Beef Stroganoff

This post is more about my process than a recipe.  You can find beef stroganoff recipes all over the internet, and there are several different ways to prepare it.  This is the method I use, and I'm pretty happy with it!

 First, our ingredients!  You can use any sort of noodles, rice or potatoes that you want, but we've recently become hooked on these frozen egg noodles

 I start by pouring the stock into my crock pot and turning it on to warm up.

Out comes my handy cast iron skillet.  Melt some butter.

Throw in your onions, mushrooms, and garlic.  Saute!  For best results, use high heat and stir frequently.  I usually add some salt and pepper in this step.

 When the veggies are sufficiently cooked, I put half in the crock pot and half in a bowl which goes in the fridge for now.

Return to the now gently used skillet.

 Melt some more butter.

 Throw in your stew meat, plus some more salt and pepper.

Sprinkle on some flour.

You're not trying to get the meat completely cooked, just mostly browned on all sides.  Again, high heat and frequent stirring.

 Put the browned meat in the crock pot.

Look at the mess you've made of your skillet!  Isn't it beautiful?

Turn on the heat and pour in some wine!  I call the next step "simmer and scrape."

You'll wind up with something a lot like this.

Add it to the crock pot, cover, and let cook.  I usually add some parsley at this point.  I start my crock pot on high until it boils, then turn it down to low.

This is what it looks like after a few hours.  It's basically done, the meat is nice and tender.  This is a good point to do a preliminary testing and make flavoring adjustments as needed.  I added a splash more wine.

Once you're almost ready to eat, make your noodles according to package directions.

Add the rest of the veggies.

 And the sour cream.

Mix it all together and do final seasoning adjustments.

Serve over the noodles and enjoy!

Jalapeno Pillows

So my boyfriend LOVES spicy stuff.  I found another recipe from Pillsbury called Jalapeno Pillows.  Made those as part of lunch today and he loved them.  I'll give the recipe as they do, then tell you how he would change them. 

Ingredients

• • 12 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)
  • 1/2 cup diced fresh jalapeño chiles (or to taste)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Garlic powder to taste
  • 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
  • 1 egg
  • Water

  Steps

  • Step 1 Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, chiles, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well combined. Set aside.
  • Step 2 Separate dough into 8 biscuits. With rolling pin, roll out each biscuit into about 1/8-inch-thick round. Spoon about 1 tablespoon cheese filling onto center of each. Bring up dough around filling; pinch to seal tightly. Place seam side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Step 3 To make egg wash, beat egg with splash of water. Brush tops of stuffed biscuits with some of the egg wash. Sprinkle tops with additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.  Add a small slice of jalapeño for garnish if you’d like.
  • Step 4  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Serve warm. 

   
  Now here's how we would change it.  When he diced the Jalapeno's he gutted them, then washed them off, then diced them.  But then they lost most of their hotness.  So he would next time just gut them and dice them leaving some of the seeds on the inside.  In addition he said it needed some bacon.  Also we put a piece of Jalapeno on top like it indicated and it didn't come out so well.  Under that piece it didn't cook at all.   So we would leave that off.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the process for this one.  We were making 3 different things at once.  But the link to the website with the recipe is here: Jalapeno Pillows

Apple Pie Twists

So I found on Pillsbury's website a recipe for Apple Pie Twists.  It looked easy so I figured I'd try it.  It called for using Pillsbury's bread sticks, some apple pie filling, and some seasoning.  They came out really good though some adjusting was required.  It called for chopping up the apple pie filling into a rough dice.  Then laying out the bread sticks, and putting the apple pie filling on 6 of them.  I couldn't quite figure out how to do that as the bread sticks were skinnier than I had planned for.  But my wonderful co-cook (my boyfriend) came up with the idea of using a shot glass to smash them out, making it possible.  Then you top it with another bread stick (which he also smashed thin) and twist them.  Next brush on an egg wash, then sprinkle with seasoning.  It called for cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little salt.  We decided after trying it this way that the salt was too much.  Next time I think I'll just use cinnamon, nutmeg and a little sugar.  After that you bake them at 350 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.  Mine took 20 min to look done.  After that let them cool a bit (They will be molten hot inside).  Then enjoy!

Ingredients laid out

My assistant helping while I took pictures!

