Lean Ground Beef With Potatoes Dinner + A Salmon recipe for Summer Fridays

Photos: Debra Turner (left) and Food & Wine (right)

I won't lie. My favorite dinner is beef and potatoes in all scrumptious forms. Steak and potatoes. Pot roast and potatoes. Beef stew with potatoes and vegetables. Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, a burger and fries, sauerbraten and kartoffelklöße, etc, etc. I never ever get tired of beef and potatoes!

Still, we limit how often we eat red meat for a myriad of health and environmental reasons. Listening to the science is wise. Cutting back is not cutting out completely. 

Recently I had a pound of 93% lean ground beef I used to grill a one-skillet meal. Easy, fast, spicy, and with little cleanup. The recipe I created below is just a guide. The ground beef I bought was on sale the day I went to the supermarket. Use 80%, 85%, 90% ground beef as they all work. Also, you can toss in or omit vegetables and/or spices to satisfy your tastes. You don't have to make ground beef and potatoes exactly the same way every time.

Ground Beef and Potatoes Skillet Dinner

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

2 medium potatoes, diced small to cook faster

1 medium onion, diced small

2 celery ribs, sliced thin

2 mini bell peppers, diced small

2 large fresh mushrooms, cut up

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon mustard

4 tablespoons ketchup 

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried garlic (or chopped fresh garlic)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

a good sprinkle of Worchestershire sauce

a good sprinkle of soy sauce

3 cut slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese, or your favorite cheese

Directions:

1) I started by breaking up and grilling the ground beef over medium heat.

2) When about medium done, I tossed in the diced potatoes, celery and onion. Smaller diced potatoes and vegetables will tenderize faster than larger chunks.

3) I tossed in the bell peppers and mushrooms and let the ground beef, potatoes, and vegetables cook covered on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes longer.

4) Next, while the vegetables were still tenderizing, I added the water, mustard, ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, and spices. At low-medium heat, simmer until the potatoes are soft. I may not always use mustard and ketchup as flavors, or next time I may toss in fresh spinach leaves, who knows?

5) Finally, I plated the dish and topped it with cheddar cheese, microwaving it for 1 minute to melt the cheese. Alternatively, you could sprinkle it with dried Parmesan cheese to avoid slicing cheese. Mozzarella cheese works. Chopped onions instead of cheese works. Hot sauce works. Leftovers can be eaten with different mixed vegetables to seem like a new entrée instead of leftovers. You do you!

A fast, healthy, no-fuss meal. Bon Appétit!

🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟

In the summer, I’ll make a salmon salad or sandwiches once a week. Cans of wild Alaskan salmon sold in the USA make a healthy, convenient dinner.

Salmon, Avocado and Chickpea - Dip, Salad, or Sandwich

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of salmon, remove skin and drain

1 avocado, mashed

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons vinegar of your choice

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1) Mash the avocado and chickpeas. Leaving some chunks is fine.

2) Mix in the salmon, diced vegetables, vinegar, olive oil, and spices.

Use the salmon mixture as a dip for crackers, on 2 slices of whole-grain bread, or mixed into a green salad.

This will make an easy summer dinner and a great alternative to making salmon patties, my usual salmon dinner. I like stocking my pantry with cans of wild Alaskan salmon to make a fast meal without having to run to the supermarket. On summer nights, you could start with a cheese platter as an appetiser, a glass of wine, and finish up with fresh fruit as dessert. There's very little cleanup.🍓🫐🍷🍇

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Spicy Shrimp With Artichoke

Our leftovers for dinner tonight. A light yet filling meal.

I made shrimp at home for the very first time. A one-skillet dinner, it was easy and delicious, so perhaps we’ll eat it again. I made up the recipe as I cooked it; therefore, I'm posting it below to remember how to make it again:

Spicy Shrimp with Artichoke

Ingredients

16 oz shrimp, frozen (Any size of shrimp works, but small is bite-sized without being too small.)

12 oz artichokes, frozen, quartered

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped (I eyeballed it.)

red bell pepper, about 1/2 cup, chopped

 1/2 cup carrots, sliced

A handful of nuts - I used almonds and walnuts, chopped

My homemade Hoisin Sauce --

4 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons peanut butter

A squirt so about a tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon hot sauce

A sprinkle of cumin

A sprinkle of salt

Directions:

1) I defrosted the frozen shrimp by tossing it into a bowl with water, vinegar, and lemon juice a few hours before cooking it.

2) Into a 12-inch skillet, I melted the butter and tossed in the diced onions, celery, carrot, and bell peppers. I let it cook covered on medium heat for about 8 minutes before tossing in the bag of frozen artichoke quarters to simmer for another 4 - 5 minutes. 

