Beef Stroganoff - my way

The morning after report.

The beef was still pretty frozen when I took it out to cook. I love my new fridge, but it's sometimes a bit too good at keeping cold things cold. The ice crystals made the beef very easy to slice. I cut the strips in half (it was a wide piece of meat), but that was just a stylistic preference.

The meat cooked easily and I got a nice brown coating on the bottom of my pan. I'm getting better at being able to watch a pan and not fuss with it. If the meat doesn't lay long enough before you try to flip it -- it will either stick and tear (leaving little meaty bits behind) or not deposit the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Once cooked, and set aside, I added 2 whole shallots (for some reason, I read the recipe as requiring 1 cup not 1/2 cup -- sigh) and 8 oz of sliced button mushrooms (I halved the slices because the SO doesn't like mushrooms--so small=good). I turned down the heat and let it cook, stirring occasionally and trying really hard not to scrape up too much of the brown bits. The mushroom stems went into my collection of food scraps for soup. The SO tends to notice the stems way more than the tops, so I don't often cook with them.

The chicken broth (I prefer the flavour of chicken broth to beef broth--and I had fresh homemade chicken broth in the fridge as compared to the box of stuff in the pantry) went in with the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. And then I stirred. My arms got a workout from the stirring. I scraped every bit of brown stuff up off the bottom and into the broth. Then I added the meat back into the pan (flank steak is pretty tough and the extra cooking time helped tenderize it a bit).

I set the noodles to boil, and ignored the sauce as it reduced (I did up the heat just a smidge under the sauce--because I'm impatient when my kitchen starts to become so wonderfully fragrant).

As the noodles were done, and the (nuked frozen) vegetables were ready I made the realization that I was out of sour cream. So I used unflavoured yogurt. Unfortunately, I didn't strain it. It had been sitting for a while, so I poured off the liquid and scooped from what was left -- but once added to the sauce, it separated rather than becoming creamy. I put the meat back into the pan and stirred it all together. The sauce wasn't a pale brown or a pink, instead it was brown with a multitude of white pokadots!

I served the mix (and the rather thin sauce) over egg noodles with a side of green beans for me and corn for him. It tasted delicious, but it didn't look too good.

Now I know better. This morning I googled "sour cream substitution" and realize that I should have (a) drained the yogurt for at least 30 minutes, (b) added 1 tablespoon flour and 2 teaspoons water to the mix before adding. This replaces some of the strained-out liquid without adding an acid, and the flour provides the thickening-agent that the fat (in the sour cream) would provide.

The recipe came out really well. We both liked it, and since I had friends cancel out on me (I had intended to double the recipe), I made 1/2, have leftovers for lunch today and have enough ingredients to make it again next week. It's a win-win situation.

The recipe

• 1 lb steak (top round or flank), cut into strips
• 1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth (low fat, low sodium)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 4 servings of egg noodles.
• 3/4 cup unflavoured yogurt (strained for 30 minutes)
• 1 tsp flour
• 2 tsp water
  

Directions

1. Measure out 1 cup of yogurt and place it in a fine sieve or piece of cheese cloth suspended above a bowl. Leave to drain for 30 minutes.
   
2. Cut the steak to the desired size and lay out the pieces.
   
3. Sprinkle steak strips with salt and pepper.
   
4. Dice your shallots and cut up your mushrooms.
   
5. In large non-stick frying pan, heat oil over high heat.
   
6. Add meat in single layer (working in batches if necessary) and cook until just brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Reduce heat if the pan begins to smoke or if meat gets more than a bit brown. You're building a layer of brown on your pan here -- so patience is the rule.
   
7. Remove meat to plate and set aside.
8. In same frying pan, melt margarine over medium-high heat.
   
9. Add shallots and cook until starting to soften, about 2 minutes.
   
10. Add mushrooms and cook until tender and all liquid is evaporated, 8-10 minutes.
11. Put a pan on to start cooking the egg noodles. Bring the water to a roiling boil.
    
12. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.
    
13. Return steak to pan and pour broth mixture over.
14. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the brown bits up into the liquid.
    
15. Simmer until liquid reduces and thickens slightly, about 12 minutes.
    
16. Cook the egg noodles (ideally they're done the same time as your stroganoff. Your stroganoff can wait, the egg noodles can't).
17. Prepare your steamed vegetables.
    
18. Mix the flour and water together to form a slurry. No lumps. Add it to the strained yogurt.
    
19. Add the yogurt mixture to the pan (stir to incorporate) and cook on low heat until heated through.
20. Serve over freshly-cooked egg noodles with a side of steamed (nuked) vegetables.
    

