Olive Gardens Grilled Steak Crostada

On Monday night, Chilly and I went to dinner at Olive Garden.  We had seen advertisements on television of some items they are currently serving for a limited time.  One of them was the Grilled Steak Crostada.  We both tried it and loved it.  Both of us hope it will remain on the menu instead of being for a short time.

This meal had four grilled steak medallions which was cooked to our request.  The campanelle pasta had pancetta bacon and a four cheese sauce on it.  They served two cheese crostadas (similar to crackers) which were crispy and very tasty along with the pasta and steak.  The whole meal was delicious.  Of course, we both enjoyed the salad and bread sticks prior to our meal being served too.

If you would like to try something different, try this.  If beef is not your thing, they do this meal with grilled chicken as well..  I'm sure it has to be just as delicious.

Betty Crocker's Hamburger Stroganoff

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, minced (I prefer the minced garlic)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (8 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 cups hot cooked noodles
Snipped parsley

In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef and onion in butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt, garlic or garlic salt, pepper and mushrooms; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in soup; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat through. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with snipped parsley.

4 to 6 servings.

Brunswick Stew

2  1/2 cups each of cooked chicken, pork, and beef which has been chopped or ground finely. (We use chicken that has been boiled or roasted, roast beef, and pork left over from a roast or pork chops.  If you boil the chicken, use the broth from the chicken for the moisture in the stew.)
3  potatoes diced very small
3  cups fresh frozen whole kernel corn or 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2  onions diced very small
1  can Rotel tomatoes
1  medium can chopped tomatoes
1  large can tomato juice
1  can tomato soup
1  tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
(If you don't want to use Rotel tomatoes, add an additional can of tomatoes and a dash of hot sauce and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.)


Mix all together and cook on medium heat.  Turn the heat down and simmer like you would spaghetti sauce--at least a couple of hours.

This is great to freeze in containers that can be microwaved.  I serve it with crackers.

Mexican Skewers.

1 petite shoulder tender (8 oz)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoon Cointreau
2 tablespoon Tequila
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeded
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cut petite tender into one inch cubes, set aside. In a food processor, combine remaining ingredients processing until smooth.

Add beef cubes to marinade and refrigerate
30 minutes to overnight. Drain marinade; discard. Place marinated beef cubes on a five-inch wooden skewer. Grill to medium doneness.

Sauteed Steaks w/Red Wine and Peppers.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
4 top chuck steaks (about 2 pounds in all), pounded to 1/2-inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 cup red wine


Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium frying pan over moderately low heat. Stir in the onion, oregano, garlic, and bell peppers. Cook, covered, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat. Season the steaks with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Put the steaks in the hot pan and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until done to medium rare, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove.

Add the bell-pepper mixture, the wine, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper to the large frying pan. Boil until the wine is completely absorbed, about 5 minutes. Serve the steak topped with the vegetables.

Pounding Meat:
Pounding tenderizes meat and also makes it thinner so it will cook more quickly. Cover the meat with a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper and then flatten the steak with a traditional meat pounder or the bottom of a heavy frying pan. Or, ask your butcher to pound the meat for you.

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Chuck steaks have a full beefy flavor and stay remarkably tender when cooked to a rosy medium rare. If you like steaks well done, though, choose a different cut or the meat will be chewy. The red wine is meant to flavor the onion and peppers, not to make a sauce. Boil it until it's completely absorbed by the vegetables.

WINE RECOMMENDATION:
With these steaks, you need a richly flavored, full-bodied red. Take a break from the same old cabernet sauvignon and try a refosco, a robust yet surprisingly sophisticated wine from the extreme northeast corner of Italy.

Potato Surprise

10 medium-large baking potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups ground cooked meat
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or
1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground sweet paprika
2 cups gravy or Mushroom Sauce

Cook whole potatoes in water to cover, over medium-high heat 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from water, then discard water. Let potatoes cool, then peel.
Lengthwise, cut top 1/5 off each potato, then reserve tops. Carefully hollow out each potato, leaving a 1/2 inch-thick shell; reserve potato flesh for other use.
Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease a shallow baking dish.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine in a medium skillet. Add onion, then saute over medium heat until tender. Blend in meat, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
Stuff potatoes with meat mixture, then replace tops. Arrange potatoes in greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; stir in paprika. Brush mixture lightly over potatoes.
Bake 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.

Serve hot with gravy or Mushroom Sauce poured on top, if desired.

One dish meal

1 large onion, diced.
1 1/2 lb. ground beef.
1 cup water.
1/2 cup flour.
2 tablespoons oil.
8 oz. grated Colby cheese.
3 cups mixed vegetables, cooked.
Mashed potatoes.

