burn.

Stir in the ginger, geera, coriander, paprika, garam masala, cumin and cayenne (if using), and cook for 1 minute.

Add the beef, breaking up lumps with a spoon, and saute until the meat is no longer pink.

Add the tomatoes & water, and season with salt and pepper.

Smash the tomato into the mixture, creating a tomato sauce.

Heat through and allow sauce to reduce by 1/4.

Sprinkle in the frozen diced carrots and peas. Stir well and simmer, partially covered.

Stir in the vinegar and chopped cilantro, and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Serve with roti or over rice.

Adapted from Aarti Party on Foodnetwork.com.

Video of the Day: How to Brine a Turkey

Christmas is days away and many of you will be displaying your turkey making skills once again this year! Try soaking your turkey in a brine. There are a ton of recipes online but the main stars to the brining show are 1) a cooler; 2) lots of ice; 3) cold water; 4) lots of salt; and 5) sugar to balance the salt. Everything else is just delicious flavoring! Check out one chef's technique! ENJOY!

Sensational Sides: Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

2 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 pack Sazon
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 cups cooked cut green beans
1 caramelized sweet onion
2-1/2 cups French's® French Fried Onions, divided
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Stir soup, heavy cream, spices, beans, caramelized onion,  and  1/2 of the french fried onions into a 3-qt. casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the casserole becomes bubbly.

In a bowl mix together the cheddar cheese and remaining french fried onion.  Top the casserole with the cheese-onion mixture, and bake for 5 minutes more or until the cheese melts.

Adapted from:  Campbell's Soup Recipe, which can be found on Allrecipes.com

Sensational Sides: Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients

5 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
6 bananas, unpeeled
1 (4.6-ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes.

Add the bananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven but DON'T turn the oven off.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl along with 1 stick of the butter.

Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, beaten eggs, salt and pepper, to taste.

Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything's well combined and the mixture is fluffy.

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and bake for 25 minutes.

In a small bowl, toss together the marshmallows, and coconut.

Remove the casserole dish from oven and top with the marshmallow-coconut mixture. Bake until the marshmallows are lightly toasted, about 5 to 10 more minutes.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Video of the Day: Chef Anne Burrell

Chef Anne Burrell, you were robbed!!!!!

Video of the Day: Tempering Eggs

This came in very hand when I was assisting on dinner roll making duties for Thanksgiving. Sometimes when following a recipe you have to use your kitchen know-how. The recipe didn't call for tempering the eggs, but if my cousin hadn't we know we would have had scrambled eggs in that warm milk...ENJOY!

Video of the Day: How to Make Yeast Rolls

Another video I found to help me out with my Thanksgiving Day meal...yeast rolls! So I'm either making these or hot cross buns...we'll see. I'm going to make this a game time decision...