Beef fajitas for 3, spanish rice and guacamole

Beef fajitas are one of those recipes that I tend to make when I don't really want to cook. Funny, because it still involves a lot of cutting, measuring, and the like. But I've made it so often that I can almost make it with my eyes closed (but then I'd probably cut myself and that would be bad).

So, with company coming, I set to work preparing the meal.

First I made spanish rice.

I diced up a red onion (I didn't have any others, so red it would be), and put half in a pot with a nob of butter. Once the foam subsided I added a cup a rice and stirred it. This toasts the rice and provides it some initial flavour. Then I added some chicken stock (freshly thawed in the microwave) and some pureed tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes pureed with an immersion blender). I then covered the pot and brought it to a boil. Once boiling, I lowered the heat, set the timer and promptly forgot about it.

By then, my guest had arrived and joined me in the kitchen. We chatted as I dug out my favourite frying pan. I coated the bottom with a teaspoon of olive oil, and tossed in strips of sandwich steak to fry. As the meat cooked I diced a clove of garlic, mixed it with 1 rounded tablespoon of cumin and half a tablespoon of chili pepper, and added that and the remaining half of red onion in with the meat. I cleaned, and cut a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper into strips and added that to the hot pan.I stirred the mixture to coat everything with the spices and meat juice equally. Then I added a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a cup of medium salsa to the mix. I stirred it again and let it cook until the rice was done.

I mixed another crushed and diced clove of garlic along with two tablespoons of crushed tomatos and two avocado's, adding another heaping teaspoon of cumin as I stirred. Once the lumps were mostly gone (or at least very small), I stopped and set it aside.

Taking out a second (and smaller) frying pan, I turned on the heat and cooked the corn tortillas until they were soft and pliable (8 seconds according to the package, less time in my experience). I then added a small amount of sour cream, an equal dollup of guacamole, a pinch of cheese and a ladel-ful of fajita mix. I then folded the hot tortilla around the mess and placed it seam side down onto the plate.

Three of these plus a third of the rice and another tablespoon of guacamole made the meal. It was delicious.

Beef fajitas

Serves 6.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sandwich steak (preferably lean)
  
• 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green) cut into slices
  
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced (I used red)
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 cup salsa
  
• 1 tablespoon cumin
  
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1/2 tablespoon chili pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup guacamole
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  

Directions

1. Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil.
   
2. Cut the sandwich steak into strips and add them to the hot pan.
   
3. Mix the garlic, cumin and chili pepper together and add that to the pan, stir well to incorporate.
   
4. Cut the bell peppers into strips and add them to the pan. Stir well.
   
5. Mix the salsa and Worcestershire sauce together. Add them to the pan. Stir well.
   
6. Cook until the meat is cooked, the onions are nearly transulcent, and the peppers still crunchy.
   
7. Heat the tortillas slightly.
   
8. Fill in the following order: sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, fajita mix.
   
9. Fold the tortilla and serve.

Spanish rice

Serves 3.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
  
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  
• 1/2 yellow onion
  
• 1 teaspoon butter
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, optional.
  

Directions

1. Put the butter in a hot pan. Add the onion and the rice and stir to mix.
   
2. Once the onion starts to become translucent, add the tomato sauce and chicken stock.
   
3. Stir well.
   
4. Turn up the heat and wait for the liquid to boil.
   
5. Once boiling, cover and cook for the duration recommended for your rice.
   
6. Serve hot with a bit of cheese on top.

A hurry-up and Eat dinner (Potato & hamburger fry up)

I try to eat well on weeknights, really I do.

But some nights it's not just my pantry that's against me.

I came home exhausted and never quite did get that nap I wanted. Instead I settled down before the TV with my computer before me. As I did some mindless data entry, I watched home improvement shows. Surprisingly (or maybe not) this combination seems to sap my will to leave the room, go to the kitchen, and cook.

I love cooking, but often figuring out what to cook is the biggest challenge. I'd been out all weekend (coming home only to recharge my computer, load up more books, shower and ... oh yeah, sleep). So I'd not refilled my pantry yet and was getting low on a few staples. In addition, the hamburger I took out on Saturday night had not been eaten; and so had to be used tonight.

So, I had a pound of lean hamburger and no bread, no pasta, no sour cream, no lettuce, and no cheese. This removed the options of: BBQ hamburgers, tacos, enchiladas, or even taco salad. I couldn't use the oven (it's broken), so that took away meatloaf or lasagna. I couldn't make meatballs (no bread, remember?), or bolonaise sauce (no pasta). The beans were either dried or frozen, and I already had 3 cups of chicken chili frozen in the freezer. Frozen being the key word here. I had enough ingredients for hamburger soup, but that tastes best if left in the crockpot for 3+ hours.

