Main Dishes Archives - Page 16 of 57 - De Ma CuisineDe Ma Cuisine

Monday

25

August 2014

Meatball Subs

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beef, Bread, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Herbs, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Quick and Easy, Sandwiches, Sauces

I want you to know that I almost had to stop working on this post to go back to the grocery store to buy some ground beef so I can make these sandwiches. They are not on the menu for dinner tonight, but working on these pictures is tormenting me.

Tormenting I say.

The day that I photographed this dish, as soon as I was done, I stood next to the island and inhaled it so fast that I think I gave myself heartburn.

Oops.

Worth it.

It all starts with meatballs. They’re made with organic beef, an egg, and some honey. Plus herbs. Gotta have herbs.

They start in the pan that an onion has just cooked in.

Some homemade tomato sauce is added, and they cook a bit longer.

I’m drooling here.

And then there’s a homemade baguette.

Can this meal get any better?!

If you don’t have the time to make homemade baguettes, I understand. They are a lot of work. Buuuut so worth it.

The bread is toasted in a buttered skillet.

Yep. It got better.

If you can manage to stop yourself from just standing at the stove and scooping the meatballs out of the pan with the bread, you can top it with cheese.

If you can’t, I understand.

Buuuuuuut I think that might actually be a good idea. You know how the best part of eating a plate of tomato sauced spaghetti is wiping down the plate with your buttered bread? This is kinda like that but better, because there’s so much more goodness to scoop up.

Next time I’m trying this.

If you’ve held yourself together and convinced yourself to not eat like a maniac at the stove, top the sandwich with lots of basil.

Now you’ve earned a bite.

So have I.

I’m hungry.

Happy Eating!

Meatball Subs

Recipe Type: Main, Sandwich, Lunch, Dinner, Beef

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

One of our favorite sandwiches is also one of the messiest. Filled with delicious beef, basil, and cheese, we love a good meatball sub.

Ingredients

1 onion, diced
2 T olive oil, divided
1 egg
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1 t honey
1 t balsamic vinegar
2 C tomato sauce
1/2 t mustard
1 T fresh (or 1/2 t dried) parsley, divided
1 T fresh (or 1/2 t dried) thyme, divided
1 lb. ground beef
2 C tomato sauce
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1 t lemon juice
1 T butter
pinch salt
3 longish portions of baguette or crusty bread, sliced in half lengthwise
cheese, grated
fresh basil, for topping

Instructions

Heat a large skillet. Add 1 T olive oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes (or until onion is translucent and softened), stirring occasionally.
Whisk together egg through thyme. Combine beef with egg mixture, mixing together with your hands (do not over mix). Roll into about 12 meatballs.
In the onion skillet, add remaining 1 T olive oil, turn heat to medium-high, and add meatballs. Cook, turning often, until browned all over (about 8-10 minutes total).
Whisk together tomato sauce, salt, pepper, remaining parsley, and thyme. Pour into meatball pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook meatballs until they reach 160F (about 10-15 minutes). Stir in a squeeze of lemon.
Heat another skillet and add the butter and a pinch of salt. Once the butter is hot, add the bread (cut side down) and cook over medium heat it until it’s browned.
Top the bottom piece of bread with some cheese, four meatballs, a couple scoops of sauce, a bit more cheese, and the basil. Scoop a bit more sauce on the top piece of bread and close the sandwich.

Monday

18

August 2014

0

COMMENTS

Beef and Bean Enchiladas

Written by Rachel, Posted in Baking, Beans, Beef, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid-Friendly, Legumes, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Potlucks, Vegetables

Enchiladas are one of my go-to meals when I want to bring dinner to friends. It’s pretty quick and easy to make, it’s hearty, and it can be pretty healthy.

They’re also one of Tim’s favorites.

I try to have some in the freezer at all times.

I mean, take a look at all of the veggies I’ve piled in here. I had celery on hand, but normally I’d use bell peppers (note: if you’re using celery, make sure it’s really cooked down and soft). I also have been putting summer squash in everything, so why not these too?!

Also corn. In everything. I am addicted.

This winter when we had a million spaghetti squash I cooked a bunch of ’em and froze the flesh. I’ve been slowly using it. If you don’t have any cooked spaghetti squash you could just add more beans and summer squash.

Tim doesn’t mind when I sneak spaghetti squash into things like this. But, he did note that he got a pretty squashy bite, so stir it in pretty well if that might bother someone in your family. 😉

I like to cook up the filling first. That way they take less time in the oven. Plus then I can make sure that all the veggies are soft. No one wants a crunchy this or that, unless it’s supposed to be there.

Tim built me a beautiful, huge kitchen island when we moved. So I have tons of space to lay out all the tortillas I could ever need.

I’m thankful for this workspace.

