Faux Stroganoff (aka Mushroom Beef Skillet)

Once I tasted this dish, I panicked. You see, Corey doesn't share my love of beef stroganoff and this tasted an awful lot like it. There is no form of cream or milk in it, but you might swear there was. I altered the original recipe to use a tastier cut of beef (I'm not a fan of stew beef, so I always use tri-tip or top sirloin.) and I had to make some emergency substitutions (dried minced onions instead of fresh ones, and chicken broth instead of beef broth), and the resulting dish was dee-licious. Corey loved it, despite its similarity to stroganoff. Joslyne -- you should try making this for your parents next time you and Zozo find your way to South Carolina sans Demetri, because I don't know how well chicken would substitute for the beef. A chicken version might be an interesting experiment though!

Mushroom Beef Skillet

2 tbsp flour

1 pound beef (tri-tip or top sirloin), cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup minced onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Hot cooked rice or noodles

1. Place the flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a skillet, cook the beef in butter over medium heat until browned. Add onion and garlic; cook for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender.

2. Add broth, mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about an hour or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or noodles.

Kate's MIL's Chili

Kate also makes amazing chili. Easy. Freezes well. And (bonus!) there's a part where you can put your little minions to work. You know, make them earn their keep. Little slackers!

2 lbs ground beef/turkey
1 large onion
2 cups of tomato juice
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
2 cans of chili beans, UNdrained
2T of chili powder or more depending on the heat you want
1 cup of water (I add less water for the initial cooking and then add more when I reheat or defrost it)
3/4 cup of ketschup (or more depending on taste)
2 cans of diced tomatoes

Brown the ground beef and drain
Smash 1 cans of kidney beans and 1 can of chili beans (NOTE: Preschoolers can help with this part. Put 'em to work!)
Dump everything else in and let simmer
Serve with cheese and sour cream.

Marinated London Broil

So easy, and SO good!

Marinade-

1/2 C each of:

red wine vinegar

vegetable oil

soy sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Combine all ingredients and pour into freezer bag. Score a London Broil (shallow cuts in a crisscross pattern on both sides.) Add meat to bag and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Grill on barbecue or under broiler until done. We like it medium rare, so about 3-4 minutes on each side. Will vary according to size. Slice thinly against the grain and devour.

My MIL's Marvelous Meat Loaf

Crumble:

2 slices whole-wheat bread into 1/2 cup milk

When moist, add and mix well:

1 egg

1 or 2 shredded or coarsely chopped onions

1 minced clove garlic

1 and 1/2 pounds ground turkey (or, if you eat it, lean ground beef)

1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon each basil and freshly ground pepper

I often add 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, a grated carrot, or 1/2 cup or so fresh or frozen peas

Mix thoroughly, preferably with fingertips; mold into a loaf in a shallow baking dish or pack into a greased loaf pan;

sprinkle with paprika, bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour, or until 180 degrees.

Demetri's $20 Burgers

This is one of my favorite meals of all time. I always request this for my birthday dinner!!!

2 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey

1 tablespoon butter

1 small red onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3/4 cup plain yogurt (also good without yogurt)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce (if you dare, which I do not)

1. Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until onion soften and begin to turn brown.

2. Mix together all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the meat in a bowl until smooth.

3. Add meat to mixture until evenly blended.

4. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

5. Make into patties and fry or grill according to your preference.

Hamburger with Barley Soup!

First off, let's acknowledge the obvious.

1) This is my first post! But..... I've already make a major mistake, which leads me to

2) I forgot to take a picture.

I know, I know, I blew it. Still, this soup is so good (and easy!), that I'm going to share it anyway.

HAMBURGER with BARLEY SOUP Serves 8 (or my 14 year-old son and 2 others)

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/4 C chopped onion

1 C chopped carrots

1 C chopped celery

1 C chopped cabbage

1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes

28 oz water

1/3 C uncooked barley

4 tsp beef bouillon base (I used 4 cubes instead)

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 T brown sugar

2 T vinegar

In large pot, brown beef. Add everything else, except the brown sugar and vinegar. That's IT! Just simmer for an hour, add the flavor-boosting sugar and vinegar, and you're finished. (Niki finds the idea of sugar and vinegar in soup repulsive, but I say try it! I bet you change your mind.)