Finished product!

This is the website I got it from: Spiced Apple Bread sticks! Oh Bite It

Ribs

So last year I remember cooking ribs in the crock pot, but I truly couldn't remember how I did it.  How much sauce did I use, how long ect.  So I asked my dad for advice and he said he cooks his in a tightly wrapped pan in the oven.  Last night I decided to try it and it came out wonderful!  I started by washing the ribs off a little, then putting them in a large throw away pan.  Added a whole bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce (the large bottle).  Then I put tin foil on top and tightly wrapped it up.  I cooked it at 250 for 4 hours then checked it (careful there will be a lot of steam!)  It was basically done but we wanted to eat around 7 (this was 6pm).  I turned the temp to 200 and spread the sauce that had fallen off back on the meat and then re-wrapped it in the tin foil.  Left it in the oven at 200 for another hour.  Paired that with a salad and it came out oh so good, fall off the bone, yummy!

The ribs I used were Bone-in Pork Loin Baby Back Ribs

Yummy ribs, fall off the bone good!

Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash is a traditional Hungarian stew.  It's spicy, creamy, and even a little bit sweet.  I could eat it every night for a month!  I came up with this crock pot version to make my addiction a little easier to manage.

Note: Hungarian paprika comes in two varieties, sweet and hot.  Most of the paprika sold in the US is the sweet variety.  Instead of hot paprika, I use chili powder (basically the same thing).  You can also use cayenne if you like things a little hotter.

2-3 pounds of chicken (breasts, legs, or a whole chicken)
1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream

Put all ingredients except sour cream in the crock pot.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours (6 hours for frozen chicken), or on low for 6-8 hours.  You can't hurt this recipe by cooking it longer than necessary.  It's done when the chicken falls apart and the onions are transparent.  Adjust seasonings to your taste, and mix in sour cream.  Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

Parmesan Chicken Mini Pies

So tonight I tried a new recipe.  It turned out well!  I found it on Pillsbury's website.  You start with Pillsbury seamless dough.  Cut it into 12 squares.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a muffin pan and then line the muffin cups with the squares of dough.  You can use regular crescent rolls, but it took 1.5 cans.  And you have to cut them and piece them together.  Take Tyson's Popcorn Chicken and microwave enough pieces to to fill them (12-15 depending on how big/small they are) and microwave them for 1 minute.  Put enough in each cup to fill it (1 big piece 2 small pieces).  Then cover it with a spoonful or so of sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Back for 15-18 minutes (or less mine was ready in 10-12 minutes, just depends on the oven.)  Serve and enjoy!

I used crescent rolls so had to piece them together

Horrible blogger I forgot until after I put them into the oven to take a pic!

Finished product!

Link to the original recipe: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/parmesan-chicken-mini-pies/499a7473-42f9-47d4-a47c-2684fa37a7f9

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

My family loves sweet potatoes.  They're tasty, healthy (yay beta-carotene!), and pretty versatile.  We often like to do baked sweet potatoes--just like normal baked potatoes, bake until soft and top with butter, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, whatever.  That was my plan for lunch today, until I lost track of the time.  Once I realized that I didn't have enough time to bake potatoes (I prefer not to microwave potatoes, I don't like the finished texture.) and get Richard down for his nap at a reasonable time, I decided to do baked sweet potato fries.  The sliced up potatoes cook a lot faster than whole ones, and lunch was saved!

3 medium to large sweet potatoes
Gallon zipper bag
2 tablespoons (more or less) olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400, and coat a sheet pan with cooking spray or parchment paper.  Peel and slice potatoes to whatever size you desire.  (You want your sizing to be consistent so your potatoes are all done about the same time, but they can be thick or thin according to your preference.)  Put potatoes in zipper bag.  Add oil, salt, and pepper; adjusting quantities as needed.  Close bag and toss until potatoes appear to be evenly coated.  Dump out of bag onto sheet pan, and spread them in an even layer.  Bake 15-30 minutes (depending on thickness) or until a fork can be easily inserted and removed.  You may wish to turn/stir your fries about halfway through baking for even browning, but I'm usually too lazy!

As a side, these would probably be good for 4-6 people.  As a meal (because I'm lazy) it works really well for 2 adults and a child.