The sauce gets divided evenly between the tortillas.

The ends get folded in and then it’s rolled up. My whole wheat tortillas cracked a bit. No big deal.

I like a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pan. If you like it extra saucy, add more! I used what I had in the freezer, so normally I’d make it a bit juicier than this looks (the recipe is adapted to be saucier).

Rolled up and ready for cheeeeeeeeese.

You could add way more cheese if you’d like, but I didn’t want to go overboard. Moderation, right?!

After these came out of the oven, I put half of them into freezer safe containers so they will be ready for lunches. The rest we devoured.

If you’re gonna bring these to some friends, send along a container of Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salsa, corn chips, and guacamole (if you’re feeling extra generous). Make them a simple green salad with some chopped fresh tomatoes and a container of homemade Ranch dressing (whisk together a bit of yogurt, mayo, fresh herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper). And for dessert, how about some Fruit Crisp that can be added to the leftover Greek yogurt for breakfast the next morning?

If you’re serving it tonight for your family, serve it exactly the same way.

Happy Eating!

Beef and Bean Enchiladas

Recipe Type: Main, Easy, Beans, Beef, Vegetables, Dinner, Main Dishes

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4-6

Perfect for a hearty dinner tonight, or to make to take to a friend in need.

Ingredients

1 t olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 C bell peppers (or celery), chopped
1/2 to 1 C summer squash, chopped
pinch salt
1-2 C Chili (I used Beef Chili), or 1 lb. ground beef
8-15 oz. kidney beans
1 1/2 C cooked spaghetti squash (or add more beans and summer squash)
1/4 C salsa
1 C corn
1/2 t chili powder (or more if using ground beef)
pinch ginger
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1/2 to 1 C tomato sauce (add an extra 1/4 C if using ground beef)
to taste salt
to taste pepper
8-10 tortillas
1 C cheese, grated (Monterey/Pepper Jack or Cheddar)
Greek yogurt, for topping
1-2 fresh tomatoes, chopped, for topping
jalapeño, chopped, for topping (optional – if you like it extra spicy)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Heat a skillet, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add bell peppers/celery, summer squash, and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are tender, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. (Note: if using raw ground beef, cook first, then add veggies when beef is almost done. Add the extra 1/4 C tomato sauce with the beans in the next step.)
Mix together chili, beans, spaghetti squash, salsa, corn, chili powder, ginger, salt, and pepper. Add to skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Mix tomato sauce with salt and pepper. Pour into the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish.
Divide the beef and bean filling between the tortillas. Fold ends in and roll up. Place seam side down in tomato sauced pan. Top with salsa and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered, or until cheese is melted.
Serve topped with yogurt and fresh tomatoes (and jalapeño if desired).

Notes

Gluten-free if you use corn tortillas.

Monday

11

August 2014

6

COMMENTS

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beans, Cheese, Dinner, Eggs, Gluten Free, Grains, Herbs, Kid-Friendly, Leftovers, Legumes, Low Carb, Lunch, Main Dishes, Potlucks, Quick and Easy, Quinoa, Salads, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

We took a sick day a while back. But, we still needed to eat. I was going to make this quick salad and head back to bed. I felt a cold coming on and had done something to my back. So I was enjoying many many episodes of Gilmore Girls.

The tough thing about working from home and working as a food blogger is that every meal that is deemed good enough for the blog has to have photographs. It takes a lot of effort to stop working. It takes a lot of self control to force myself to just focus on dinner and not wonder whether or not I’m making a mistake by not photographing or writing it down.

Sometimes I’m glad when the sauce breaks.

One of my go-to easy meals to make for a sick day, or to take to a potluck (that hopefully doesn’t fall on the same day), is a quinoa salad. This one is full of veggies and protein. Just what we needed to give us a little lift when we weren’t feeling our best.

A veggie that will add both flavor and color is corn. Corn season is in full swing, so I’m using it in just about everything I can think of. Cutting corn off the cob when it’s not going to be used right away is a good idea, since the sugars turn into starch after a few days, making it less sweet. Corn that you’re not going to use can be frozen raw, for another time.

Collard greens, kale, or chard are cut chiffonade-style (thin ribbons). They add extra nutrients to this already healthy dish.

My in-laws went to Nazareth last year and brought me back some saffron. I’d never used it before and it was fun to experiment with in this dish. If you don’t want to use saffron, feel free to leave it out. If you want to use it, just a pinch will do.

The dressing is made up of some of my favorite things: lemon, honey, olive oil, and garlic.

I like a bit of feta in a salad like this. If you wanted to make this a vegan salad, omit the feta and honey and use your favorite vegan cheese and some maple syrup instead. For added protein (quinoa has lots too) I added garbanzo beans (chick peas).

