Braised Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs are not in my regular rotation, this was my first time making them ever but the results were delicious. I used Anne Burrell's recipe (link below) which I adapted to fit my preferences (I loathe celery) and what I like more (leeks) as well as ingredients I had on hand. 

This recipe is fairly simple with the work front loaded and the rest of the time spent just smelling the delicious smell.

Ingredients: 

4 bone in beef short ribs (~2.5 pounds)
2 tablespoons of oil ( I used grape seed)
2 leeks, roughly chopped
3 shallots, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 cup of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of red wine
Salt to taste

Directions:

Season each rib with salt. In a dutch oven/heavy cast iron pot, preheat oil on medium heat. Add salted beef short ribs. Do not crowd. If you have more then 4, you may need to do this in batches.
Brown about 3 minutes per side. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating and the short ribs are browning, puree all vegetables and garlic until they form a coarse paste. Do not overblend. Season with salt (and pepper if using-- I omit pepper, just not a fan).

Remove short ribs once browned. Drain the oil, add fresh oil and pureed veggie mixture. Cook till brown, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomatoes and cook  another 5 minutes. Add wine, cook about 5-8 minutes till mixture is reduced by half. 

Return short ribs to pan, placing on top of sauce. Add enough water to cover. Add thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. Flip ribs to the other side. Cook another hour while covered. If the sauce is getting too thick, feel free to add more water. Remove cover and cook uncovered another 20-30 minutes to allow meat to brown. Meat should be very tender.

Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta with the sauce.

P.S--next time I will be making more of these to allow for left overs. 

adapted from Anne Burrell's Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Rainbow Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Ground Beef

These stuffed peppers are a delicious dinner option that I don't make nearly enough. You can pretty much vary the filling here to meet your dietary preferences or the leftovers grain you have on hand.

You can make them vegetarian by omitting the ground meat, and you can add grain of choice, I have tried these with rice or quinoa and both were great. Both pictures below, proportion are similar and you can eat the leftover stuffing without the pepper for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

2 cups of quinoa OR  rice cooked per package direction

1 pound of ground beef (I use lean grass fed beef), you can use another ground meat of choice or keep vegetarian

2 finely shopped shallots

1 bulb of leek, washed and finely chopped

salt to taste

seasoning to taste (I like to use Everything Rub from Fresh Direct which contains garlic, onion, chili powder and paprika)

1 can of diced tomatoes drained (if using)--i used these with rice but not with quinoa

1 tablespoon of oil ( I use grape seed)

4 bell peppers ( for the quinoa recipe I only had 3) with seeds removed and top cut off neatly to keep intact

Directions 

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add shallots and leeks and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium flame until they begin to soften.

Add ground meat of choice. Cook breaking up with spatula until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Add rice or quinoa, salt and seasoning. Add tomatoes if using. Allow to come to warm temperature.

In a small or medium pot, add a few inches of water. Bring to boil.

Fill peppers with filling. Top with pepper top. Add very carefully to pot with boiling water. Cover and cook on a small flame about 15-20 minutes until peppers are soft. 

Remove carefully and serve in bowls

Enjoy! 

Stuffed peppers with quinoa, ground beef, shallots and leeks

Stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef and diced tomatoes