The funny thing is - my pantry is almost full and both my fridge and freezer are in a similar state. I try to cook with what I have without buying special things, but I still end up with a fridge full of little bottles and oddities.

Searching through my freezer and pantry, I was able to scrounge a few things. Turning to the Food blog search for inspiration, I found a few similar recipes that mixed up potatoes, hamburger and some spice. They all sounded good, but what I could do was extremely limited by what I had on hand combined with the fact that I only had about 30 minutes to make dinner. Any longer and someone would be ordering pizza. Whether it would be me or my significant other was anyone's guess.

Ingredients

• 5 potato hash browns, frozen
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup hot homemade salsa (or salsa of your preference)
  
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
  
  
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp oregano (dried)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 bag of mixed Californian vegetables (or any frozen vegetables of choice)
  
• 2 tsp butter, divided (optional)
  
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Thaw the hash browns in a microwave (5-7 minutes on high). Then set them aside on a towel to drain. Note that they must be completely thawed.
   
2. Meanwhile, fry up the hamburger and toss all the dried herbs and spices over the cooking meat. Brake the meat up into little chunks and stir often.
3. Once cooked thoroughly, drained the meat well.
4. Dump the hash browns into a big glass bowl and mashed them up with a fork.
5. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the salsa to the mix, and stir well to combine.
6. Add the drained meat to the mix and mix again.
7. Put 1/2 the bag of mixed Californian vegetables into a bowl with a little water and a pat of butter. Cover it. Microwave the bowl for 5 minutes on high or until the butter is melted and the vegetables are warm to the touch and free of frost.
8. Pour the hamburger-and-potato mix back into the frying pan with the rest of the butter. Fry it until everything is warm and somewhat steamy.
9. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.
10. Serve the hamburger-and-potoato mix with the steamed Californian vegetables while hot.

Review

We both liked it.
It was hot, filling, and spicy. It was almost too spicy for me (but that's because I went nuts when I made the salsa and made it super-hot). The meal was well-rounded-ish and would probably be better with more vegetables added to the fry up. It would have tasted a lot better too if I'd shredded my own potatoes and added a shredded onion to it instead of starting with ready-made hash browns.

I didn't add enough fats or liquids to make it stick together when I fried it the second time--so it was a bit awkward to eat; rather like a plateful of peas.  Tasty, but it takes time.

Half my plate was filled with vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and a few slices of carrot); while the other half was filled with the fry up, and I still have enough left-over for lunch today.

This is something I'll definitely make again (with only a few minor changes).

Crockpot Hamburger Soup

Taken from: Recipe*Zaar. Recipe #133649. Posted by Kittencal; and Shirley Downey. Both recipes had good points to them, so I’ve combined them.

Equipment

• Measuring spoons and cups.
• Paring knife and cutting board.
• Can opener.
• Skillet (to brown the meat).
• Plate with paper towel (to drain the meat).

Modification/Notes
I keep consomme in my freezer whenever I can, store-brought broth can be used instead. Fresh tomatoes can be used, but you’ll have to dip them in boiling water to remove their skins before adding them to the recipe. I prefer to cut up my tomatoes before adding them.

Ingredients

2 lbs	hamburger
2 tablespoons	garlic, minced
1 large	onion, chopped finely
1 (28 ounce) can	tomatoes (undrained)
1 ¾ cups	water
30 ounces	beef consomme, undiluted
1-2 tablespoons	worcestershire sauce
10 ounces	salsa
5-6	carrots, chopped
5-6 stalks	celery, chopped
1-2	bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon	Each: thyme, oregano, rosemary, and basil
	black pepper, to taste
	grated Parmesan cheese, optional, to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the hamburger with the onion and garlic. Drain well.
2. Add in all remaining ingredients except the Parmesan cheese, and turn the crockpot on low for 6 hours (or high for 3).
3. Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh ground black pepper just before serving.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Saturday was just one of those days. Friday had been fine, but by not visiting the butcher's early, I was in a real bind. I hoped they'd have something called "pork butt shoulder roast", and having seen pictures of it -- I thought they might.

We usually call on the butcher by around 10 in the morning. The store-front's in a fancy 80's mini-mall, and always well lit. The butcher's a friendly guy who, after I asked for "3 pounds of pork butt shoulder roast" gladly walked me to the fridge section and pointed to a well-wrapped package. I picked one up. It weighted 1.795KG, which to my addled brain seemed about the right weight. It also had a bone in the middle of it - so I guess this was a "bone-in pork butt shoulder roast". It didn't look round, or very much like a Sunday roast; but I'm not the type to question the experts, at least not in their shop so close to the knives.