There are plenty of fresh herbs, lots of cucumber and squash, and kalamata olives (for those of us that like them – Tim does not, but I love them).

I served this simple meal with some nectarines and plums, and a slice of lemon to squeeze over top.

There were leftovers, so a day or two later we had the same thing for lunch, topped with a fried egg.

My favorite way to fry eggs is covered over pretty low heat. Cracking the eggs into a bowl before adding them to the pan will allow any shells to be removed without scorching your finger on the bottom of the hot skillet.

Serve the salad cold, topped with a hot egg.

Perfection.

If you’re good at poaching eggs, those would be great on top too. One of my summer goals is to learn how to make Eggs Benedict, so hopefully my poaching skills will improve slightly. However, I’ve been distracted by our lovely front yard and the beautiful weather and haven’t done much learning.

I think we have about three more months of summer here in L.A., so I’ve got time.

Happy Eating!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Recipe Type: Main, Salad, Side, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Eggs

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1-2 C cooked quinoa
1-15 oz. can garbonzo beans
1/2 C summer squash, chopped
1/2 C cucumber, chopped
2 T basil, chopped
1 T oregano, chopped
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 cob corn, cut off the cob
1/4 C feta (optional)
dressing: juice from 1/2 lemon
small pinch saffron
1/8 to 1/4 t smoked paprika
good pinch pepper
to taste salt
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 t honey
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch ground ginger
1/4 C olive oil
olives (optional), for topping
lemon slices, for serving

Instructions

Combine the quinoa with the beans, veggies, herbs, and feta.
Whisk together lemon juice through ginger. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking it in, creating an emulsion.
Mix dressing with salad.
Serve topped with olives and a squeeze of lemon.

Monday

4

August 2014

1

COMMENTS

Summer Pizza

Written by Rachel, Posted in Baking, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Herbs, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pizza, Quick and Easy, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Eeets thyme fur peeeetsa.

Sorry. Kinda. It’s been one of those days. Sometimes stress is released in the form of weirdness.

And managed by eating pizza.

Cutting veggies is therapeutic too. I have lots of cutting boards, and two are designated for onions and garlic. My beautiful new cutting board is not one of them. I never want anything sweet to accidentally taste like raw onions. Nope. Yuck. So I have two cutting boards with an X on the back that are special and a little bit stinky.

We had a similar pizza to this the other week. Ahem, I did. Tim doesn’t agree that squash belongs on a pizza. He will eat it in pretty much anything else though, so it’s cool. He made his own personal pizza and I made mine. Mine had lots of veggies. His didn’t. They both tasted good.

I used Alana’s recipe for the pizza crust (from her cookbook). You can use hers, or whatever you would normally use. I like my crust thin and crispy. If you like it thicker and chewier, adjust the recipe accordingly.

Because of my taste for crispness, I like to par-bake the crust a bit before topping it.

Par-bake means to partially bake it (as par-cook means to partially cook).

I topped it with a bit of olive oil and some herbs, because I wanted two layers of herby flavor. (Helpful tip: If you need some bread to go accompany a dish and you don’t have a baguette on hand, you could just all the way bake the crust and eat it like a sort of focaccia bread.)

Then it’s topped with some tomato sauce (it’s also great with olive oil if you don’t like sauce), and more herbs.

Lots of different veggies, like kale, zucchini, corn, and tomato (tomato is a fruit, but in this case let’s pretend it’s a veggie since it’s acting like one), but not so many that it weighs down the pizza. It’s still a light summer meal.

I opted for some parmesan and an aged cheddar. Because it’s what I have in the fridge.

I’d planned to use feta, but it’s smelled baaaaad. There’s stinky cheese and then there’s steeeeenky cheese.

It’s topped with a bit of basil (from my garden – all the basil that I got as an add-on from AHO last week is gone gone gone). And as soon as the last photo was taken I ate as much as I could, as quickly as possible because I was starving! And then I ate it again today before I typed up this post.

Happy Eating!

Summer Pizza

Recipe Type: Main, Dinner, Pizza

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 4

Summer squash, corn, and tomatoes all top this light summer pizza.

Ingredients

2 t olive oil, divided
1 pizza crust
2 t dried Italian herbs (mixture of basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and parsley), divided
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1/4 C tomato sauce (optional – could also just use olive oil)
12-15 slices zucchini/summer squash
8-10 tomato slices
2 T raw corn (frozen is fine)
1/4 C kale (spinach, chard, collard greens), cut in a chiffonade (small ribbons)
2 T green onions, chopped
1/2 C cheese (parmesan and cheddar), grated
to taste salt
to taste pepper
fresh basil, for topping

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 450F.
Grease pizza pan with 1 t olive oil. Press out crust onto pan so it’s fairly thin. Top crust with remaining olive oil, and sprinkle with 1 t Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 5 minutes (optional – you can bake it all at once too).
Top par-baked crust with sauce, remaining Italian herbs, veggies, cheese, salt, and pepper. Bake an additional 7 minutes (or until crust is to desired crispness and cheese is melted – it will be longer for thicker crusts).
Serve topped with fresh basil.

