Disaster Chef: Beef Stroganoff with Wine Sauce

For my very first post on my new blog, it's back to Pinterest for some recipes.

This week I had some ground beef defrosted, and I went looking on Pinterest, the old stand-by when I can't decide what to cook. I realized that I don't think I've ever had stroganoff before, although it is apparently a staple. My family was never into the whole noodly-meat thing. They all had memories of eating it in the school cafeteria, and everyone agreed it tasted like dog food.

Nevertheless, I forged onward with my search for a recipe. I found two I wanted to try, and of course I chose the easier one first (easier for me, since I had all the ingredients).

Here's the link to it on Pinterest, and on the website Manila Spoon. Here is My Take on it:

Olive Oil for frying
1 lb ground Beef
 5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium/small Onion, chopped
1 teaspoons Salt
Ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground Paprika
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup red wine (I used sweet, because that's what I had)
 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
1 c. frozen peas
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1/2 - cup water for cooking (I didn't have beef broth)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2-3 cups brown rice

Directions: 

Put the rice on to cook first. It took me just as long to make this dish as the rice took, so it all came out at the same time. Brown rice does take about 40 minutes to cook, so if you use white, adjust accordingly. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions for about 3-5 minutes until they are translucent, then add garlic and cook for a minute. Crumble the beef and cook until it's fully browned. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir occasionally.

Pour in the red wine. Let it boil until it has evaporated.

Add the Italian seasoning, frozen peas and chopped mushrooms and cook until the juices/liquid of the mushrooms have been released. Pour in the water or broth and stir in the sour cream. Simmer, while occasionally stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly roughly 5-7 minutes.

Remove the rice and stroganoff from heat. Top rice with stroganoff and a dollop of sour cream.

I did vary the recipe a bit, adding peas so it would have a little more vegetables, adding extra garlic and leaving out the garlic powder, etc, from the original recipe. But I stayed pretty close, and it turned out well. It isn't my favorite food, but it was certainly better than dog food! I am going to try the ole cream of mushroom soup variety next time, as I think I would have liked it a little more creamy. The source recipe was good, though, and the wine adds a bit of a twist. Even my son ate his whole plate of it, once he got past the less than lovely appearance. He promised to try it to be polite, and then ate up the whole thing. Around here, that qualifies as a success!

Recipe: 5 spoons of goodness
Product: 3.5 spoons of goodness

Disaster Chef: Taco Casserole (project pinterest) (ammended Weight Watcher's recipe)

I found a recipe for Taco Casserole on Pinterest last fall, but when I went back for it, the blog was gone. Super disappointed, since it looked awesome. I really wanted to make it anyway, so I searched and of course about a hundred recipes came up. After reading a few, I settled on this one, which sounded good.


Unfortunately, it was a Weight Watcher's recipe, which stands for everything I'm against! If it works for you, my apologies, and good job. So I'm posting the recipe below, along with my NOT low-fat recommendations.


1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained or rinsed!) (...NO NO NO! Do not use lean meat, and do not rinse. Saturated fat is not the enemy! lol...seriously, regular grass-fed beef, no draining and dear lord no rinsing...are you trying to remove all taste?!)                                     

1/2 cup onion (chopped)

1/4 cup canned jalapeno slices, chopped (I skipped these, since my son doesn't like spicy food, but I also put salsa on top once it was done)                                           

2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 (15 ounce) can diced canned tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can kernel corn (drained) (I used frozen corn since that's what I had)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained) (Used red beans, since I had some cooked)                                    

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix (chili powder, cumin and salt did the trick).                                          

8 corn tortillas

3/4 cup nonfat sour cream (REGULAR)                                                  

1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded (About a cup of regular shredded cheese on top was perfect)                                          

1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (or less (or more) 

(GARNISH: I USED SALSA, OLIVES, SOUR CREAM, LETTUCE, CILANTRO)                                    

Directions:

1. 1
   Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring constantly. Drain well and rinse with warm water to remove all fat; return beef/onions to skillet. (Please don't wash your beef. It's weird).
2. 2
   Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, chilies/jalapenos and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
3. 3
   Meanwhile spray 12x8-inch (2-quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut each tortilla in half; place 8 halves in bottom of sprayed baking dish, overlapping slightly.
4. 4
   Spoon half of beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Spoon sour cream over beef mixture; spread evenly. Top with remaining 8 tortilla halves and remaining beef mixture. (Cover tightly with foil & Freeze for later OR cook as directed below…).
5. 5
   (Thaw overnight if frozen) Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh chopped lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black olives, etc… /.
6. 6
   Makes 6 large Servings at 6.5 weight watcher pts/each.

It turned out pretty tasty, especially after garnishes. Without that, it was a little plain. Also, the corn I used was really sweet for some reason, and tasted a little off in the recipe. I might leave out the corn next time. But, there will definitely be a next time. It was really tasty, and pretty easy to make. It did take a bit of time, but it was worth it. Everyone liked it, picky-eater son included, though he said he'd rather have tacos next time.

