Today is our final recipe in the Cooking Light Ground Beef series. I served Italian-Style Beef with Polenta to my family last evening.

It took me a little longer than the recipe’s allotted forty minutes to prepare this dish. I attribute that to the fact that my three year old was in the midst of an intense round of stick-horse rodeo, which naturally, takes place in the kitchen. Also, just prior to the start of the rodeo he loaded most of the items in my pantry into his wagon and hauled them away. The pantry serves as his rodeo chute, don’t you know? So between, dodging bucking horses and tracking down the marinara sauce sitting in a little red wagon (which was parked next to the bathtub, of course) forty minutes was probably not realistic for me. Anyhow…

My family really enjoyed this dish. The meat sauce is simple and delicious. Choosing a good marinara sauce will make a big difference. Cooking Light recommends McCutcheon’s. Use what you and your family enjoy.

Haven’t tried polenta? No worries! It takes a little time, about twenty minutes, and a lot of stirring, but is really quite simple to prepare. I liked that this recipe adds oregano to the polenta and my kids loved that it was cheesy! Polenta is a nice change of pace from the usual pasta with meat sauce. Give it a try!

Enjoy!

Italian-Style Beef with Polenta

Total time: 40 min.

Serves 4

 

1 C. dry coarse-ground polenta

1 tsp. dried oregano

Dash of kosher salt

2 C. water

1 C 2% reduced-fat milk

¾ C. (3 oz.) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

cooking spray

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 C. chopped onion

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 C. lower-sodium marinara sauce

½ C. torn fresh basil

1. Place first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan. Gradually add 2 cups water and milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/3 cup cheese.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. Add beef; sauté 5 minutes. Stir to crumble. Remove beef; drain. Wipe pan; coat with cooking spray. Add onion, pepper, 1/8 tsp. salt, and garlic; sauté for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beef and sauce; simmer 8 minutes.
3. Divide polenta evenly among 4 shallow bowls. Top each serving with 1 cup beef mixture; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cheese and 2 tablespoons basil.

 

I have discovered so much about myself since I became a parent. Most of what I have learned has been reflected back to me by my kids. I will hear my three year old say something funny and wonder where he heard those words. It’s jarring to discover that he picked up that turn of phrase from me! I had no idea how many times I used the word “actually” until my kids started adding it to their conversations.

Actually, as they have gotten older they have progressed from mimicking our words to mimicking our activities.

Last weekend I heard the door slam and knew my older boys were going down to the horse barn. I continued helping the younger kids with their boots and chaps. Seconds later the door flew open and my oldest son sprinted through the house, ran to his room, then ran back out again with something in his hand. And slammed the door. Again.

My younger kids and I got our water bottles and finally made it outside. As we slowly made our way to the horse barn, the older boys came running up waving their camera. “Mom! Guess what we saw? A snake!”

“Here. Look!”

Yep, it was a snake. A fairly big one from what I could tell in the picture.

I asked my oldest boy if he knew whether it was a rattle snake or a bull snake. He quickly assured me it was just a big ol’ bull snake.

“See, I took a picture of his tail.”

Yep. Definitely a bull snake.

The parent in me had to ask, “Umm, why did you go for your camera instead of a shovel?”

His response: “Because I knew you’d want a picture of it, Mom.”

I had to laugh. He was right, I am happy to have his pictures. But, I might need to re-think my parenting style and remember to teach him a few basics.

Grab the shovel first, then the camera.

For this week’s installment in the Cooking Light Ground Beef Series, our recipe is Tortilla Meatball Soup. I was excited to prepare this recipe because it sounded so delicious. This one takes a bit of time because there are several steps, so plan accordingly.

When I read through this recipe, I thought it would be an odd flavor pairing to have potatoes and carrots with chipotle spiked meatballs. I was surprised by how well all of the flavors worked together. The roasted corn and peppers tied it all together. Most of the flavor is in the meatballs and they are fabulous. They are smoky and spicy from the chipotle chile–yum! Ground beef doesn’t always lend itself well to soups, but meatballs are superb.

The final verdict? My family loved this soup. Loved it! My husband raved about it and the kids licked their bowls clean.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Tortilla Meatball Soup

Total time: 1 hour 30 min.

Serves 6

 

2 jalapeño peppers

1 red bell pepper

2 ears corn on the cob (or 2 C. frozen corn)

4 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into ½-inch thick strips

cooking spray

¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided

6 garlic cloves, minced and divided

1/3 C. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1 pound ground sirloin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, minced

