Beef Stroganoff

Last night I searched the net for a good beef stroganoff recipe. There's tons out there so I just winged it and made what I thought would be good. Good thing I trusted my gut because it was pretty darn good. I'm going from memory here, but I wanted to get my method down so I can make it in the future. There were no real exact measurements so if you want exact measurements than this will frustrate you.

Ingredients:

1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs. beef steak cut into 1 inch chunks (sirloin, tenderloin, or the tenderest cut your money can buy)
butter
flour
1 sweet onion, sliced into strips
bacon (optional), cut up into pieces
garlic
red wine
2 1/2 cups beef broth
mushrooms
worcestershire sauce
sour cream
cooked buttered noodles

In a cast iron skillet, melt about a tablespoon of butter. Lightly coat the beef in flour, shaking off any excess. Salt and pepper the meat, and sear the beef over med high heat on each side until brown. Remove from pan to a towel lined plate.

In a separate deep pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook the onion strips over med low heat until soft and lightly browned. If using bacon, skip the butter and fry the onions and bacon in the bacon drippings. Once cooked, add a few minced cloves of garlic and cook a minute or so, being careful not to burn. Deglaze the pan with a good amount of red wine, probably 1/2 to 1 cup, making sure to really scrape the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid is decreased by half. Add about 2 cups beef broth. Once the mixture starts simmering, add a package of sliced baby portabella mushrooms. Add a few shakes of worcestershire sauce. In a separate bowl, pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup beef broth. Heat in microwave until hot. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of flour into the broth and whisk until thick, making a thick roux. Add the roux to the mixture in the pan. Stir and simmer over med/low heat until thickened. Add the beef to the pan. Cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream, until desired creaminess is achieved. The stroganoff should not be runny, but smooth.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

For this week's soup I dug out my Mitford Cookbook for a recipe I've made only once before. It was great the first time, but a little messy with having to transfer the soup into the food processor in batches and puree, so I never made it again. I couldn't wait to try it out with the immersion blender. Man, what a difference that makes. It was SO easy! I love that thing!
Anyway, here's my take on the recipe:

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

2 TBS olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions or shallots
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups chopped jarred roasted red peppers, drained
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans whole stewed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 cup half and half
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sour cream or cheese for serving

Warm the olive oil in a large heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the green onions and saute until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, red peppers, tomatoes, sugar, garlic and basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add in the half and half (or whipping cream if you're going for it!) until desired creaminess is achieved. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with sour cream or parmesan cheese.

Swiss Chard Pizza

I treated my aunt Kathy and I Friday night to this wonderful pizza posted by Kara on her blog. I got some nice swiss chard in my CSA box this week and this was the best recipe for it! I will definitely make this again, and I think next time I might toss in a little sauteed granny smith apples. It would really compliment the walnuts and cheese. Kathy's going to make it topped with grilled chicken. Oh, and to make it easy, I used pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's.

My new toy and a new soup

I've always wanted an immersion blender. I always knew it would be something I wouldn't use a ton, but when I'd need it, I'd be so thankful for it. Why keep putting it off? Turns out they're only like $30, and with a coupon I got mine for $25. Let me tell you, I'm already pleased with the purchase. It's amazing how well that baby works! No more transferring soup in batches to the blender, spilling it all over the counter. I've avoided making so many things for that reason alone!

And so what did I use my new purchase on? This soup I finally decided to make: Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup.



The immersion blender came in SO handy on this one. You could still make it without one, but you do have to do the whole transfer in batches thing. Either way, it's definitely worth it. Similar to the curried butternut squash soup I've made before, just without curry, so if curry scares you, try this one. Oh, and if you hate carrots, don't worry, it's not too "carrot-y." Really.
We had it for lunch today, along with a sandwich inspired by Jen (who makes wonderful sandwiches).
Turkey on whole wheat with horseradish cheddar, cranberry chutney, mayo, and sliced apples. Fry it up in a pan with a little butter. Yum! And we like to dip our sandwiches in our soup!
I'm thinking it would be fun to make a new soup once a week.

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

I saw a recipe very similar to this online tonight and decided to try it out. The results were amazing! Who knew brussel sprouts could be SO good?

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts:

Rinse brussel sprouts. Remove the ends, quarter them, and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with enough good quality olive oil to coat, sprinkle with a good balsamic vinegar to coat, toss in a couple of minced garlic cloves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place on a baking sheet and roast at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until done.

Bolognese Sauce

I realized I have never posted my Bolognese sauce. I guess that's because I made it different every time. Sometimes I add more sauce, sometimes more milk. Either way, I wanted to post it as a guide for future reference. We had a yummy dinner tonight. We had penne with bologonaise and balsamic roasted brussel sprouts with sourdough garlic bread. I'll post the brussel sprouts recipe in another post...they were seriously that good. This recipe is totally doable ahead of time.

Bolognese Sauce

Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery (optional)
2 carrots, run through the food processor to make them very finely chopped (almost like a paste)
4 cloves of garlic
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk
Large can of marinara sauce or 1 jar of good quality pasta sauce
a couple shakes of red pepper
Italian seasonings to taste
salt
pepper
freshly ground nutmeg to taste
parmesan cheese

Method:
In dutch oven, heat olive oil and saute the onions until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for a few minutes more. Add the beef and cook until browned. Add the wine and remaining ingredients, adjusting as desired. Simmer for 45 min. Serve over pasta topped with parmesan cheese.

Italian Chicken

I've been losing my mojo in the kitchen these days. It's been awhile since I've made a really good dinner, in my opinion. David's always very gracious, but frankly, my dinners lately have been flops. It's pretty frustrating when I'm trying so hard to make family meals happen even if there is soccer practice at night. That will soon be over and I'm SO glad. We're just not up for being one of those families that have an activity every single day of the week. We all love our time at home, and it is, after all, the simple moments at home that stick in a child's mind.
Tonight was a rare Sunday evening that David was home. I'm been used to my Sunday evenings with just me and the boys, and admittedly, if he had been gone, I would not have gone to the trouble of really cooking. But he was home, so I did cook, and finally I made a decent meal. It's worth making again so I wanted to make sure I got it down. I have no name for this, although Italian Chicken might be a good one:

Italian Chicken

Needed: chicken breasts, mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, an egg, Italian Seasonings, whole wheat flour (may use white all purpose), good quality marinara sauce, butter, salt, pepper, and toothpicks.

Method:
Preheat oven to 400

Take a few chicken breasts and pound them down until they are pretty thin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a good amount of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Roll the breast up and secure with toothpicks. Dip the whole thing in whole wheat flour, then an egg mixture (egg w/ just a splash of water or milk) all mixed up, and finally , dredge the whole thing in breadcrumbs. I use my homemade ones that are healthier. I also mix in some Italian Seasonings and grated parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs, but that's just me. Place the breasts seam side down into a baking dish, pour a mixture of melted butter and oregano over the top and bake at 400 until done (maybe 40 minutes, depending on the thickness). While it's baking, simmer a jar of marinara sauce on the stove. Once the chicken is done, remove from oven and slice so they resemble medallions. Pour just enough marinara sauce over the top to lightly cover, sprinkle with more mozzarella and pop back into the oven until the cheese is melted. Really good all on it's own and even better served over a top of pasta.

It really wasn't all that hard to prepare. While the oven was preheating I was able to get the chicken assembled from start to finish. I'll be glad to add this to the list of "definitely make again."