Easy Peasy Braised Short Ribs

Well we're over the hump and counting down to the weekend! Last night the Mr. and I had baked barbecued chicken with roasted sweet potato fries and finally caught up on Dexter from Sunday. Has anyone else been watching? Meanwhile, I'm kicking off this morning with a few things that are making me smile:

• My DIY pumpkin spice coffee
• Bruce Springsteen's Racing in the Street on my iPod
• The fact that I finally wrapped up the Dragon Tattoo series last night on the Path and have so thoroughly enjoyed reading these books! A bit of withdrawal has set in, so new recommendations are welcome!
• Fringe is on tonight and it is quickly becoming my favorite show on TV this season.

Meanwhile, I found a new favorite dinner dish. I was always intimidated by the thought of cooking short ribs, and fortunately once I feel the bug of wanting to learn a particular dish, make no mistake, I'm going to learn it. Who would have thought that this would be one of the easiest dinners I've ever made? Not this gal.

Boneless beef short ribs, sliced onions, basil gravy and brown rice make this a dish that screams comfort food, albeit it in a very brown way. It's perfect for a chilly night at home when you don't feel like slaving over a dish. Toss the ingredients together, simmer for an hour or so, make a quick gravy from the rib stock and you've got a dish that only seems like you've slaved all evening. Easy peasy. Oh and the braised part? That's just a fancy way of saying that the meat is seared in the pan first, and then continues cooking, covered, in liquid.

Braised Short Ribs
1 lb. boneless beef short ribs
1/4 C whole wheat flour (or all purpose, if you prefer)
1 can low sodium beef broth
1 large onion, sliced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 tsp basil, dried
black pepper
olive oil
brown rice, egg noodles, or quinoa

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Meanwhile, mix together 1 tsp salt and flour together in a dish. Lightly coat the ribs in flour mixture. When oil is hot, sear the ribs on each side until browned. Do not cook them all the way through! This is just to get some flavor on the meat. Add the sliced onions and cook until they are just softened.

 

Pour 3/4 of the beef broth over the meat. You will want to make sure that most of the beef and onions are covered. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce the heat.

Cover the skillet and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until the short ribs are fork tender. Mine were done in just over an hour, but this could take an hour and a half or even two hours (though that has not been the case for me). When cooked to desired tenderness, remove the ribs from the pan. It’s time to make the gravy! Add the rest of the beef broth, a couple teaspoons of flour (if you like it thick), black pepper and basil and whisk together.

 

Taste the gravy. If it needs more salt, add more kosher salt. I added another 1/2 tsp or so to taste. Serve over a bed of rice, noodles or quinoa (or any other carb that you prefer), drizzle with gravy and enjoy! I didn’t even need a knife for mine.

So there you have it. Braised short ribs that couldn't be easier. This is a meal that will certainly be added to my regular repetoire since it was delicious, comforting and super simple to boot.

So what do you think? Have you ever tried a new dish, only to find how easy it is? Have you tried short ribs? And bonus question, what is making you smile on this gorgeous autumn Thursday?

Skillet Chicken Parmesean

Since Shaun and I have had such a busy summer, I quietly cherish the nights when I come home to my new condo after work without any other commitments. You may have noticed that due to my extreme lack of recipe posting that I haven’t been cooking all that much recently. Since we’ve adopted an outdoor space in our new home, that meant immediately purchasing a grill and that Shaun has been responsible for most of our dinners since June. Grilling is just not something that I’ve tackled as of yet.

Anyhow, last night I found myself on the very rare occasion where I had the place all to myself for a few hours after work while Shaun was at a work dinner. While I’m typically content with a glass of wine and a plate of cheese and crackers, the frozen chicken in the bottom of my freezer was just calling my name this morning when I left the house. Defrosted and ready to be cooked by the time I got home, I had no grand plan for the pound of organic chicken that greeted me on arrival.

Instead, I rummaged through my cabinets for anything that would be semi-appropriate for dinner fare. With two giant sleeves of shredded mozzerella in my freezer and tomato sauce in the cupboard, I decided to try chicken parmesean. But not any chicken parmesean that I’ve ever had. Oh no. For a one person dinner, the thought of breading, frying and subsequently baking a real dish of chicken parm was out of the question. After all, I have much better things to do...like writing this little ol’ blog, catching Jersey Shore, and enjoying my terrace with a glass of Malbec. So with all of these fun things in mind, I realized that the only way to do a chicken parm for one would be to make it all on the stovetop. Without breading the chicken.