Disaster Chef: Lazy Crockpot Lima Beans

I started this meal how I start most of my meals: I had some time to cook. I didn't know what to cook. I went to the fridge and the pantry several times. I saw a package of beans I'd had for quite some time. I don't know anything to make with lima beans except succotash, so I went to Pinterest, like always. And I found this crockpot recipe from this blog. I had most of the ingredients, so I gave it a shot.

Let me just say, that when I'm cooking in the crockpot, it's because I'm being lazy. I don't want to have to cook stuff in a pan first. So I just dumped all the ingredients into the crockpot instead of doing all the prep work she requires in her recipe. I also added some frozen kale, shredded turkey (Thanksgiving leftovers come in handy) and a can of corn, since the spices gave it a southwestern type flavor. Also, I did not use precooked lima beans, so I cooked it a bit longer than she calls for.

Here's what I used:

1 pound dried baby lima beans, rinsed and soaked
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
2 c./1 can chicken or beef broth and enough water to cover all ingredients (if uncooked beans, about 4 c. extra water will be required for cooking beans)
1 can crushed tomatoes/1 pint canned tomatoes if you do your own
1-2 c. kale, chopped (frozen or fresh)
1 can corn
1-2 c. leftover turkey or chicken (optional)
2 TBSP cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 TBSP maple syrup

Toss everything in the crockpot, make sure it's all just covered with water, and cook 6 hrs on high or until beans are soft.

*A word about beans: To properly cook beans, they should first be soaked to remove naturally occurring toxins, as per Weston Price's directions. The night before you want to cook your beans, put then in a large bowl and cover with a good amount of water. I'd recommend at least twice as much as the beans or more, as the beans swell while soaking and you want them to be covered with water. In the morning, pour off the water, rinse the beans real quick, and throw them in the crockpot with new water. If you don't know who Weston Price is, you should. He wants you to eat lots and lots of butter :)

I added some Parmesan on top, because I add it to every soup, even when it doesn't go. I don't think the original recipe would have been enough for a meal, but with all the additions, it was a meal, not just a side dish, though it could serve as either. It's not my favorite, but I'd make it again if I couldn't think of anything else to make. Everyone ate it, and it didn't get complaints.

Recipe: 3 out of 5 spoons

Disaster Chef: Foodie Friday: Stuffed Zucchini, Squash, and Peppers

Today I'm putting aside Project Pinterest to share one of my very own recipes. It is super simple and delicious.

I started out trying to find a recipe on Pinterest for stuffed zucchini, but I couldn't find any that matched what I wanted to do. I already had in my head what it should be like. I found quite a few recipes, but none that looked like what I wanted. So, I kind of winged it (that's my usual cooking style anyway). They turned out really well! I was so dern proud of my little old self for making something tasty that I just had to share my own recipe. I later used this same exact formula for making peppers, and they were also excellent.

First, I put on some brown rice to simmer, since it takes 40-45 minutes. I left the timer on for this, and asked my sister to turn the stove off when it went off, and I took a little walk. Of course she didn't turn it off, even though she was home, so the rice got a little scorched. But I managed to salvage all but the bottom layer, which by this time was hopelessly fused to the bottom of the pan. The rest of it tasted fine, so I forged onwards. Word of warning, do not count on others to turn off your food, even if you set the timer, even if they are going to be eating said food!

I would recommend just letting your rice simmer while you do the rest of the dish.

First, cut your squash lengthwise into halves and scoop out the seedy soft part in the center. Save this and cut it into small pieces. (If you're using peppers, just cut out the stem and core, pull out any veins and seeds you can and tap the top of the pepper on the cutting board to knock loose any seeds. Throw that stuff out).

Then you will put the hollowed out veggies in a steamer basket and steam them for a few minutes if you don't want them to take a long time to bake. (If you have an hour or so to bake them, you can skip this step).




While your veggies to stuff are steaming, cook the stuffing. You will need:

Ground meat--beef or sausage (I used about 1/2lb for 6 small zucchini/squash)
1/2 large onion
2 large tomatoes, or a 16 oz can diced/chopped/stewed tomatoes with juice
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil for frying
1 bell pepper chopped, any color (omit this if you're making stuffed peppers)
handful of fresh basil (or dried if you don't have fresh)
a few pinches of fresh oregano (or dried)
grated cheese (any kind)
parmesan cheese

Put olive oil in your pan and fry your onions and peppers for a few minutes. Then add the meat and zucchini innards and saute until cooked through. Add tomatoes, cooked rice, parmesan and basil and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Now, retrieve your zucchini or peppers from the steamer. If they are still firm, that fine. I'd try to steam them for about 10 minutes after water comes to boil.

Spoon filling into zucchini, squash, or peppers, top with cheese and fresh oregano. Bake for 15-20 minutes. If you're stuffing raw veggies, 40 minutes to an hour will be needed to cook them. If all your ingredients are already hot, these cook super fast! 

I cooked these in a bread pan, so they wouldnt tip over. Worked great!

I also added some very mild homemade salsa to one batch and it turned out great. When I made stuffed peppers, I used 2 fresh tomatoes and 1 c. canned tomatoes. Feel free to experiment and mix it up!