.JPG "Organic ground beef")
Have you ever noticed that the ground beef you buy at the grocery store is nice and red on the outside and yet when you break into it its brown inside? That is a huge turn off for me. This meat is the same color through and through.
Plus, the ground beef you buy at the shops is composed of a whole bunch of beef from a variety of animals all ground together. You could have the DNA from a multitude of animals in that one package of ground meat.
This stuff we buy locally is much, much different. The meat in each package is generally from the same animal. I like that idea very much.
For the meatloaf you will use 1/4 of the package. 4 ounces or 115grams of the beef. I downsized my regular meatloaf recipe so that it makes one delicious 4-ounce ramekin sized meatloaf.
It might be small, but the flavors are huge. This is moist and delicious. I have simply glazed it with a tangy glaze, but you could add a slice of bacon to the top if you wanted to.
This is one of the options you can freeze for later use. Just cool it down, wrap tightly in cling film. Pop into a zip lock baggie and freeze for up to three months.
When you are ready to eat it, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently until heated through for eating. You can either do this in the oven or microwave. It's up to you.
.JPG "Ingredients for meatloaf")
Because I was making mashed potatoes for the top of the Cottage pie, it was very easy to make a little bit more at the same time to serve with the meatloaf. It was also easy to prepare some extra mixed vegetables to serve alongside as well.
Moist and delicious this meatloaf is an old family favorite that I can now enjoy on my own without having to eat it for days on end! I call that a win!
.JPG "browned meat")
The remainder of the meat then gets crumbled into a skillet and browned along with a finely chopped onion and clove of garlic. This will be divided up to make the remaining three dishes.
.JPG "Ground Beef Nachos")
One third will be removed and mixed together with some taco seasoning. This will serve as the beefy topping for your Sheet Pan Nachos. These are delicious served hot from the oven with your favorite toppings and some salsa and sour cream on the side.
Unfortunately, today I didn't have as many things to use for the toppings as I normally would use. Normally I would top them with diced peppers as well as tomatoes, black olives and jalapenos, cheese, spring onions, etc. These I am showing you today are very plain in comparison. You can top them with whatever you want to top them with and with what you enjoy eating!
This meaty topping is one of the options you can pack in an airtight container and freeze (for up to three months) ready to take out and reheat and use to top some nachos (or even pop into a taco) at a later date.
.JPG "Cottage Pie for One")
The remaining 2/3 of the browned ground beef is cooked further, into a beefy, meaty gravy mixture. Half of which will be used to make a delicious Cottage Pie.
This is the meal I recommend you eating on the day. Potatoes don't really freeze well in my experience. Maybe it is just that I don't know how to do it, but they always end up a bit watery in my opinion.
Delicious ground beef in a fabulous gravy, topped with mixed vegetables and a fluffy buttery thatch! You can't go wrong. All you need is a salad on the side.
.JPG "Atlantic Poutine")
The remainder of the beef in gravy has some frozen baby peas added to it, is heated through to cook the peas and then is ladled over hot French fries and topped with cheese in what is a very popular Atlantic Poutine recipe here in the Maritime Provinces.
I guess you might call it the Maritime equivalent of a Haystack Supper, Canadianized into a delicious Poutine supper.
Crisp hot fries? Check! Tasty ground beef and peas in a beefy onion gravy? Check! Plenty of melted cheese? Check! Delicious? CHECK!!
You can freeze the ground beef and peas in gravy to make your poutine another time. Pop it into an airtight container, label and freeze for up to three months. When you are ready to eat it simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then gently reheat in a saucepan while you cook your fries.
.JPG "Cottage Pie for one")
So, there you have it. Four delicious main dishes from one pound of ground beef, perfectly sized for one person to enjoy! You can't go wrong!
As a single person living on my own, I really hate waste. I am really enjoying exploring my options when it comes to cooking for just one or two people. Some other delicious meals I have down sized are:
LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN FOR ONE - Chicken breast is marinated in a delicious and tangy marinade and then baked to perfection, ready to serve with pasta or rice. Quite simply delicious.
SHEET PAN ROASTED SEA BASS - Perfectly roasted delicious sea bass, with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, onions and toasted cashew nuts, all cooked together on pan. No fuss, no muss, hardly any clean up.
Single Serve Ground Beef Meals for one
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) lean ground beef or steak mince
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely minced
- 4 ounces (115g) of the beef (from above)
- 1/4 cup (15g) soft white breadcrumbs
- 1 large free range egg yolk, lightly beaten (freeze the white for another time)
- 2 TBS finely chopped onion (from above)
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, divided
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 TBS milk
- 2 TBS ketchup
- 1/2 TBS brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
- 3/4-pound (345g) ground beef/minced steak
- the remainder of the onion (see above)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS of flour (for the gravy)
- 1 cup (240ml) beef stock (for the gravy)
- 1/2 TBS taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup (65g) grated Jack cheese
- 12 to 15 tortilla chips
- your favorite nacho toppings
- sour cream and salsa to serve
- 1/2 of the hamburger gravy
- 1/4 cup of frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 medium russet potatoes
- a knob of butter
- salt and black pepper to taste
- a small quantity of warm milk (you will use half of the mashed potatoes to serve with the meatloaf)
- 1/2 of the hamburger gravy
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 of a bag of a (four-serving size) French fries, cooked (I use my air fryer)
- 1/2 cup (65g) grated Mozzarella or Mozzarella/Cheddar blend cheese
Instructions
- For the meatloaf, preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Have ready a small baking dish.