I’m completely putting aside all of my Italian heritage and my mother’s inevitable judgement by going for the gold and trying this dish. In fact, I secretly wish that just maybe she won’t read this post. Because not only did I make chicken parm in a skillet, but I used tomato sauce from a can. Not even a jar. Without even going so far as to doctor it up in a saucepan with herbs and bay leaves, which would still be blasphemy but at least semi-respectable. And let’s not even touch on the fact that since I have my groceries delievered now, I was unable to stop the grocer from replacing the highly coveted Red Pack brand of tomato sauce with lowly Del Monte. I was just doing all kinds of wrong.

But the outcome? It was nothing short of a perfect dinner for one. Flavorful and even semi-healthy. I was so excited by the outcome that I had to share with you at the first possible moment. So here you go...

Skillet Chicken Parmesean
1 lb chicken breast (I use organic, skinless, boneless)
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
8 oz tomato sauce (I would typically recommend Red Pack, but whatever you have on hand is fine)
shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
kosher salt
olive oil
dried basil leaves
dried parsley
Parmesean or pecorino, grated

On a plate, combine whole wheat flour and a sprinkling of salt. On a non-wooden cutting board, slice the chicken breasts in half length-wise, as if you were to butterfly them, but cut all the way through. This will make thinner pieces and will cook through faster. Lightly coat the chicken in the flour mixture. In a skillet with the olive oil heated, cook the chicken, about 3 minutes or so on each side.

This is where those splatter screens that I threw out before the move would have come in handy as I had oil splattering all over my beautiful new stove. Anyhow, cook the chicken until golden brown and completely cooked through. For me, this entailed cutting each piece multiple times to ensure that the pink had left the building. Anyhow, once they are cooked through, pour a bit of sauce over each one. Sprinkle with basil and parsley.

Douse with shredded cheese and cover to melt the cheese, which should only take a minute or so.

Sprinkle with a bit more parsley and grated cheese.

Enjoy! Preferably with a glass of wine! Do you have a go-to dinner for one?

It's Not Your Mom's Meatloaf

I'm not sure why but there's something so...unappetizing about the sound of meatloaf. I'm not saying it doesn't taste fabulous if done right, but it sounds a bit antiquated. I got to thinking that meatloaf is essentially a giant hamburger without the bun and suddenly I'm able to forget about the name and start salivating. Modernize it a bit with some spinach, mustard and whole wheat breadcrumbs and an old recipe turns mod. And don't worry about making a vegetable on the side...this one packs fresh greens right in the mix. Oh, and I should mention that the name of this recipe holds no disrepect for my own mom, who makes a fabulous meatloaf...I just feel the need to put my own personal spin on things. But let's just get down to the goods, shall we?

Not Your Mom's Meatloaf
1 lb ground turkey
4 C fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 C reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp Worcheshire sauce
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 C whole wheat, seasoned bread crumbs (the 4C brand makes these now)
2 cloves garlic
ketchup
kosher salt
pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in small pan. Saute onions until translucent but make sure they don't burn. Add garlic and saute a bit longer. Remove from heat and stir in Worcheshire sauce and mustard. Let cool while mixing the other ingredients. (Note: at this point, I removed the onion mixture from the pan and put it in a bowl to cool more quickly) In mixing bowl, mix ground turkey, spinach, mayo and bread crumbs. Ok. I know that mayo isn't necessarily a typical ingredient in meatloaf. But since I picked up some odds and ends after work before checking my fridge, I didn't realize that eggs were nowhere to be found. And of course, the other meatloaf components were already mixed and just waiting for one little egg white to bind the whole thing together. So with nary an egg in sight, I tried a 1/4 C of reduced fat mayo in lieu of an egg white, held my breath while the meatloaf cooked (ok, maybe not actually the entire time that it cooked) and hoped for the best.* Once it's all mixed together (oh, and just like with Kathy's Irish Soda Bread, you're going to have to use your own two paws to really get 'er done), shape into a loaf on an ungreased baking sheet. Pour ketchup all over the top and smooth with a spatula, smoothing a bit onto the sides. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, slice, and enjoy! Though turkey can tend to be somewhat less than flavorful, the added ingredients make this recipe moist and delish to boot. No ground beef = ok with me.

*The verdict on substituting mayo? Success! I did fear for a time that I'd have ground meat and spinach running all over my oven, but instead, I got a firmly packed, yummy meatloaf.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of meatloaf? How do you make it?