Slow Cooker Pot Roast

It's so simple, great for working women. Just put all ingredients into the CrockPot before you leave for work and dinner will be ready when you get home ;)

Ingredients

4 lb. chuck roast

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steak seasonings

1 package dry onion soup mix

1 can beef broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup

1-2 can whole white potatoes (or you can use fresh potatoes, peeled and quartered)

Baby Carrots

Celery stalks, chopped

Directions

• Take the chuck roast, rub all over it with olive oil then season with steak seasoning. 
• Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat (you can skip this step if you like).
• Place it in the CrockPot (slow cooker), add in onion soup mix, broth, cream of soup, carrots, celery and potatoes.
• Cover and cook it on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.

Russian Style Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff is believed to be a hybrid of Russian-French cuisines and included ingredients such as sliced fried meat, topped up with creamy gravy. Unlike its french counterparts of foods served along with gravy, the russian style beef stroganoff gravy is to be served in a dish, along with the meat. Recipe from Lola Mansurov.

Ingredients

1 lb. fillet mignon, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Onion, sliced

1 tsp. Corn Starch, dilute in 1/4 cup of cold water

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tbsp. salt

Tomato Sauce:

1 cup of pure tomato juice (you can use V8 tomato juice)

1/4 cup crushed walnuts

1/4  cup chopped dills and cilantro

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Pound the sliced meat and sprinkle with a little bit of black pepper. Set aside.

2. Prepare the tomato sauce; add in all the tomato sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to mix well and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add in the meat and fry until golden brown. Add in onions and saute until onions turn slightly golden. Add in the tomato sauce, lower the heat to medium-low and let it cook for about 10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, heat heavy whipping cream in saucepan on medium heat, add in corn starch mixture, keep stirring until the cream and the starch are mixed well. Add in sour cream and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Remove cream mixture from heat and pour into the meat mixture. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Serve with pasta or french fries.

Indonesian Fried Beef-Stuffed Wrap (Martabak Telor)

This is a quite famous Indonesian appetizer. Recipe from my maid back in Indonesia.

Ingredients

Frozen lumpia or spring roll wrapper (you can find this at any asian grocery store)

0,5 lb Ground Beef

3 Eggs

3-4 Scallions, thinly sliced

1 medium Onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp. Curry powder

1/4 tsp. Corriander powder

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Corn Starch, dilute in 2 tbsp. of water

Sugar

Salt

Oil

Dipping Sauce:

Cucumber, julienned 

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

2 tbsp. Ketchup (tomato ketchup)

1 tbsp. Chili sauce

1/4 tsp. tamarind paste, mix with 3/4 tsp. water

Sugar

Salt

Water

Directions

1. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, add in ground beef, curry powder, corriander powder, and black pepper. Stir in salt and sugar to taste. Cook until meat is done and the juice from the meat has dried out a little bit. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk eggs, add in beef mixture and scallion, stir to mix well. 

3. Heat oil in a pan, then take 1 or 2 of the wrapper, put in on a plate, put about 3 tbsp. of the beef stuffing on the wrapper and fold it like envelope. Use the corn starch mixture to glue the wrapper. Fry it immediately with the folds on the bottom. Turn once and when it's golden browned, remove from heat. Serve with the dipping sauce.

How to make dipping sauce:

1. Mix soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chili sauce, tamarind mixture, and water. Stir to mix well. Keep adding water f it's too thick. This dipping sauce is not supposed to be thick at all. Add in sugar and salt. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Then stir in the cucumber. Ready to serve.

Note: It's easier to use 2 wrapper, because if you only use one, the stuffing makes it soggy so easily and it may falls apart before you fry it. I suggest you fry it immediately after you fold the wrap. For best result, pan fry it, do not use a deep frier as pan frying helps to secure the folds of the wrap. 

Chuck Roast

Ingredients

1 Chuck Roast (4-5 lb.)

1 large Onion, sliced

4 medium cloves of garlic, cut it into 8 slivers

1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steak seasoning, if desired

Salt & Pepper

Any herbs you like (I use herbs de provance, which contains  rosemary, basil, thyme, sage, savory and marjoram).

Directions

1. With a sharp knife, make 8 small incisions around the roast (4 on each side). Place a sliver of garlic into each incision.

2. Spread Olive Oil all around the roast.

3. Sprinkle around the roast with salt and pepper, steak seasonings (if desired) and herbs.

4. Place the roast in a baking dish. Sprinkle sliced onion around the roast. You can add potatoes too if you like to eat with potatoes.