Monday

30

June 2014

4

COMMENTS

Half Birthday Fun – Beef Chili

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beef, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Main Dishes, Meat, Potlucks, Sides, Soups, Thoughts, Vegetables

Tim’s birthday is on Christmas Eve. We always try to make it special. But, the day is usually a mixture of birthday and Christmas Eve celebrations.

He is always a good sport about it.

But, this year, I thought that a half birthday celebration would be nice. An entire day devoted to celebrating him.

The day was filled with things that he loves.

We started with doughnuts. We’ve discovered a place that’s close enough to walk to. Often on Saturday mornings we will take the dog for a walk and get ourselves a treat.

TimHalfBirthday-1

Then he went to a movie with a couple friends while I set up for later.

We invited a few friends to continue the celebration of things that Tim loves.

Things like candy, caramel corn, and Blue Moon.

Dinner was more of his favorites: hot dogs, beef chili, store bought potato salad, fruit salad, and chips.

He loves the things that I cook. He’s fine with our healthy lifestyle. So it’s fun to surprise him with things that aren’t so healthy once in a while (although I used organic hot dogs and organic grass fed beef for the chili, so I still felt good about eating it).

It was a fun treat. (I maaaay have felt a little bit sick afterwards, but it was worth it. ;))

There was laughter. Lots of laughter.

Another favorite is ice cream. It’s pretty much an entire food group for Tim.

A serving size for him is a third of a carton.

We’ve discovered a little ice cream shop called Quenelle (pronounced kuh-nell). They make all of their ice cream. It’s insanely good. An ice cream cake from Quenelle seemed like the perfect way to end our little dinner.

It was.

I don’t know that I’ve heard as many exclamations about how good a dessert was as I did that night.

The cake was a layer of nutella, a layer of cookies and crème fraiche, with a devil’s food cake layer at the bottom.

That expression “we all scream for ice cream” – yeah, we did.

I accidentally put trick candles on the cake. I didn’t know that we had them. It was a trick on everyone.

As the light faded, we lit candles and sat for hours around the table.

The evening was one of those times when, as I went inside to get something and looked out the window, I just kinda stopped, and almost got a little bit choked up, looking at some of our dear friends gathered around our table. We’re so thankful for the little community of loved ones we have here in L.A.

I figured I should feed people chili. It’s easy and most people like it. It’s perfect in a bowl, or to top hot dogs. I made it the day before, then re-heated it the day of and kept it hot in the crock pot. Finding as many things to do beforehand made half birthday day so much more relaxed. I don’t think I stressed out at all. We had fun the whole day long.

Tim loves chili with beans. He’s happy eating it when I add tons of veggies. But, since it was his day, I though I’d try something new, and just do it with beef.

It’s pretty simple. The beef is cooked for a little bit with some seasonings. Onions are added partway through.

Since bell peppers are one of his favorite veggies I added two. Plus one hot pepper for just a bit of heat.

I have a hard time cooking without loads of garlic. Whatev.

And then piles of canned diced tomatoes are added in to make it saucy. I cooked it for two hours the first day, then probably a good 4-5 on half birthday day. It doesn’t need the extra day of cooking, but it sure didn’t hurt.

What a fun way to celebrate. It was a good day.

Happy 31 and a Halfth Birthday, Tim!

Beef Chili

Recipe Type: Main, Side, Beef, Meat, Dinner, Soup, Chili, Bell Peppers, Easy, Potlucks

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 120 mins

Total time: 2 hours 10 mins

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

2 lb. ground beef
2 white onions, chopped
1 T chili powder
1/2 T sweet paprika
1 T smoked paprika
pinch cumin
pepper
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 hot pepper, leave seeds and ribs (optional), chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 T balsamic vinegar
2-28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 T lemon juice
1 t sriracha hot sauce
2-3 t salt
cheese, grated, for topping
onions, chopped, for topping

Instructions

Heat a large soup pot. When hot, add beef and seasonings through pepper. Break apart (or mash using a potato masher) and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add peppers and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Add garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar through salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours, stirring every once in a while.
Served topped with cheese and onions.

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Main Dishes Archive

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Meatball Subs

Happy Eating!

18

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Beef and Bean Enchiladas

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11

6

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

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4

1

Summer Pizza

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30

4

Half Birthday Fun – Beef Chili

Happy 31 and a Halfth Birthday, Tim!

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