3) Chop and toss in the nuts. Lift the lid and stir occasionally.

4) Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. If the mixture gets dry, pour in 1/4 cup of water.

5) Next, I used the ingredients of my homemade Hoisin Sauce, tossing them into the pan: 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon hot sauce.

6) I added a dash of salt and cumin near the end, but before the dish finished cooking. Do so to taste.

Hours before cooking my shrimp dish, I separately tenderized 2 cups of dried brown rice in a rice cooker. It takes about 30 minutes but can sit for a while. Brown rice has slightly more fiber than white rice, yet I think people can eat the rice they prefer. I like the chewiness of brown.

We don’t have a Walmart in Manhattan, and I wish we did. Its house brand, Great Value, is excellent and lives up to its name!

On plates, spoon the spicy shrimp with artichoke and sauce over the brown rice. Bon Appétite!🍤🦐

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Inspired By Southern Living's Million Dollar Soup

Let me start by linking you to the photo credits and recipe of the soup 👆 that inspired my recipe. The original is called Million Dollar Soup by Southern Living. Looks delicious, doesn't it? But! It's too many steps and calories to become part of my repertoire. To stay healthy, I consume bacon and cream as occasional treats, but lighter fare most of the time. 

Lighter dishes can be tasty too, and once you form the habit of eating healthy you crave healthily. My inspired recipe is a totally different soup that shares many of the same ingredients as its cream, bacon, and kale inspiration. Make my soup when you have leftovers, such as butternut squash or chicken. Without leftover chicken toss sliced frankfurters into the pot:

Leftover Butternut Squash, Chicken, and Spinach Soup aka, Billion Dollar Soup😉

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover cooked chicken, cubed (or use 3 - 4 grilled chicken or turkey or beef
frankfurters) 

1/2 cup of grilled ham, cubed

1 onion, diced

1 cup celery, sliced

a minced garlic bulb or 1 teaspoon of dried garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups cooked butternut squash, cubed (Take a raw butternut squash, put a slit in it with a knife, and microwave it if you don't have leftovers.)

3/4 cup of dry white wine (if I don't want to open wine, I add a tablespoon of organic cider vinegar for taste)

5 cups water

2 large chicken bouillon cubes

1 teaspoon of black pepper (24 turns of the peppermill)

1 15 oz can of beans (navy, cannellini, pinto, pink, i.e., whatever you have in your cupboard)

a dash of Worcestershire sauce

a dash of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2 cups of spinach (or substitute 1 cup of mixed vegetables, if you wish. Feel free to polish off your leftover vegetables. Soup is great for this.)

Optional: I'd add a cup of corn kernels to the soup whenever I had some for the texture. It plays nice with the rest of the ingredients.

Directions:

1) Brown the ham, onions, and celery (and if using, sliced chicken turkey, or beef frankfurters) in a skillet, not to cook, but for 5 - 6 minutes to bring out their flavor. After grilling, toss them into a stockpot.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients (except the spinach) to the stockpot. Season with Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and a tablespoon of cider vinegar (if you skip adding white wine). I like to add a dash of red pepper flakes for a hint of heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1/2 hour.

3) After the vegetables are tender, thicken the soup with 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour mixed in 1/4 cup of water and pour into the soup while stirring. Let this simmer for another 5 minutes to cook the flour and thicken the soup. {If for any reason, you wish to thicken your soup without adding flour, you can put some of your cooked beans into a blender, then return them to your pot of soup.}

4) You can taste and add more seasoning as needed.

5) Turn off the heat and drop a handful the fresh spinach into the soup. Cover with a lid to sit for another 5 minutes. The spinach will cook in the hot soup. (Frankly, I like spinach better than kale, but feel free to use either. Kale requires more cooking time.)

Dip out into soup bowls, and pair it with hearty, crusty grainy bread and a smear of butter, brie, cream cheese, hummus, teawurst, or whatever you like. Alternatively, you could make buttery-garlic bread crumbs for the soup. The choice is between you and your waistline.

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Summer Eats

Fresh summer tomatoes are the best! Photo: HuffPost 

I post more recipes in summer on THE SAVVY SHOPPER than at other times of the year. Why? I have more time to cook and play. In summer, real food -- not junk food -- that doesn't take hours to prepare or cook also catches my eye. I slap it up here if I wish to share or find it again myself.

Fresh food I don't have to cook is one of the many things I love about summer. Last night I cut up an avocado, tomato, and onion, tossed them into a bowl, and seasoned them with cider vinegar (a friend gave me cider vinegar with a "mother" in it), salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. Mmm!

If you mash the ingredients, you'll have guacamole, more traditionally made with lime, but I prefer good vinegar.

In summer I love a late-night dinner of red wine and extra-sharp cheddar cheese on grainy rye bread. It's umami tasty! I could eat it as a supper 7 days a week, but I don't let myself! Only one day a week is my rule. I add cruditès of raw vegetables and fruit to balance out the meal. Another summer love is it stays daylight until 9 PM!

When you don't cook a meal what is your favorite at-home summer dinner? If reading this blog, you're looking at mine.

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Are Almond Skins Bad For Us?

Photo: iStock

Almonds are a nutritional powerhouse. There are two varieties: editable sweet and noneditable bitter almonds. 

Sweet almonds are the variety we buy to eat.

Noneditable bitter almonds contain a toxin, called glycoside amygdalin that when eaten, gets broken down into hydrogen cyanide, a toxic compound that can cause accidental death in adults who consume 10 to 12 of them.

Photo: iStock

Editable sweet almonds are sold in supermarkets and specialty food shops. They are high in fiber and antioxidants like flavonoids and vitamin E, protecting us against free radicals that cause chronic disease and premature aging. Vitamin E reduces inflammation, boosts immunity;and helps widen blood vessels to improve blood flow. Almonds are a natural fighter against obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, gut health, and Alzheimer's.

Compared to other nuts, sweet "almonds are one of the healthiest nuts to eat. They are higher in fiber, protein, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, magnesium, calcium, iron, folate acid, and other nutrients." Many of their nutrients like vitamin E are contained in their skin. Almond skins are not only good to eat, but they also provide additional antioxidants and fiber.

Some people like to soak their almonds in water for up to 8 hours. According to certain health nuts, it makes the almonds more digestible, enhances nutrient absorption, and adds prebiotic properties to promote a healthier gut microbiome. Whether soaking provides benefits is undetermined. Health nuts are not necessarily wrong, it just means there have not been scientific studies to back their claims. This could be because nobody has put up money to conduct the research, or the studies conducted can't establish cause-and-effect conclusions.

Dry almonds right out of the bag are a healthy snack too. Removing the skin of almonds is a taste or texture preference. Skinless almonds have fewer nutrients than almonds with skins. When people worry that the skins of almonds are poisonous, they confuse sweet with bitter almonds. Almonds sold in first-world countries are sweet almonds. They are wholesome, and 100% of an almond is safe to eat.

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American Potato Salad

Photo: iStock

In an earlier blog, I shared my recipe for German Potato Salad which my mother made often in our house. But she also learned how to make American Potato Salad. With the addition of eggs, it can serve as a quick yet satisfying one-dish meal for one person, or as a side dish for many people at a barbecue. In other words, you can make a little or a lot!

Over time I learned why I like homemade American potato salad better than almost any prepared by a deli. I like my American potato salad creamy yet dry and dense, as opposed to runny; and I don't like any trace of sweetness, usually the result of pickle radish as an ingredient in deli potato salad. Here's my simple and relatively healthy recipe for one serving, which I ate as dinner yesterday:

My American Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized potatoes, microwaved tender (use the starchy variety: Idaho, Russet, Golden, etc)

2 large eggs

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1-2  stalks of celery, finely chopped (eyeball the amount)

2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon Dion mustard

A good sprinkle of Zatarain's Creole Seasoning

1 teaspoon of dried garlic powder

A few turns of the peppermill

Optional: Plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

1) Microwave the potatoes unpeeled until tender, about 8 minutes.

2) Boil your eggs on a stovetop until hard, about 5 minutes. When done, drop the potatoes and eggs into a bowl and chop. I don't peel the potatoes, but you can.

3) Add the finely chopped onion and celery to the bowl and mix.

4) Follow with the mayonnaise and Dion mustard. At this stage don't worry if it's too dry just work to incorporate all the ingredients.

5) Toss in the spices. I eyeball it, then adjust the spice to taste as the final step.

6) If my potato salad needs more creamy ingredients, I use a dub of Greek yogurt before adding additional mayonnaise. If it still tastes like mayonnaise, I leave it alone. If the Greek yogurt makes the potato salad too bland I add another spoonful of mayonnaise to the bowl.  Also now taste to adjust your spices.

That's it! I ate my one-dish dinner warm. When I make a bigger batch, into the refrigerator it goes until serving.

If you have bell peppers, green onions, scallions, or olives, feel free to toss them into your potato salad. I prefer keeping the ingredients simple but will toss in leftover vegetables to get rid of them. (Did you know olives although savory are technically a fruit?) Nonetheless, making potato salad more complicated isn't necessarily tastier. Fewer ingredients are just as delicious! An easy, peasy, breezy preparation. Enjoy!

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