My family doesn't exactly do a happy dance when they find soup on the dinner table, but they loved this. Dan remembered me making it when the kids were little, and (uncharacteristically) mentioned how much he liked it after dinner and again this morning.

This soup is very forgiving. I have made it as written, or with adjustments. This time I put in a whole onion, and extra broth, as I only had half the tomatoes called for. No problem!

I served it with sourdough bread (buttered and browned in the broiler), then gave them a pumpkin-chocolate chip muffin for dessert. I love Fall!

Dueling Beef Soup Recipes

My mom sent me this AMAZING recipe from a Penzey's Spices magazine. She and I each altered the recipe slightly, and our version is the one below called "Beefy Mushroom Barley Soup". Then, I stumbled upon a similar sounding recipe in the Everyday Food magazine and decided to try it. It was equally delicious, though it had a different more roast-y flavor. Yes, on this blog "roast-y" is a word. I couldn't decide which recipe I should submit for the blog, so I'm including BOTH. Lucky you! The Everyday Food one is altered to include my preferences, and it's called "Roasted Beef, Mushroom and Barley Soup".

Beefy Mushroom Barley Soup

1 lb. lean beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
10 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced
1 cup pearl barley
7 cups of beef broth
1 cup dry red wine (can be omitted and one additional cup of beef broth substituted)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup frozen peas (I omitted these nasty things)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1. Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and saute until brown. Transfer the meat to another dish.

2. Add the onions and the mushroom to the pan drippings and cook until the onions are golden. Return the beef to the pot.

3. Stir in the carrots, barley, broth, wine, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the beef and barley are tender, about 45 minutes.

4. Stir in the peas and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, tast and add more salt if desired.

------------------------------

Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

1 lb. sirloin steak, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a bowl, toss together the steak, mushrooms, shallots, and olive oil. Spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the beef and mushrooms are browned, about 25-30 minutes.

3. Scrape into a medium pot (including the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan) and add the broth and barley.

4. Bring the mixture to a boild over medium-high, then reduce heat and simmer until barley is soft, about 12-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Beef Stroganoff: the cheater's version

I love me some beef stroganoff, but every recipe I have ever seen (except this one, which was adapted from one I found in the "Fix-It and Forget-It 5 Ingredient Favorites" book I've mentioned before) involves browning the beef in a skillet, making a huge mess on my stove top. I am the kind of clean freak who is not actually a fan of cleaning-- a lot of times, I'd rather not do an activity than do it and clean up after it. Honestly, this is one of my biggest problems with cooking-- the clean up involved. Hence, my love for crock pot meals that involve no pre-cooking.

When I made this recipe a few weeks ago, we happened to have some Parmesan cheese in the fridge, so we sprinkled it on top. Mmmmmm! It went very well with steamed green beans, too. For some reason, the sauce looks really pale in this picture-- I think it was because of the flash, because I don't remember it being this pale.


Ingredients:
10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup (the condensed kind)
14 1/2 oz can beef broth
1 lb beef stewing meat (buy the kind already cubed in 1" pieces)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (buy the kind already sliced)
1 1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups egg noodles

1) Stir together the cream of mushroom soup and beef broth in the crock pot.

2) Add meat and mushrooms.

3) Cover and cook on High for 3-4 hours; reduce heat and cook on Low for 3-4 hours. (If you're not going to be home and won't be able to change the temperature, cook it on High for 5-6 hours, but the beef will be a bit tougher when you do that.)

4) At some point during the day, cook the egg noodles.

5) Right before you're ready to eat, stir in the sour cream (you can whisk it to make it combine with the broth more quickly), and then stir in the noodles.

*****

Seriously-- could this get any easier? I love this recipe so much!