- Gently mix together the beef, onion, breadcrumbs, egg yolk, milk, 1/4 tsp of dry mustard powder, salt, pepper and Worcestershire Sauce until well combined. Don't over work the meat or you will have a tough meatloaf.
- Gently pack into a ramekin and then tip the shape out onto your baking dish.
- Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of the dry mustard powder. Spread this over top of the meatloaf.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.
- While the meatloaf is baking pop the potatoes into a saucepan of lightly salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for fifteen minutes until fork tender. Drain well and then mash together with the knob of butter, milk and some seasoning. Keep warm. (Half of this will be used to top the Cottage pie and half to serve with the meatloaf.)
- Crumble the remaining ground beef into a dry skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Season with some salt and black pepper. Dry scramble until cooked through and evenly browned. Remove one third of this and set aside for the nachos.
- Sprinkle the flour over top of the remaining meat in the pan. Cook, stirring for one minute to cook out the flour taste. Slowly stir in the beef stock. Continue to cook, stirring, over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Cook for two to three minutes over low heat.
- Remove half of the beef gravy and spread it into a small pie dish. Add the frozen peas to the remaining beef gravy in the saucepan and set aside to keep warm.
- Top with the frozen mixed vegetables. Spoon half of the mashed potatoes over top and rough them up a bit with a fork. Pop onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until heated through and bubbling. Serve hot.
- For the Maritime Poutine, cook your French fries as per your desired method. Spread onto a plate. Top with the hamburger pea gravy and the cheese. Allow the cheese to melt and serve immediately.
- For the nachos, spread the tortilla chips out onto a baking sheet. Stir the Taco seasoning into the browned ground beef. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over top of the tortilla chips. Sprinkle with cheese and your desired toppings.
- Bake in the oven until heated through and the cheese has melted. Serve hot with salsa and sour cream.
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
- 1 cup diced lettuce (romaine or iceberg)
- 2 TBS diced green pepper
- 2 TBS chopped red onion
- 6 grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 TBS Kalamata Olives (mine were tiny)
- 1 TBS hot pepper rings
- 6 slices of pepperoni, thinly cut into shreds
- 2 TBS chopped mild hard Genoa salami
- 2 TBS diced provolone or Swiss cheese
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
.JPG "Italian Dinner Salad for One")
Italian Dinner Salad for one
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced lettuce (romaine or iceberg)
- 2 TBS diced green pepper
- 2 TBS chopped red onion
- 6 grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 TBS Kalamata Olives (mine were tiny)
- 1 TBS hot pepper rings
- 6 slices of pepperoni, thinly cut into shreds
- 2 TBS chopped mild hard Genoa salami
- 2 TBS diced provolone or Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBS good balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp each, salt and black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 TBS grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- I like to lay all of the salad ingredients out attractively in a single serving pasta bowl. I place the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl and then lay out the other ingredients like spokes on a wheel.
- To make the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together until well combined. Alternately you can place them into a jar and give them a good shake.
- Drizzle about 1 TBS over your salad and then toss everything together to coat.
.jpg)
.jpg "Steak au Poivre")
If I had to choose my favorite food, as difficult as it might be to do (because well, I just love everything!) I would probably choose a good steak above all else. But, you know, with the cost of steak today, it is a rare treat.
My favorite of all has to be a nice fillet steak and that is the priciest of all. But boy oh boy. It is worth every penny.
I was recently offered the chance to take a cooking course via BBC Maestro. I have always considered BBC to be the epitome of excellence when it comes to everything, and especially cooking. When I lived in the UK, I loved their cooking shows, and attending the BBC Good Food Show every year was always the highlight of the year for me!
I have always wanted to take a cooking course. I had no idea that I could do such a thing online and via the BBC no less. I jumped at the chance. They offer all kinds of courses by the way.
BBC Maestro is an online platform where you can learn directly from experts such as Gary Barlow, David Walliams, Julia Donaldson, Mark Ronson, Helena Bonham Carter, Marco Pierre White and many others. As you can see here, each of them teaches a course in their area of expertise. There is something for every interest you might have.
I was spoilt for choice and I had a very difficult time making up my mind. I would love to take all of the cooking courses, and some of the others as well, but I had to narrow down my choices and pick one.
I decided to take this one, Delicious Food Cooked Simply by Marco Pierre White. I love the idea of simple food being cooked deliciously and to actually be tutored by a Top Michelin Chef, well, this opportunity was like a dream come true for me.
Imagine being taught in the comfort of your own home by a master such as Marco Pierre White! And what I really liked about it was that I could do it at my own pace. With 35 lessons in the course, I could stop the videos at any point, and then carry on as and when I had the time.
