Category: Beef

Patty Melting My Heart…

Beef, Burgers, Sandwiches

“Hey, Rebecca? Dinner at 6:30!”

“What are we having?”

“Cheeseburgers. More specifically, Patty Melts.”

“From where?”

“What do you mean? My kitchen!!! Cafe Mom!”

Usually Patty Melts are made with caramalized onions, swiss cheese, and Rye bread, but you use what you have and what everyone likes…

I took a pound of ground chuck and seasoned it with some salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I cooked all the burgers as thin as possible for about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the other side. I took 2 slices of bread and added a slice of cheese on each one. We are a house divided, Katie and I like Swiss, and Rucks and Rebecca are all American cheese. I actually love all cheese, so no shade here.

I assembled the sandwiches and buttered one side. In a large skillet on medium heat, I added the sandwiches butter side down. Then I took the cast iron skillet to weigh down the patty melts. Once it was golden brown and the cheese started to melt, I buttered the top side and flipped them. Make sure your heat is not too high, otherwise the bread will burn. I served with tator tots that I cooked in my air fryer and some creamed corn. Hit the spot!!!

Cheesy Steak Sandwiches

Beef, Sandwiches

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Today the hubby is smoking some ribs, so we have that to look forward to tonight for dinner! Last night I made these Cheesy Steak Sandwiches, except I cooked the meat apart from the veggies. Now that the girls are getting older, they are actually getting more outspoken about what they like and what they don’t like. I made their sammies with just meat and cheese. I also cooked some frozen tator tots in the air fryer for about 12 minutes. So yummy! I will bake fries or tots in the oven again!

It was so filling that I could only eat half. That just means leftovers for anohter day!
The meaty cheesy inside 😉

Smoked Flank Steak Fajitas

Beef, Mexican

Tonight we made some delicious fajitas by smoking a flank steak on our Komodo Joe smoker. I made a simple rub with salt, pepper, onion powder, galic powder, cumin, smoked chile powder, and smoked paprika. Really no measurements- just played it by ear. Smoked until the internal temp was 130, then pulled it off and let it rest until 135.

In the meantime, I cooked a half pound of bacon. Then I took it off and cooked down onions, mushrooms, and peppers. The peppers were smoked on the coals first, then sliced and added to the veggies.

Here is the steak resting. Pretty baby!

Let it rest for about 10 minutes or so. So juicy and cooked perfectly medium rare.

Fajita bar! You can have loaded your totillas with steak, beans, rice, veggies, cheese, sour cream, avocado. Unlimited choices. I added all 😉

Pantry Beef Stroganoff

Beef, One pot meal, Pantry Raid, Pasta

So a few nights ago, I made this yummy pasta dish. Usually I make Beef Stroganoff in a crock pot , but this recipe is even easier!

I had these pretty pasta shells, a pound of ground chuck, frozen broccoli, a jar of Alfredo sauce, a little bit of heavy cream, and a little bit of stock leftover.

First I browned the meat, then I added the Alfredo Sauce, cream, and stock. Then I threw in the bag of frozen broccoli and mixed it up to combine. I let it cook until the broccoli was cooked through.

At first I wasn’t sure how the Alfredo sauce would be with the meat, but with the extra heavy cream and stock, it tasted just like my creamy beef stroganoff. You could use peas, mushrooms, whatever combo of veggies you have on hand. If you didn’t have stock, you could add in some Worcestershire Sauce with a little water if it is too thick. If it is too runny, you can make a little mug roux to add in to thicken it up (equal parts flour and water in a mug and mix really well with a fork or mini whisk).

What is even better, you only dirty up one pan. Less dishes always gets my vote! I will be make this again even when the quarantine ends!