A Monday Menu: Broccoli-Beef Wellington

I like to make plans.  Unfortunately, plans don’t always work the way we hope.  So, lately instead of trying to make grand, sweeping plans for the big picture, I’m taking things one day at a time.

By far the best plans I make these days involve food.  Although I worked full-time for the past eight years, I never really embraced menu-planning until my first year at home.  Now it would be one of my top recommendations to any overwhelmed mom who is working outside the home.  If that’s you, I wish you simple prep, easy cleanup, and hearty dinners that provide enough for lunch leftovers.  That’s why, I’m going to start featuring some of our weeknight favorites here.

Since I’m home full-time, I have gotten a bit more into cooking completely from scratch.  I rarely buy condensed soups anymore, I bake homemade bread, I canned my first batch of apple butter this past October.  But when I was working, some nights I barely had time to open canned soup, so feel free to adjust any recipe to meet your family’s needs and schedule.

Here’s a sample of one of our latest favorite meals that’s quick, one-dish, and simple, yet looks impressive.

Simple Broccoli-Beef Wellington
1 lb ground beef
9 oz package frozen broccoli, thawed (or cheat like me and buy a steamer bag)
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 8 oz cans of crescent rolls

Season to taste and brown ground beef with onion.  Drain. Add the sour cream and cheese and mix well.  Add the broccoli (should be slightly tender).  Cover and let simmer while you prepare the dish.  Spray a 13×9 glass dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Open one can of crescents.  Spread them across bottom of the dish.

  

I have no idea how I lucked out and this worked out so perfectly.  That never ever happens.  Note: You can use the crescent sheets, but I find that it only takes about a can and a half, so then you still have to find something to do with the extra dough.  Next, spread the ground beef mixture.  If it seems a little dry, you can always add more another tablespoon of sour cream or milk.  Then, top with the remaining cresents.

Like I said, you might have extra crescent dough.  For this one, I got a little fancy (translation: making it blog worthy) and cut the remaining dough to fill in extra space and then made a B on top for our last name.  Usually I just roll the extra into their regular shape and bake separately.  But tonight I didn’t want to dirty another pan or listen to the whining since I barely had two rolls left, and I’m feeding four other people.  Now that’s done, you can brush the top with a beaten egg if you want.  Bake 18-20 minutes at 375.

Enjoy!  I served this last week with a side of glazed carrots.  It also goes well with salad.  If you don’t care about carbs or are stretching it, maybe some mashed potatoes would be yummy, too!

One of the great things about this dish, is it’s also very budget friendly.  I buy the crescents on sale with coupons, always buy the beef on sale in large quantities that I can divide and freeze, coupons again for the broccoli and sour cream.

Hope it makes your Monday!

For some of our other family favorites, go here.  I am slowly building this page so check back often!