I bought it - along with other ingredients for my menu of the week.

Conscious of the time, we got home by 11, and everything was put away by around 11:30; so I dug right in. Onions and garlic are always at my house. The recipe called for 1 large onion, I used up 3 smaller ones who were waiting in the pantry. Unwrapping them always makes me cry, but a few minutes under the knife leaves the onions fanned out and reduced to bits. Six cloves of garlic were then smashed and disrobed by the same chef's knife. I found that very therapudic, although I doubt the garlic would agree.

The serrano chiles were frosty, but I ignored their attitude. I quartered 2 lenthwise, scraped out the seeds and diced them fine. The recipe calls for picked jalapeno peppers - but I don't like pickled peppers and I'm a spice-wimp, so the choice of a lower-heat chile made sense to me. I dumped the onion, garlic and chiles into a 4 cup measure. To this I added the rest of the spice ingredients, pausing only a minute to open a new can of tomato paste with an unwilling can opener. It squeeled displeasure throughout the process, but it was a small can and I didn't give the can opener any options.

With everything in the 4 cup measure, I brought out the big guns: my emersion blender. After finding an outlet (it was cowering behind dirty dishes and my kitchen-aid mixer), I powered it up and worked over the sauce ingredients. It took a while to get everything smoothed out, but near the end the sauce began looking more and more like barbeque sauce. Smelled like it too.

When it was done, I wiped off the emersion blender, unplugged it and rinsed the business end before putting it away. After unwrapping the pork butt shoulder roast from its cellophane container, I put the meat into a deep pot. I then poured in the sauce and filled the now-empty 4 cup measure with water, scraped the remaining bits of sauce off the sides into the water, and added that to the pot as well. I put the heat on full, and turned it down to a simmer only after the sauce began to boil. I set the timer to 2 hours and moved on.

My next project was spagetti sauce. This is one of my old favorites and I'd run out last week. I like this sauce because it freezes well, and because it has meat in it. But that's another story.

When the timer screamed at me the meat was still resistant to being pulled apart. I let it cook for another 3/4 of an hour, but by then I was out of time, so I pulled the pork mess off the burner and allowed it to cool. It was later put in the fridge by a helper who shall remain nameless.

The next morning I took out the congealed mass. It looked very ... orange. I put the pot back on the heat, allowing it to slowly rise up to the boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer. After about an hour on simmer the meat pulled easily from the bone, so I took the pot off the heat and let it sit.

It was almost an hour later when I came back and checked - the sauce was warm, but I could touch the meat without burning myself; so I got out a big bowl and tried to pull the meat out with a meat-fork. It fell apart back into the sauce. Using a spoon and the meat fork I managed to fish out most of the bits of meat from the sauce.

I poured the sauce into a sauce pan and returned it to the heat to reduce.

The meat came apart easily. I used my fingers. I had tried using 2 forks, but it just got messy. The tines kept getting tangled up and scaping the plate, so they and I went our separate ways. I discarded the inner fat and the bones, and set the meat aside.

It was another hour before the sauce was reduced, and even then not to the 3/4 the recipe suggested. Throwing caution to the wind, I added the sauce to the meat in the bowl and stired it in. I served it on toast - open faced for me, as a sandwich for the other. We both found it sweet, but good and very filling.

The remaining meat and sauce went into a baggie, got labeled and thrown into the freezer for later. Next time I'll try using more chiles or maybe some adobe chipotle paste to give it more of a kick. I'll also give myself more time to make the recipe all in one go.


Pulled pork sandwiches
Serves 4-6
Time: 15 minutes preparation, 3+ hours cooking
Inspired by Simply Recipes Pulled pork sandwich recipe. This hot sandwich comes with its own terrific sauce. It takes time to make, but should be convertable to a crockpot recipe with relative ease.

Notes:
The original recipe called for 1 pickled jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped, 2 teaspoons of Chipotle chile powder, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, and 1/4 cup light brown sugar. I found this recipe too sweet and so have modified it to try and make it more spicy. This is best served on thick-crusted bread rather than toast or hamburger buns, otherwise the sauce will make the bread really soggy. The meat and sauce store well. I'm going to try freezing the leftovers and will report back to see how they taste after thawing. I've left the original ingredients in the recipe (along with some notes) as I know a few readers will prefer things sweet to spicy.

