Ground Beef With Spicy Tomatillo Sauce Recipes

GROUND BEEF WITH SPICY TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• Add oil to the Instant Pot, and combine garlic, ginger root, and onion and saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly soft.
• Break up the thawed ground beef and add to the Instant Pot along with the paprika, chili powder, tomatillos, green chile and ancho chiles.
• Break up the ground beef even more with a spatula or spoon as the ingredients blend together on saute for an additional 3-4 minutes, being sure to scrape up the garlic, ginger and spices from the bottom to flavor the ground beef.
• Pour in 1/4 C. water and then place the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the valve, and set the pot for 15 minutes at high pressure (manual).
• Once the pot beeps done, release the pressure, and use a potato masher to mash up any remaining chunks of ground beef, and help break down the tomatillos. Add salt, more or less to taste.
• Give it a good stir and cover with the lid until ready to serve.

MEATBALLS IN SPICY TOMATILLO SAUCE (ALBONDIGAS EN SALSA VERDE)

Steps:

• In batches, puree tomatillos, onion, garlic and chipotles in blender or food processor. Pour into saucepan large enough to hold sauce and meatballs. Stir in beef broth and bring to boil on medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with Adobo.
• Season beef and turkey (or pork) with Adobo. In bowl, combine meat, soaked bread crumbs, eggs, onion, minute, cilantro and oregano. Mix thoroughly.
• To form meatballs, put 1 heaping tablespoon of meat in palm of hand and roll into ball, about the size of a walnut. Continue until all meatballs are formed.
• Add meatballs to sauce, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Ths sauced should just cover meatballs. Stir occasionally, adding water if necessary. Served in heated dish, sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

HILACHAS (GUATEMALAN SHREDDED BEEF IN TOMATO-TOMATILLO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Place the beef, water and a big pinch of salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
• Remove the beef to a bowl, reserving the broth, and set aside to cool
• When cool enough to handle, shred the beef with your fingers and set aside.
• While the beef is simmering, place the onion, tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles in a food processor or blender and puree, adding a little water if necessary.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium flame. Add the onion-tomato puree and simmer until the puree is cooked down and darkens somewhat in color, about 10 minutes. Do not burn.
• Add the shredded beef and about 3 cups of the broth to the onion-tomato puree and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
• Stir in the potatoes, onions and a little more broth or water if necessary Simmer until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
• Stir in the breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce.
• Then stir in the chopped cilantro, adjust seasoning and serve hot with corn tortillas or rice.
• *Variations.
• Use 1 or 2 shredded fresh corn tortillas to thicken the sauce instead of the breadcrumbs if you like. If the sauce has thickened enough while simmering, neither thickener may be necessary.
• Add 2 teaspoon achiote seasoning to the onion-tomato puree for added flavor. Bricks of achiote seasoning can be found at many Latin markets.
• The potatoes and carrots can be eliminated if you like.
• Canned tomatoes and tomatillos work just fine in this recipe.
• Two cups of chopped tomatoes can be used if you would like to eliminate the tomatillos.
• If you can't find guajillo chiles, use anchos or pasillas. Or substitute with 1 tablespoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

MEXICAN TOMATILLO LASAGNA - GROUND BEEF

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• 2. Cook ground beef and onion till brown. Drain (if needed).
• 3. Add chili powder, cumin and taco seasoning and stir to combine.
• 4. Add Salsa Verde and both cans of beans. Simmer till bubbling.
• 5. Spread about 1/4 cup of red salsa evenly in bottom of baking dish, followed by a few tablespoons of the ground beef mixture.
• 6. Layer 6 of the tortillas in baking dish, overlapping them as you go.
• 7. Add 1/3 of the remaining meat mixture, then another 6 overlapped tortillas. Repeat these layers.
• 8. Put final 1/3 of meat mixture over last tortilla layer. Spread another 1/4 cup of the red salsa evenly on top.
• 9. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350˚.
• 10. Remove from oven, and remove the foil. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top, then return to the oven for about another 10 - 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• 11. Bring out of the oven one last time, and allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes so the layers set up. Serve with sour cream.
• 12. *** To double this recipe, I often just add an additional can of the kidney beans and the black beans, an additional jar of the tomatillo salsa verde, some more cheese and an additional 18 corn tortillas. This keeps the cost down since you don't have to double the meat, and it has always worked out perfectly. ***
• 13. *** To freeze, be sure to line the dish you're freezing with aluminum foil before assembling the lasagna. Spray with cooking spray, create your lasagna as above, and bake. Allow to cool for 2 hours, then wrap entire dish in foil before placing in a flat space in the freezer. Let freeze till solid (overnight, usually), then use the foil lining to lift the lasagna from the baking dish. From here you can re-wrap in outer foil, then plastic wrap. Label and put back in the freezer. To use the frozen lasagna, I usually allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm in a 350˚oven for about 30 minutes. This is REALLY hard to overbake! ***