Month 6 of the Secret Recipe Club.
This month I had a brief meander down memory lane at La Cocina de Leslie.
It was like being back in Andorra!
Not that she lives in Andorra….. Or even on this side of the pond.
But she is an expat, living in Mexico, and her recipes are in English and Spanish.
I don’t get to use much Spanish (to be precise, Castellano) here in the middle of nowhere, France, and it was fun seeing the familiar words and similar recipes to my Spanish and Catalan cookbooks.
Like Calabacitas con Crema which I bookmarked for next summer when I have zucchini in my garden again. It was my Andorran neighbor, Miguel, that first introduced me to calabacitas / zucchini. I know, hard to believe I had never eaten zucchini in the US…..
Arroz con Pollo y Frijoles (Chicken with Rice and Beans) I plan on making this week – just the kind of week-day dinner we love.
The recipe I chose for the Recipe Club was Tomato Mushroom Beef…. Modified, as usual.
First it was cut down to feed 2 people; second I used ground beef rather than steak; third I used tomatoes from my freezer rather than tomato sauce. I think that’s it…..
Oh, wait…. I served it on quinoa rather than white rice but that wasn’t really part of the recipe, only a suggestion.
I can’t find steak that is tender enough to work in a stir-fry or quickly-cooked skillet dinner. Well, except for filet mignon, but I that needs to be treated gently and served as a rare steak.
I wanted the flavor of beef, though, and I left it rather ‘chunky’.
We’re were happy.
Tomato Mushroom Beef
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12oz (360gr) ground beef
- 2oz (60gr) bacon, roughly chopped
- 1 cup (8oz, 240gr) tomatoes, chopped
- 6oz (180gr) mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp olive oil – if needed
Ingredients:
- Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat if needed
- Add bacon and sauté until crisp. Remove and set aside.
- Add mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes. Remove and put with bacon.
- Add beef and sauté, breaking it up into large chunks as it browns.
- Add chili powder and sauté briefly.
- Return the bacon, mushrooms to the skillet and stir.
- Add tomatoes, juices and simmer over low heat, uncovered, 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Serve over rice or quinoa.
Leslie has so many wonderful Mexican and Mexican-inspired recipes on her blog you really need to have a look. It’s a cuisine I have wanted to explore more fully but am somewhat constrained by the lack of ingredients I can find here – although it’s improving.
I mean, all of our supermarkets now have an ‘Old El Paso’ section…. What more could one ask for?
Yes, I love enchiladas and tacos and all that, but I would like to go beyond that.
I think I’m going to be spending a bit more time at La Cocina de Leslie. I’m good with substitutions…. I just saw a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie I could use butternut squash in….
Love this recipe Katie – so simple, yet lovely flavors, and great over quinoa or rice
Please do the pumpkin cream cheese pie on my behalf !!!!! I am off to see Leslie’s further recipes.
I think anything with bacon in the recipe list would win me over.
Looks yummy and I’ll have to make it. I’m all about quick during the week. I have a small container of quinoa in my pantry. I’ve never eaten it, so maybe I’ll try it with this.
This is one of my most favourite recipes – Great to see someone else do it too. Off to explore Leslie’s other recipes now x
I’m so glad you enjoyed Leslie’s blog this month!! And this meal is perfect comfort food for a cold evening! Wonderful pick this month!!
Ina, it really was good – sometimes simple is best!
Kate, don’t tempt me!
Chit Chat – bacon adds so much flavor to anything!
nightsmusic, I love quinoa (and quick, easy dinners) The hubs prefers rice, but we compromise lol
Helen, we loved it too, and Leslie has lots more great recipes. Have fun!
Wimpy Vegetarian, it was – I’m really into winter comfort food at the moment – could be the rain and fog….
That looks wonderful, my mouth was watering, pardon the drool. Great SRC post.
Why have I never thought to make this recipe with ground beef?! Definitely going to have to give it a try. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Sid, it was….. Thanks.
Leslie, the ground beef was great. If I lived in the US I would get the ‘course’ ground (if they still do that) It’s a great recipe