Notes were provided for download, containing all of the recipes so I could go and pick up any ingredients needed ahead of time, make sure I had any equipment needed in place as well. I have listened through the course all the way through now, and have the luxury of going back through all of the lessons and cooking each recipe as and when I have the time, etc. The course is mine to keep indefinitely.
I found him very easy to listen to and to watch, and I really enjoyed learning how he got started cooking. I also enjoyed all of the hints and tips he shares along the way, the ins and outs of why he does what he does, and how he does it. How to cook everything from scrambled eggs, shrimp cocktail, a simple Bolognese, lentils, etc. perfectly and how to use the basic elements of the course to create other classic dishes.
For instance, he teaches you how to cook a simple tomato sauce. This simple sauce is then used to create a delicious Ragu Bolognese, which is then used to create a fabulous Macaroni Cheese with Ragu Bolognese.
That is the essence of simple cooking, being able to build upon skills already learned to create more varied and a bit more complicated dishes, but it is done line upon line and precept upon precept. I really liked that.
As Marco says, "Live in a world of refinement, not invention." I love that. There is nothing new under the sun, only better ways of doing things.
He also says, "Perfection is lots of little things done well." This should be the mantra of everything we do in our lives.
To highlight what I learned on this course I wanted to highlight one specific recipe to share with you. Steak au Poivre. Steak au Poivre is a true classic. A dish which has truly withstood the test of time, and which will always be popular and delicious.
And with the holiday season coming up, what better recipe to share. But it is much more than just a recipe. From Marco Pierre White himself:
"Pepper is too often thought of as simply seasoning. It is not, it is a spice and should be used like one. It is a unique spice that suits most delicious, but it can also be much more than that, as I demonstrate with this dish. Every ingredient should be considered when cooking, every moment of cookery questioned, and this dish should make you think deeper about black pepper and the way you use it."
I will never think about pepper in quite the same way again.
.jpg "Steak au Poivre")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE STEAK AU POIVRE
Simple ingredients done well, put together in the most delicious way possible.
- clarified butter
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- cracked black pepper
- 1 large glass of Brandy
- 300ml (about 1 1/4 cups) cream (I used heavy)
- brown stock
- Dijon mustard
- fine salt
- 4 fillet steaks
- cornflour (cornstarch)
.jpg "Steak au Poivre")
HINTS AND TIPS FROM MARCO PIERRE WHITE
The amount of pepper you add to your sauce is at your discretion. If you like the heat and spike of the ingredient, then indulge yourself. If you don't, then hold back a little and prepare a more subtle dish.
Recipes are only ever a guideline. They should never dictate your work; your palate is what should dictate your cooking.
A perfect sauce must have texture but must also be light. There is nothing worse than a sauce dominating the rest of the plate.
To help the crust adhere to the steak start in a dry pan. Any added oil or butter will wash off the crust. Set the crust in a dry pan, and only the add fat.
If you are wanting to cook some steak but don't have a budget that quite lends itself to a fillet steak might I suggest the following recipes:
GARLIC STEAK BITES & POTATOES - Perfectly tender and juicy bits of flavorful steak cooked in a skillet along with crispy golden potatoes. Delicious!
GRILLED STEAK SANDWICH - This pub style steak sandwich is an open-faced sandwich that even a lady can feel comfortable eating. Light enough to please a delicate palate, but hearty enough to please a man, especially if you add some chips (fries) on the side!
Steak au Poivre
Ingredients
- clarified butter
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- cracked black pepper
- 1 large glass of Brandy
- 300ml (about 1 1/4 cups) cream (I used heavy)
- brown stock
- Dijon mustard
- fine salt
- 4 fillet steaks
- cornflour (cornstarch)
Instructions
- Heat a few spoons of clarified butter in a heavy base pan set over a medium to high flame. When hot add the chopped onions and garlic and soften, stirring frequently.
- Add a good pinch of cracked black pepper and stir to mix in with the frying onions.
- Pour in the brandy and let it reduce. Do not let the bandy ignite. If it does, bow it out immediately. Reduce the brandy until it is sticky and amost entirely evaporated. Pour in the cream, let it come slowly to a simmer, then cook until reduced to a thick coating consistency.
- When the sauce has reached a coating consistency, add enough brown stock to create a cafe-au-lait color. Spoon in a little mustard, then season with fine salt and add a generous pinch of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Cover and leave to infuse.
- Mix together a generous amount of coarse ground black pepper with some corn flour. Season the top of the steak with salt, then push the steaks into the corn flour and pepper mix. Cover only one side with the pepper crust.
- Lay the steaks, crusted side down, into a dry pan, season with salt. (By dry pan he means a pan without any fat added. And placed over medium high flame.) When the steaks have had a few minutes on their crust, spoon in a little clarified butter. Very gently turn the steaks onto their non-crusted side. (He does not recommend using tongs. Use your fingers.) Continue to fry until you reach medium rare. Leave the steaks in the pan to stay warm and rest.
- Remove the covering from the pepper sauce, then sieve directly on to the steaks. Put the combined ingredients over a hot flame until the sauce just simmers. Give the pan a little nudge to encourage the sauce to mix with the resting juices.
- Serve immediately from the pan with fresh chips and a green salad.
Social Icons