Whole Dinner Roast Beef

I love when the main dish contains enough food groups that you don't need to add a side.... This crockpot meal is so easy, but it has some of the same problems that the roast beef with tomatoes and garlic has: sometimes there are too many leftovers and unless you want it to taste like I imagine soylent green would, you have to splurge on expensive meat. But this recipe is still really tasty and extremely easy, so in my repertoire it goes! It was adapted from a book called "Fix-It and Forget-It 5 Ingredient Favorites". You can add or subtract vegetables as desired-- the recipe is really flexible!

Ingredients:

3-4 lb roast beef (rib roast is a good choice)
10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
4 cups baby carrots
2 potatoes (cut into quarters)
1 cup sliced celery
1 small onion (cut into quarters)

1) Place veggies in crockpot.

2) Put meat on top of veggies.

3) Dump mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix on meat.

4) Cover and cook for 8 hours on LOW.

*****

When we made this recipe and I took this picture, I didn't add the celery or onions.



I also just realized that you can see the baby monitor in the upper right-hand corner of this picture. Ha! Andrew and I aren't able to eat dinner while Sonia is awake because he gets home from work only 15 minutes before she goes to bed. Maybe once she gets older, we can push back her bedtime so we can eat as a family, but for now, it's kinda easier (and more relaxing!!) to do it this way.

Roast Beef with Tomatoes & Garlic

I found this recipe in Real Simple magazine, and after modifying it a bit, Andrew and I decided it was good enough to be included in the dinner rotation. The bad part about this recipe is that it's not all that cheap, and we have way too much leftover beef. A good roast is kind of a splurge, and unless you go to a real butcher, you can't buy it in a quantity that is appropriate for two adults and a baby who refuses to eat meat. So, we only make it once a month or so. But we end up craving it when we haven't had it in a while because seriously, roasted grape tomatoes + garlic + beef = heaven!!!

Note #1: I recommend peeling the garlic cloves ahead of time (perhaps the night before while watching Big Bang Theory on TV?). The original recipe says that the hands-on time is 10 minutes, but unless you buy those pricey already-peeled garlic cloves, it's going to take way longer! The fastest way to get the stuff off of the cloves is to take the flat part of a chef's knife blade, lay it on top of a clove that is sitting on a cutting board, and smash it firmly with your fist. Andrew taught me that-- he learned it by watching hours and hours of Bobby Flay on the Food Network. Here's a picture of the head of garlic after I peeled all of the cloves:


Note #2: Make sure the roast is 100% thawed. Every time I use a frozen roast, I inevitably forget to thaw it far enough ahead of time, and then I end up cooking it while it still has a frozen core. This results in chewy, underdone meat on the inside and gray, overdone meat on the outside. What a great way to waste a bunch of money.....

Note #3: Do not substitute table salt for Kosher salt unless you also adjust the measurement! Kosher salt has much bigger grains-- you will end up over-salting your recipe if you use the same amount of table salt. In case you forget to buy Kosher salt, use this conversion table so that you don't need to drink a gallon of water with your roast. Speaking of Kosher salt, Check out this totally awesome Le Creuset salt crock I got for Christmas.... I keep my Kosher salt in this crock out on the counter because I use it so often.


Hands-on time: 10 minutes (excluding the garlic peeling!)
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (see above)

2 pounds boneless rib roast
1 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
3/4 tsp pepper
2 dry pints grape tomatoes
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp olive oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Rub the beef with 1 tsp Kosher salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and place in a large roasting pan. Scatter the tomatoes and garlic cloves around the roast. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle remaining Kosher salt and pepper over tomatoes and garlic.

This time when I made this recipe, I accidentally bought only one dry pint of grape tomatoes. Whoops!!!!


Put the roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 325 degrees and roast to desired doneness (around 45 more minutes-- this is going to vary with the shape/size of your roast.... check with a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temperature is appropriate, such as 125 degrees for medium rare). Transfer beef to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing (and make sure you slice it fairly thin).

This last time I made it (when I didn't buy enough tomatoes), we served the roast with steamed green beans (I've grown up, Mom! I no longer like green beans only from out of a can!) and brown rice (Uncle Ben's Ready Rice, of course).