Tomato Beef, Okra, and Apple Ragu- Tender Beef Dressed Up in Tomato Love

It's the end of the week and I'm looking through my almost naked refrigerator and freezer.  I found frozen okra, a lemon, tough cuts of beef, and tomato sauce, added a few spices laying around in the cupboard, let them tango with one another and out came a spiced version of a tradition Chinese dish- Tomato Beef.  It's crazy how even in times when it seems as though you have nothing left in your kitchen, that you can come up with such a delicious dish.  Tangy, sweet, tender, spiced beef with apples and okra, this dish is hard to mess up and easy to eat.  

The beef I had on hand is known to be one tough cookie.  You'd either have to marinate it or cook it over a long period of time to tenderize it.  I didn't have time to marinate nor cook it over a long period of time so I decided to take the fail-proof way out: dredge and pan fry.  To finish, I stewed the beef in a tomato base sauce.  The method of dredging in flour and egg is the trick to keeping moisture in, allowing for the beef to become tender.  You can also apply this method to other tough cuts of meat such as pork chops.   

This dish may not be the most enticing looking dish I've made, but I can assure you that it tastes just great! 

*See the white fibers running down the meat? You can cut them out or leave them as is.  They're on the gummy side.  I left the beef as is. They didn't bother me at all.

 

Servings 3; 30min

Ingredients:

• 1tbsp oil
• 1 lb beef round sirloin tip cubed 1/2''(IGA) brought to room temp.
• 1tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 cup frozen cut okra (or fresh)
• 2 small apples pitted and diced

 Sauce:

• 1/4 cup lime or lemon juice
• 2tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2tsp cajun seasoning
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp ground bay leaf powder
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 can 15oz tomato sauce

 Flour:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/2tsp cajun seasoning or paprika
• 1 egg beaten

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, cajun seasoning.  
2.  Dredge cubes of beef in flour mixture.  Shake off excess.
3.  Dip floured cubes into egg.
4.  Return to flour mixture. Coat well then shake off excess.
5.  Heat non stick pan medium high heat. Add oil.  Spread oil to coat pan.
6.  Place floured cubes in an even layer leaving gaps in between pieces.
7.  Do no Stir. Cook for ~4 min.  Flip and cook for ~4min.
8.  Push cubes to side on pan.
9.  Add butter on empty side. Add onions and cook until translucent.
10.  Add frozen okra, apples, and sauce mixture (lemon juice, sugar, pepper, salt, bay leaf, ketchup.  Add tomato sauce. Mix well.
11. Cover and simmer on lowest heat ~13min. or until meat is cooked.  
12. Serve with white rice and a side salad.
13. As always, Enjoy!

*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary.
*Okra has a slimy consistency that many do not favor. Make sure you don't mind slimy textured things although you can hardly notice it in this dish as it blends in with the tomato sauce.

Apple Sausage Rice Burrito - A Mexican Inspired Recipe

warning: don't cut foil with knife. it will get into your burrito lo

I grew up with Mexican food all around me (I'm from San Diego-neighbor of Mexico) and naturally, I ate it all the time.  In turn, I developed Mexican Food taste buds that need to be satisfied from time to time.

Since there are virtually no Mexican Restaurants in Grenada, I decided to attempt to bring Mexico here, into my kitchen.  The recipe below was inspired by Mexican Rice,  a tomato rice that I normally top off with sour cream, hot sauce, guacamole, and shredded meat.  It may not seem like a traditional Mexican recipe, but that's because I decided to put a modern twist on it, adding a few more flavorful healthy ingredients.  If you know me, you'll know that I love veggies and try to incorporate them into all of my recipes when possible.

I hope you try this one out. It's one of my recipes I'm most proud of.  The burrito is jam packed with one heck of a dream team of ingredients, textures, and flavors. With spiced sausage, the sweetness of apple, crunch of celery, and tang of lime, you can't go wrong.

3-4 servings; 15-25min

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 inches Polish Keilbasa (IGA) Diced ~1/3cup
• salt (1/2tsp), pepper (sprinkle), and cajun seasoning (1/2tsp)
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 1 small carrot shredded
• 1 small apple diced (fuji or gala)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs ketchup
• 1 1/4 cup cold day old rice
• wrap or tortilla toasted
• sour cream and hot sauce (optional)... but oh so necessary for me hahah.

Directions:
1.  Heat up non stick pan. medium high heat.  Add oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
2.  Add Sausage and seasonings.  Stir fry until sausage has browned.
3.  Add celery, carrot, and apple. Cook for 3 min. or until celery shrinks a bit.
4.  Add tomato paste, lime juice, ketchup.  Stir and cook for another 3 min. or until oil starts separating from tomato paste.
5.  Stir in rice and cook till heated through.
6. Shred cheese on top on toasted tortilla or wrap. scoop rice mixture onto tortilla. add sour cream. fold in sides or wrap towards center. flip bottom over and roll. wrap in foil to prevent burrito from creating mess.

*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary. 

Arroz Caldo - The "Chicken Soup" of the Philippines

That dish is a simplified version of American Chicken Soup.  It's certainly the go-to dish for when people are a little under the weather, though sick or not sick, the flavor remains hearty.  The ingredients are very affordable and there's practically no work involved in making it.  You can easily double the recipe for a bigger serving.   

2 servings; 30-40min
Ingredients:

• 1tbs oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 inch ginger slice diced (~1 loose tbsp)
• 1lb chicken drumettes
• 3/4tsp salt
• 2tbsp fish sauce
• 1 cup uncooked white rice rinsed and drained
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

Topping: golden fried garlic, boiled egg, diced green onion, splash lemon juice (this is the traditional way of serving, but I didn't have any of these ingredients at the time). 


Directions
1.  Heat a small pot. medium high heat.  Add oil.
2.  Add onion, garlic, ginger. stir until onions are translucent.
3.  Add chicken and salt. cook ~3 min or until chicken is no longer pink.
4. add fish sauce and rice. stir and cook 3 min.
5. add water, parsley, black pepper. bring up to boil.  stir, cover, and lower heat to a gentle simmer for ~25-30min.  this will allow for flavors to develop and soup to thicken.

*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary.