Ground Beef Take 2

My fellow fallible foodie and I must have been on the same wavelength this week, because we both bought the exact same organic grass-fed ground beef from Gene's (or rather, my husband bought it, as I was schlepping myself from gig to gig to rehearsal on Sunday, our usual shopping day). My husband isn't into the whole "paying more for food" thing (and neither am I, really, but I'm trying to come to terms with it), so he must really love me to go out of his way to get the good stuff. As Mark said, it isn't cheap, but we compensate by cooking more vegetarian dishes and trying not to make the meat the focal point of the meal. Case in point, we stretched the 1 lb of ground beef into two meals for each of us - then the $7 spent on meat doesn't seem like as much.

The hubs took the lead on this meal - yes, I married a Greek man who can cook. It's ok to feel jealous. ;)

Greek Meatballs (keftethes)
(adapted from a Greek cookbook my mom bought him for Christmas - it's one of those old church ladies compilation type thingies)

Serves 4

1 lb ground beef
1/2 c dried bread crumbs
1 small onion, minced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, using your hands to mix thoroughly. Form into balls. Saute in olive oil in a hot non-stick skillet until evenly browned, about 3-5 minutes per side.

My husband is also the homemade french fry champ. They are so easy! - and without the Guilt of the Golden Arches.

Homemade French Fries
(1 potato will serve 2 people)

1 or 2 baking potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into matchsticks. Let them soak in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes while your oil gets hot in the pan. Use enough oil to completely cover the potatoes, and wait until the oil is just smoking to add the potatoes to the pan. Fry until golden brown, turning several times throughout to avoid burning.

a three-burner night at chez Emily. more on that tomato sauce later...

our take on burgers and fries

And that my friends, is how you make the bad-for-you stuff seem not so bad at all! (We also had a big bowl of broccoli).