5. Preheat oven 500 F. Brown the roast for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 300 F, continue to roast to desired doneness. If you're using meat thermometer, cook until the inside temperature of the roast is 150 F for medium well and 160F for well done.

6. Serve with steamed or stir-fry vegetables and mashed or whole potatoes.

Asian Style Grilled Beef Ribs (Iga Panggang)

This is a really delicious Indonesian dish. One of my favorites. Recipe from one of my best friends, Anna T. Ardiansyah.

Ingredients
2 lb. beef ribs
3 kaffir lime leaves (this is very rare, I can't even find it in any asian grocery store here. You can buy online or substitute it with lemon zest)
2 short stalks of lemon grass, pounded
1 inch of fresh ginger, pounded
8 tbsp. sweet soy sauce (you can find this in asian grocery store, the one I use is called Kecap Manis, product from Indonesia)
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. oil
Spice paste:
To make spice paste, ground and blend this following ingredients
8 cloves of shallot
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. whole coriander
2 tsp. cumin


Directions

• Place beef ribs in slow cooker, add in a little bit of water and cook undisturbed on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. If you don't have slow cooker, you can boil the ribs in a medium heat, for a couple hour or until the ribs are tender and start to come off of the bones).
• Mix spice paste and all the ingredients in a large pan. When the ribs are done, add in beef ribs and toss to coat well, let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Add in a little bit of water, cook and bring to boil or until the sauce is absorbed. 
• Remove ribs from the sauce and grill on medium-high for 3 minutes.
• Spoon sauce over the ribs and serve with steamed vegetables and fries or jasmine rice, if desired.

Szechuan Beef

Recipe from the book: McCormick 3-step Cooking With Flavor.

Ingredients

1 lb. flank steak, cut into thin strips
1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/8 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup shreded carrot
1/4 cup chopped scallion
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. sherry or dry white wine
2 tbsp. sesame oil (I use premium sesame oil)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. Sesame Seed


Directions
1. Stir together soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, Ground Ginger, Garlic Powder, Ground Cloves and Crushed Red Pepper. Add steak, toss to coat evenly. Refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Heat vegetable oil in skillet or wok over high heat. When very hot, add bell pepper and carrot. Stir fry 1 minute. Remove beef from marinade, discard any remaining marinade. Add beef in skillet, stir fry for 4 minutes or until beef is just cooked. Sprinkle with scallions and Sesame Seed. Serve with white rice and Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce.

To make Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce: 
Stir together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper and 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger until blended.

Pepper Steak

Recipe from the book: McCormick 3-step Cooking With Flavor.

Ingredients
2 lb. top round steak, cut into thin strips
1 Package Pot Roast Seasoning Mix
¾ cup tomato juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips


Directions
1. Stir together Pot Roast Seasoning Mix, tomato juice, soy sauce, tomato paste, onion powder and garlic powder in a small bowl until blended.
2. Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat, add steak and cook for 2 minutes or until no longer pink. Add onion, bell pepper and seasoning mixture and bring to boil.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6 minutes or until meat is cooked through and sauce is slightly thick. Remove from heat and serve over rice, if desired. 

Steak with Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

Beef steaks

Gourmet Sea Salt  (or you can use regular salt)

Black Pepper

2 tbsp. butter

30 ml Brandy (You can use Rum if you don't have Brandy)

125 ml whipped cream

Directions

1. Season the steak with  salt & pepper. Melt butter in a pan and sear the steak  on a pan until both sides are lightly brown, then transfer the steak to a baking dish and bake in 375 F for 45 minutes or until desired doneness. 

2. In the same pan with the remaining melted butter and steak juice, add in the whipped cream and brandy or rum, stir bring to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the steak. 

3. Serve with potatoes and steamed vegetables. 

Steak with Mushrooms and Brown Sauce

Ingredients

Beef steaks

Steak Seasoning or Salt & Pepper

Brown gravy mix (you can make your own mix, but I use the brown gravy from Sam's, I just really like it)

Mushrooms

Butter

Garlic Powder

Potatoes

Directions

1. Season the steak with steak seasoning or salt & pepper. Bake in 375 F for 45 minutes or until desired doneness. 

2. Mean while, make the brown gravy mix according to the package instructions, set aside. Heat butter in a pan, stir in mushrooms, sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are soften. Remove from heat, pour on to the steak then pour the gravy mix on it. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley if you like. Serve with mashed potato and steamed vegetables.