1 T. olive oil

2 C. chopped onion

2 C. (3/4 inch) cubed red potatoes

1 C. (1/2 inch thick) slices carrot

3 C. fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

2 C. water

½ C. (2 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

¼ C. (1 oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

½ C. chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Cut jalapeños and bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange corn (either cobs or frozen kernels) on baking sheet with pepper. Broil 4 to 6 minutes or until blackened, turning corn once. Place peppers in a paper bag; fold to seal. Let stand 15 minutes; peel. Mince jalapeños, and coarsely chop bell pepper. Cut corn kernels from cobs. Set aside.
3. Place tortilla strips in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat with cooking spray. Broil for 3 minutes or until golden brown, turning after 2 minutes. Set aside.
4. Combine ¼ tsp. salt, 1 garlic clove, panko, and the next 3 ingredients (through chipotle chile) in a large bowl, and gently mix until just combined. With moist hands, shape the meat mixture into 24 meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each).
5. Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add meatballs to pan; sauté for 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onion, potatoes, and carrot to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining 5 garlic cloves; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add peppers, broth, and 2 C. water; bring to a boil Reduce heat; simmer 20 minute or until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally. Return meatballs to pan. Add remaining ½ tsp. salt and corn; return to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes or until meatballs are done. Ladle 1 ½ cups soup into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with 4 teaspoons Monterey Jack cheese, 2 teaspoons cheddar cheese, and 4 teaspoons cilantro. Top evenly with tortilla strips.

Weather.                 Unchangeable.                     Fickle.                               Variable.                             Enjoyable.                        Severe.

Weather has a tremendous impact upon our ranch from day to day and year to year. As much as we try to plan, both short-term and long-term, those plans are nearly always dependent upon the weather.

This year has been a surprisingly wet year for our ranch. We received tremendous moisture in the spring and summer. What do I mean by tremendous? Well, it’s all on the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? The average annual precipitation for our area is 10″. That’s ten inches of total rain or snow.                                                                      In one year.                                                                                                  Basically, we live in the middle of a desert.                                                          When it does rain, the ground soaks it in and the grass shoots skyward. This year our area has received far more than the average amount of annual precipitation.

In other words, we are enjoying a good grass year on most areas of our ranch. Those ears you can barely see through the grass? They belong to a group of steers we bought earlier this summer out of north-central Nevada. I do believe they are content living on our ranch!

While we are reaping the benefits of a good grass year, I have many friends in the southwestern United States who are suffering through a severe drought. The stories they tell of selling their cows because there is simply no feed available are heartbreaking and humbling.

I listen to their stories and offer words of support, feeling futile and helpless. Then I remember the many phone calls and emails I received from these friends when we were coping with the Murphy Complex Fire here in Idaho. I remember how touched I was that they took the time to let us know they were thinking of our family and our livestock.

It is a reminder that cattle producers across the country all face severe weather in their regions. Knowing how hard we all work to produce a a safe beef supply, we feel each others pain in the face of harsh, cruel weather conditions.

Like many, I am praying that the rains will soon arrive for that region of our country.

While my oldest son was busy tending to his 4H steers all summer, my younger kids were charged with taking care of our three leppies (orphan calves).

The calves spend the day in a small pasture behind our barn. They eat grass, loll about in the shade and occasionally, when they are feeling frisky, they run and play.

Every evening, the kids bring the leppies into a small pen in the corral and lock them in for the night. They carefully measure out grain and haul water to the leppy pen.

In the morning, the kids open the gates and put the leppies out to graze for the day.

The leppies are the primary responsibility of my eight year old. He is learning so much from this experience. For instance, he has discovered that it is much easier to pack around coffee cans than five-gallon buckets. He is quite conscientious about the amount of grain he feeds his leppies, keeping track of how much they eat and when he needs to increase their feed.

My favorite thing is how much he watches the calves’ behavior. If he thinks one of them isn’t acting right or has a coug, or is fighting too many flies, he immediately tells me. Then he and I take care of the problem together. (The only problem we have had this summer has been too many flies. Yuck!)

My eight year old receives a great deal of assistance from his younger siblings.

Otherwise known as the “clothing-optional” crew.

When we shipped our yearlings last week, it took us a bit longer than usual to load the trucks. After their weigh-in, we brought all of the yearlings through the alley and chute of our working facility. Once they were in the alleyway Andy, our yearling guy, went to work with the magic wand.

We sold our yearlings as Age and Source Verified. Age and Source is a voluntary trace-back program that verifies each animal was born on our outfit and we can verify the age of our yearlings. The calves we bought last fall were included with our homegrown yearlings and shipped last week. Most of those calves were also Age and Source verified.

So, what do we do with this information? We pass it on down the line! When we sold our yearlings last week, we provided the feedlots that purchased them with the Age and Source information. When the yearlings are ready for harvest the feeder sells the animals to a packing plant and the Age and Source information then goes to the packer.

With the Age and Source statistics the packer can market that beef overseas to different countries depending on the specific trade regulations for each country. For example, some countries only buy beef that was younger than 30 months at the time of harvest. The only way to guarantee the 30 month age requirement is to market beef that has been Age and Source verified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you look closely, you can see the small round electronic identification tag in the left ear of these heifers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are small tags, even in my five-year old daughter’s hands they still look small. However, they carry a lot of information.

 

 

 

 

 

When Andy waves the wand about twelve inches from the ear tag, all of the statistics for that animal pops up on the screen of his hand held computer. Keeping all of our herd management records electronically is a huge time savings for us.

I must admit that not everyone was caught up in the excitement of magic wands and electronic ID tags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing in the dirt is a much higher priority for a certain little boy I know.