In small bowl, whisk the flour and water until it forms a paste. Set to side for now.
In a skillet, heat the oil. When oil is hot, add the onion and saute until softened. Now put it to side for now.
Put ground beef in a skillet and saute, breaking up large chunks with spatula, until browned. Drain grease. Stir in onion and mixed vegetables. Stir in the flour and water mixture. This will thicken the juices to form a sauce. When meat is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened, add salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
In a flat 10in x 10in x 2in casserole dish, (spray w/pam) Put the ground beef mixture in bottom. Then cover all with mashed potatoes. Put in oven uncovered for 30 minutes to get hot. Then cover all with grated cheese. Put back into oven until all cheese is melted.
Now you have your meat, taters and veggies all in one meal. :)

*Note: This is not the recipe to get creative with your mashed potatoes. A little milk, maybe some butter, mash with a potato masher.

Spaghetti Sauce

Get 1 pound stew beef or any kind of steak and 1 pound hot or sweet Italian Sausage
3- large cans of Italian Tomatoes
1- large can of Italian Tomato Paste
1/2 of a small onion
2- small cloves of garlic
olive oil
In a heavy pot, put in Olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and then a little more. Heat slightly and put in your beef and sausage and fry slowly until it is good and brown. Then take the meat out and put it aside and put the garlic and onion (cut up) and brown that good but don’t burn it as it browns easily. Then add the can of tomato paste to the onion and garlic in the pan and keep frying until the paste turns a little brown. (again, watch it as it browns easily). When nice and brown, crush your tomatoes and add to the paste and cook at a low heat adding your meat back in. Cook slowly for 4 hours or to desired thickness.

Italian Meat Balls

1- pound ground beef (1/2 pork and 1/2 beef)
1- cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
3/4 Cup of Grated Italian Cheese
1- Clove garlic cut up small
2- eggs beaten
salt and pepper to your taste
Mix all together, add about three tablespoons of water to mixture to make it soft. Mix well. Form into small balls and fry in olive oil until nice and brown. About ten or fifteen minutes on each side.

Lasagna

1- batch of spaghetti sauce (I do cheat some and used jar sauce)
1- box jumbo lasagna
Italian Spaghetti cheese
1- package of Mozzarella cheese
1- large (3 pound) container of whole milk ricotta cheese
1- pound sweet or hot sausage
1- pround of meat ball mix (ground beef and pork)
eggs
From the above, you will get two large baking pans.
1. Make your sauce the day before and cook the sausage in the sauce unless you use jar sauce
2. Take the meat ball mix and put in a fry pan without any grease. Break it up and fry it intil it is done. Pour the grease off and put it in a dish
3. The ricotta youhave to put in a bowl, add eggs, at least six and mix well, add a little black pepper. If it does not spreak easily, add more eggs, one at a time until right spreading consisistency.
4. The sauce that was cooked has to be cut up into small pieces
5. Need your spaghetti cheese
6. Cook lasagna and strain (not too soft)
Now you put it together:
1. Put spaghetti sauce on bottom of pan. Just a thin layer. Not too much.
2. Layer of Lasagna
3. Thin layer of ricotta mixture
4. Grated Mozzarella Cheese (I like to use a lot )
5. Sprinkle pieces of broken fried sausage on
6. Sprinkle fried meat ball mixture on
7. Add another thin layer of sauce and alternate the steps to 3 layers are done.
On top of last layer (Lasagna), just put sauce, spaghettti cheese and grated mozzarella cheese
Bake in 350 oven for about an hour or until Mozzarella cheese melts. Don’t overcook.

Cheesesteak

Start with good beef. Pat’s uses sliced rib-eye. Jim’s uses USDA choice top round western steer beef.
Shave the beef very thin so it cooks quickly and remains tender.
Use a fresh high quality Italian roll - Amoroso’s is a favorite.
Decide if you want your steak with or without fried onions.
Decide if you want a steak or a cheesesteak. If you elect a cheesesteak you need to decide on American cheese, provolone or the Philly favorite “cheez whiz.”
Any add-ons? Mushrooms, peppers, pizza sauce, tomatoes? You decide. It’s your sandwich.
Start to cook. Sauté the onions, peppers and mushrooms until soft.
Fry your steak until brown but not crispy or burned. You can mix in the fried vegetables now or add them at the end.
If you elect American cheese or provolone place the cheese on the meat until slightly melted. If you choose Cheez Whiz just smear it on the roll.
Place the roll over the meat/cheese/vegetables and scoop it into the sandwich.
Garnish your sandwich with pizza sauce, hot or sweet peppers or pickles as you choose.
Enjoy your Philadelphia cheesesteak.
Tips:
Using the best beef available is the key.
Don’t overcook the ingredients.