To make mashed potato:

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, melted-butter, salt and pepper to taste; mash with potato masher or electric beater slowly until smooth, creamy and fluffy.

Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

The creamy mushroom sauce recipe is from a friend of mine, Rosa Damborg.

Ingredients
Beef steaks
Salt & Pepper or Steak Seasonings if desired

Creamy Mushroom Sauce:                                            
3 ½ tbsp. butter
Mushrooms                                
300 ml milk                                                
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
50 ml water
Salt & Pepper


Directions
1. Season the steak with steak seasoning or salt & pepper. Put steak in a baking dish, add in some potatoes around the steak for the side dish if you like. Bake in 375 F for 45 minutes or until desired doneness. 
2. Make the cream sauce; melt butter in a sauce pan, add in mushrooms, cook until they're soften then add in milk and bring to boil. Stir in flour and water. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk if it's too thick. Keep stirring and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Pour cream sauce over the steak. Serve with green bean stir-fry or steamed vegetables and potatoes. 

• Note: Green bean stir-fry recipe is located in Vegetable page.

Beef Teriyaki

Recipe from my maid back in Indonesia.

Ingredients

1 lb. round steak, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tsp. Premium Sesame Oil
30 ml Mirin


Marinade ingredients:
75 ml Teriyaki marinade sauce
20 ml Sake
1 tsp. ginger juice (grate fresh ginger and take the juice)
3 tbsp. sweet soy sauce (you can find it in asian grocery store, the I use called Kecap Manis from Indonesia)
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dasinomoto


Directions
1. In a bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients, add meat and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil in a pan, saute garlic and onion until fragrant and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil and 1 tsp. of sesame oil, stir in the meat and the remaining marinade, cook until the meat is done. Stir in onion, garlic and mirin. Cook for a couple minute. 
4. Serve with jasmine rice.

Beef Yakiniku

Ingredients
1 lb. round steak, cut into thin strips
1 Onion, sliced
100 ml chicken broth
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sauce:
100 ml soy sauce
100 ml sake
50 ml white/red wine (optional)
¼ cup sugar
1 scallion, sliced
2 ½ tbsp. sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tbsp. roasted sesame seed


Directions
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to boil. Remove sesame seed from the sauce, and set aside. Then remove the sauce from heat, and set aside.
2. Sauté garlic and onion until fragrant, then add in green bell pepper, cook for a few minutes and set aside.
3. Heat cooking oil and olive oil in a pan, add in the meat, cook until browned then pour in the sauce and chicken broth, stir well and cook in a low-medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender and the sauce is absorbed and almost gone. 
4. Add in the onion and green pepper, then sprinkle with the sesame seed. Cook for a couple minute.
5. Serve with jasmine rice.

Chinese Style Black Pepper Beef

Ingredients
1 lb. round steak, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced, divided

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 tsp. cornstarch, mix with 4 tbsp. of water

Marinated ingredients:
1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. egg white

1 tsp. meat tenderizer

1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. rice wine

1 tsp. cornstarch, mix it with 3 tbsp. water
Chicken Bouillon

Black Pepper sauce:

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tbsp. sugar

half of chopped onion

4 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. soy sauce

3 cloves of garlic, chopped 

2 tbsp. black pepper

½ tsp. MSG (optional)

Directions

1. Mix the marinated ingredients, toss in beef, marinate for at least 2 hours.

2. Fry processed beef in deep oil, drain them and put aside.
3. Make the black pepper sauce. Sauté onion until transparent, then add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add all the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 5 mins, then remove from heat and set aside.
4. Sauté the remaining chopped onion, then add in green bell pepper. Stir in the beef and the black pepper sauce, stir well. Pour in cornstarch mixture, stir until the sauce is slightly thick. Serve with jasmine rice.

Beef in Oyster Sauce

Recipe from my Mom.

Ingredients

1 lb. round steak, cut into thin strips

1 Onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped

150 ml water
4 tbsp. Oyster sauce
2 tbsp. Sweet Soy Sauce (you can get it in Asian Store, the one I am using is called Kecap Manis from Indonesia)
1 tsp. Corn Starch, dilute in 3 tbsp of water

Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Sautee garlic and onion until fragrant, then add in sliced beef, and cook until the meat is no longer pink.
2. Add in water and bring to boil.
3. Add in oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, salt, pepper and corn starch mixture, stir well. Cook until the meat is throughly cooked and the sauce is slightly thick.

4. Serve with rice.