Ingredients:
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 6 garlic cloves, peeled
* 2 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped (to taste)
or 1 picked jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (original recipe)
* 1 tablespoon of Adobe Chipotle paste
or 1 tablespoon tomato paste (original recipe)
2 teaspoons of Chipotle chile powder
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/3 cup ketchup
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1/8 cup light brown sugar
or 1/4 cup light brown sugar (original recipe)
* 1 bay leaf

* 3 lbs of pork butt shoulder roast, trimmed of excess fat
* Hamburger buns

Instructions:
1. Puree the first 11 ingredients until smooth.
2. In a deep pot, put the pork butt shoulder roast, bay leaf, sauce and 4 cups of water.
3. Bring the pot to a boil.
4. Turn it down to simmer. Keep simmering for 2 hours.
5. Remove from the heat and alow to cool.
6. When cool, remove the pork from the sauce. Shred it into small pieces and set aside.
7. Reduce the sauce by 3/4s.
8. Add the meat back into the sauce and allow the meat to heat through (about 2-3 minutes). Stir often.
9. Remove the bay leaf.
10. Top hamburger buns with about 1 cup of the meat mixture each. Add additional sauce if possible.
11. Serve while hot.

A dinner time story (No-loaf Meatloaf)

This recipe originated from Sandi Richard's Cooking for the Rushed recipe of the same name. My version's different - less sweet, more sassy. Her site has more information about her books, and a few of her recipes can be found on the Food Newtork website.

By the time I got home the ground beef was still giving me the cold shoulder. I took it out of the frige and slammed it on the counter. I can't help reacting to its temperment that way - but I knew it wouldn't help.

I dug out my roasting pan and set my oven to 400 F; it's a little slow and the dial's going - but the oven is an old friend, so I adjust the heat up just to cover it's failures. I lined the bottom of the roasting pan with tin foil for easy cleanup, then used some extra virgin olive oil in an atomizer to spray the grill so things wouldn't stick. I suppose non-stick spray would be better, but olive oil and I go way back, and we work well together - so why change now?

I carefully lined up the other ingredients and equipment for tonight's dish: corn flakes, homemade salsa, Worchestershire sauce, 2 cloves of garlic (peeled), egg whites, the pepper grinder, a good knife, and a spatula.

Ignoring the temperment of the ground beef, I took it out of its wrap and threw it into my big pirex bowl. Homemade, the salsa is a bit biting, but I'm use to her sass. 1/2 a cup covered the ground beef nicely.

The recipe calls for garlic powder, but I grabbed fresh and slammed it into submission before dicing it fine and throwing it into the bowl with the beef. I added a tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce for the class he always brings to a dish, then jammed my fingers into the still chilly beef and began working everything together. Spoons and spatulas are fine, but there's nothing like a massage to make ingredients relax and start mixing. That, an egg white, and about 1/2 a cup of a ground up corn flakes will bind any unreasonable mess into a whole.

Once everyone was well mixed, I divided them up into four. Using my hands (still) I rolled the mix into four (roughly) equal-sized balls. Then, one at a time, I flattened the balls into rough loaf-shapes.

The loaf-shapes went onto the roasting pan's grill.

Back to my bowl I added another 1/2 cup of salsa, 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayanne pepper. I mixed this together with the spatula, careful to scrape the sides and get everything together. Then layered it like a blanket over the loaves. Then the roasting pan went into the hot oven.

Feeling lazy, I dumped 2 cups of frozen green beens into a casserole dish and added 1/2 cup of water. I covered it and set it in the microwave. Then I set the alarm to scream at me in 45 minutes. When it screamed - I came in and turned the microwave on high, and set the time again for 5 minutes. Then I walked away so I wouldn't hear the green beans cry.

When the timer screamed again, dinner was ready. The meatloaf was a bit too hot for me (next time I'll cut back on the cayanne pepper - she's just too much for me to handle), but good none-the less.

Made a nice dinner for 2 with enough leftovers for two meatloaf sandwiches (upon which I loaded some sultry Montaray jack cheese with jalapenos).

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, lean
1 cup corn flakes, ground
1 cup salsa, divided
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, divided
1 egg white
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, smashed and diced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, to taste)
Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Line the bottom of a roasting pan with foil and spray its grill with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Mix together the beef, ground corn flakes, 1/2 cup salsa, 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce, egg white, pepper and garlic.
4. Shape into 4 loaves and place them on the grill.
5. In the same bowl, mix the last of the salsa, Worchestershire sauce and the cayenne pepper together.
6. Spread the mixture over top of the loaves.
7. Bake the loaves for 50 minutes or until the internal temperature is over 160 F.

Serve with steamed green beans, a nob of butter, and some more ground black pepper.