In Texas, where chili purists abound, adding tomatoes or beans, or using ground beef, are all things that only a greenhorn would do to a good "bowl o' red." This version is much closer to the way chili might have been served to the cowhands from the chuck wagon.

Here's a really important question: why doesn't chili-mac always come with extra cheesy-goo?
It's easy to do. Just make a simple ground beef chili (you can take or leave the canned beans as you see fit), add it to a simple stovetop mac and cheese (evaporated milk makes that really easy), then bake the whole thing off with extra cheese.

Also, my doctor says I need to start watching my cholesterol, by which I assume he means that I need to start watching to make sure it doesn't rise too much. I've just realized that this week, I'm working on three different recipes where the main ingredients are beef and cheese (the other two are coming up later!). So Doc, I'll get right on that watching thing next week.

This pasta dish is a real winner -just sorry my dearly beloved isn't a fan of pasta... I have to get my pasta fix on Monday evenings when he goes to his Rotary meeting. No matter .. this one is tried’n true and is great.. hope you enjoy. The recipe also freezes well.

In Spanish, chile con carne means “peppers with meat” and that’s what this dish delivers. Chunks of diced beef replace the usual ground mince, producing a meaty stew with flavours of chilli, peppers and tomato. Serve with the colourful turmeric rice on the side some sour cream and coriander (cilantro)leaves.

There are certain dishes everyone should know how to make; Spaghetti & Meatballs is one of them.

For the best texture, don't overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that's ground to a fine powder ( use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

The secret to this dish is to cook the ingredients separately, as indicated in the recipe, so that they retain their individual character. The traditional way to serve it is with a raw egg yolk in half an egg shell, nestled into the hash so the diner can mix the egg yolk with the hot hash. With the current concern about salmonella contamination you will probably prefer my method, which calls for a fried egg to be placed on top.

I really hate that I still have food hang-ups. Don't get me wrong, the Josh from five years ago would marvel at what the Josh of today includes in his diet, but I still have such a long way to go to be the eater I aspire to. One of those absolutely silly things I've never been able to get over is peanut sauce. I love peanut butter, I love meat, but for some reason if the two were put together, it's not going in my mouth. It came time to crush this aversion into oblivion, and these beef satay skewers did just the trick.

This bento relies on two staples (plus premade frozen rice): meat soboro, and stewed hijiki seaweed with carrots and tofu.. 3-color soboro (sanshoku soboro 三色そぼろ) is a classic bento combination, and as you can see it’s quite colorful. To eat it yo mix the toppings into the rice. You may want to bring a spoon along to make eating the mixed rice easier.

Cheesy "Steakburger"

prep time 10 min
total time 28 min
makes 4 servings

what you need
1 lb. Ground beef
1/4 cup A.1. Original Steak Sa...

Quick Spaghetti and Meatballs (Adapted from Everyday Food)

When my grandparents were in graduate school at the University of Kentucky, they were—of course—homesick Texans. But they soon figured out that they could feel a lot closer to home if they indulged in that Texan classic, Frito pie.

The beef burger is one of the mainstays of the barbecue season, and these rice crispy burgers are a flexible addition to any party menu. Rice Krispies work well in this recipe, because they offer a delicate flavor, light texture, and are a safe alternative to breadcrumbs for most celiacs.

Chili Mac (Adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

Chili con Carne (Adapted from Cooking Light)

A soboro is rather like furikake, except that it’s moister. It’s used like furikake in many situations - sprinkled onto rice, folded into other things like eggs, and more. Soboro can be made of ground meat, flaked fish (though fish soboro is often called oboro instead), or egg (egg soboro is often called iri tamago, just to keep you confused!) Meat soboro (niku soboro) keeps for about a week in the refrigerator, and freezes beautifully, making it a great bento johbisai or staple for the omnivore.

I spent about an hour on Sunday making and cooking up a big batch of a basic burger mixture. The mix is very versatile, so I made four different things from it. Now I have enough mini-burgers, meatballs and more in my freezer for at least 20 or more bento portions. It was an hour well spent! I love just knowing that my freezer has a nice stock of ready-to-go bento items - it takes the pressure off considerably on busy mornings.

Beef and Bulgur Soup with Chickpeas (Adapted from Midwest Living)

If you have access to a microwave and a refrigerator at work or school and you’re really pressed for time, you could bring a readymade frozen dinner to work. As long as you don’t have a very long commute the frozen items should stay intact en route, and at lunch time you can enjoy a piping hot lunch. But a frozen bento combo that you make yourself would be healthier and cheaper, and you’d know exactly what was in it too.

The star of this bento is the Sesame Flavored Beef, but it’s still loaded with vegetables and fiber. You might think “2 ounces of meat? No way is that going to fill me up!” but it really does in a bento like this.

This is a bento that I made right after I came back from my trip. You know how it goes - whenever you’re going away, you think you’re going to clean out the fridge properly before leaving and all that, but you never get around to it in the final rush. So you come home and you are faced with some dodgy looking science experiments in your vegetable drawer. The only vegetables that were still cheerfully intact in my fridge after 3 weeks away were a small cabbage, a bunch of celery stalks (slightly limp), and a half-filled bag of carrots. The onions were ok in the pantry too, but the potatoes had all sprouted their way to oblivion.

Gyuudon or beef bowl has become more and more popular outside of Japan. In its basic form, it’s beef and onions or leeks simmered in a savory-sweet sauce, served on a bed of rice. It can be awful if made with bad, gristly beef, but very good if made with good, tender slices.

To prepare the pastry

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, turmeric, salt and baking powder. Add butter and use your fingers to quickly rub them into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal with a few larger lumps of butter visible. Drizzle oil over the top and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together cold water and egg yolk. Add to the flour mixture and stir until the dough begins to come together. Knead dough just a few times to bring it together. Flatten dough into a disc, wrap well in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

To prepare the filling

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, cook ground sirloin, scallions and chile pepper, stirring to crumble beef, until cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add breadcrumbs, beef broth, thyme, salt and turmeric, tossing well to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

"This is the chili recipe the gang eats at Purdue Boilermaker football games. I always prep and cook the chili the night before and then reheat the next day. This is a combination of many different tomato-based chili recipes. Good luck and enjoy."

If you are looking for something a little different to accompany a stir-fry, try panfried Chinese noodles as crisp vehicles for umami-loaded Asian sauces.

A classic dish perfected. Ask your butcher to cut the meat from the shank into 3/4-inch cubes.

This recipe is supposedly a “copy-cat” recipe of PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef. Neither of us can remember what exactly that tastes like, so I can’t say if it actually is or not, but it was pretty darn delicious. By no means healthy, but delicious nonetheless.

But no matter what people say, I love my chili and usually, those that eat it love it, too. So here is some of my chili with measurements. Enjoy!

Italian Pot Pies (Adapted from Everyday Food)

I don’t have a lot of red meat recipes here, especially not beef. The biggest reason for this is that beef is the most expensive cut of meat usually, and I’m all about making bentos that are economical. But I do use beef sometimes, and one of my favorite ways is to treat it as I do in this recipe - quickly stir-fried, salty-sweet and tender strips of beef flavored with sesame oil.