Beef Stroganoff

I have a stroganoff recipe that I had been fixing and tweaking for years until I fell onto the PERFECT combination of ingredients. It started with Mom's stroganoff recipe and I changed up a few things. 

Even with the PERFECT recipe, I like to try new recipes, to go back to the basics if you will. 

This recipe is the very basic of stroganoff recipes, in my opinion. Any beginner cook can make this with ease. It is really what you'd expect if you ordered stroganoff at a restaurant. 

Beef Stroganoff

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

• 1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced into strips
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• cooked egg noodles or rice, for serving
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Cut the steak (1.5 lbs) into 1/3-inch thick slices against the grain. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet, melt the butter (4T) over medium-high heat. Add the beef in batches, searing each side for no more than 20-30 seconds. Remove the steak from the skillet and set aside to rest.

In the same skillet, cook the onions (1 med) until soft. Then, add the garlic (2 cloves) and stir until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms (8oz) and sauté until they turn golden.

Sprinkle the flour (3T) into the skillet and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then, slowly add the beef broth (2c) and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens.

Reduce the heat to low, add the Worcestershire sauce ( tsp), sour cream (.5 c), and mustard (1 tsp), and stir gently. Cook for 4-5 more minutes until smooth and blended.

Return the seared steak to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.

Serve the beef stroganoff over egg noodles or rice. Garnish with parsley, and enjoy!

Spanish Olive Pimiento Cheese Spread

Phot from Melissa's Southern
Style Kitchen

It was book club this week and my turn to bring an appetizer. I found this lovely spread and thought it would be perfect for the girls. 

I had a hard time imagining this dip though with JUST mayo. That seems odd to me. I think this may be a take on pimiento spread, but I needed it to have something extra. So, I added 8 oz of cream cheese. It was perfect. 

Spanish Olive Pimiento Cheese Spread

Recipe from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen

Serves 3

• 1 lb sharp white cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 3 oz jar pimento stuffed green olives, drained well and roughly chopped (Reserve 1 Tbsp juice)
• 1 cup real mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 green onion finely chopped

Shred the cheese, set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, reserved olive juice, garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard.

By hand mix-in the shredded cheese, chopped olives and green onion. Mix until fully combined.

Place into an airtight container and chill for 3 hours or overnight.

Serve with sesame crackers, crostini or pita triangles.

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Photo from The Big
Man's World

I'm a big fan of pot roast. It was my Dad's favorite meal and so when I have it I think of him. This recipe would be right up his alley. He'd love this. 

I made one small mistake ... I bought stew meat instead of a chuck roast. I somehow thought this recipe was for stew and not pot roast. And the chuck roast was SUPER expensive. A 3 lb roast was $30. No thank you. 

Having now read the recipe thoroughly, the chuck roast would have been a better bet. I mean the stew meat was fine, but it would have been real pot roast had I used the chuck roast. Lessons Learned.

Overall, this was a simple, quick recipe. It was tasty too! 

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Recipe from The Big Man's World

Serves 8

• 3 pounds beef chuck roast boneless
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta or bacon
• 2 large onions sliced into wedges
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup beer or extra beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup tomato sauce passata
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 3 large potatoes

Preheat oven to 350F.

Season the beef with salt and pepper.

Add oil to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and sear on all sides until no longer pink. Transfer it to a plate.

Add the pancetta to the same pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, followed by the onion and garlic. Add the beef broth, beer, water, tomato sauce, thyme, bay leaves, and brown sugar, and bring to a boil.

Add the vegetables, followed by the beef, and cover. Remove from the stovetop.

Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the beef is tender.

Hoisin Chicken Udon Noodles

I don't think I've said the following words, "this might be the best recipe I've ever made."

And I'm not joking. Where has Udon noodles been all my life? How come none of my "foodie" friends ever told me to try them? Man a live are they delicious. Very little "flavor" but chewy and perfect. 

This recipe was super simple to make. Really, it's just sauteing chicken and mushrooms and tossing in a liquid. The sauce though, Lord! Talk about flavorful. Full of a rich umami flavor, with some spice and a just a little hint of sweet. So good. 

I've also never cooked with Dark Soy sauce. I think that is what really made this sauce come alive. Do not skip using it. 

Where to find Udon noodles? I'll admit this took me a bit to find them. Mostly because I wasn't sure what I was looking for. But MOST grocery stores have an area where they put refrigerated Asian items. This is where you'll find them. At least the one's I found were "mostly" cooked. Not dried like you'd find pasta. I found these at QFC (Kroger store). I've also seen them at Central Market (aka Town & Country).

Make this meal! You won't regret it. In fact, I'd be surprised if it didn't become one of your all time favorites. 

Hoisin Chicken Udon Noodles

Recipe from Jo Cooks

Serves 4

• 16 ounces udon noodles (fresh, (2 8 oz pkg))
• 1 T olive oil
• ¾ pound chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, cut into small)
• 4 white mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 green onions (chopped)

Sauce

• 1 T sesame oil
• ⅓ c soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 T dark soy sauce
• 1 T sriracha sauce
• ¼ c hoisin sauce
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp ginger (freshly grated )
• ½ c chicken broth (low sodium)
• black pepper (to taste)

Cook the noodles: Blanch udon noodles in boiling water for about 1 to 2 minutes or if using dry noodles cook according to package instructions. Drain well and immediately rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Make the sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients together to a bowl and whisk until combined.

Sauté the sauteables: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or a wok. Add the chicken pieces and cook until chicken is no longer pink and starts to brown slightly. Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple more minutes until mushroom are starting to brown.

Finish the dish: Add the udon noodles and prepared sauce to the wok, toss everything together well and cook until the noodles are heated through. Garnish with green onions and serve hot.