Beef Stew

2.5lbs beef roast, cut into 1-2" chunks
3 Tblspn. ghee
salt & pepper
1/2 large yellow onion, cut into wedges
10 baby onions
10 baby Yukon gold potatoes
1 1/2 russet potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into medium chunks
2 cups chicken or beef broth
4-6 fresh sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle cut up beef with salt and pepper.
Add ghee to dutch oven, melt and coat the pan.
Add beef to pan and cook on medium-high heat, searing all sides, and continuing to cook for 5-10minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and mix.
Cover and place in the oven for 1.5 hours.

Stroganoff Meatballs

Just made these last night for dinner and they were a huge hit! I cheated and bought frozen meatballs, but the sauce is awesome! Since the sauce makes a type of gravy, I served them with mashed potatoes.

Stroganoff Meatballs

(originally found HERE)

For meatballs:

1 1⁄2 lbs ground chuck

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

3 tbsp ketchup

For stroganoff sauce:

1 medium yellow onion, diced

16 oz. white mushrooms. diced

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup dry sherry

5 cups chicken broth (or beef broth, but chicken tastes lighter)

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1⁄2 cup of butter

5 tbsp flour

3 tbsp fresh dill

10 oz. sour cream

For meatballs: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, form 1” round meatballs, and broil in oven on low broil for 12-15 minutes or until brown and cooked all the way through. You could also cook meatballs in a skillet in olive oil as well. Drain and set aside.

For stroganoff sauce: Dice the onion and soften in olive oil in a large pot for 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. Add diced mushrooms and soften another 3 minutes in olive oil on medium heat, stirring frequently. To your onion/mushroom mixture, add dry sherry and bring to a low boil. Allow most of sherry to reduce and be absorbed by mushrooms, about 5 minutes, and stir frequently until most of liquid is gone. Add broth and worcestershire sauce and again bring to a low boil.

Meanwhile, combine softened butter and flour into a beurre manié (fancy French term for flour/butter medley) and mix well until it forms a paste. The beurre manié is your thickener, so add it 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking quickly as you do and you’ll see your sauce start to thicken. Add fresh dill, stir, then add sour cream, and whisk again until sauce is smooth.

If you can’t find fresh dill, go ahead and substitute 2 teaspoons of dry dill, it will still taste great. Add meatballs to pot and simmer on low for 20 - 30 minutes. Serve alone with toothpicks or over pasta. Garnish with more fresh dill. Makes approximately 40 meatballs.

Poolgogi

A coworker of mine in Boise, ID brought her leftovers of this for lunch one day and gave me a bite. I loved it and asked for the recipe. She knew it off the top of her head and so I jotted it down on a papertowel--which I still have. Time to get it written somewhere a little safer...

Poolgogi
(thanks to Sharon, at SLRMC in Boise, ID!)

1 large or 2 medium pieces of Round Steak
(**ask butcher to put meat through tenderizer about 4 times—it will be almost shredded!)

Marinade:
1 c. soy sauce
½ c. sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblspn. sesame oil
1/3 c. vegetable oil
½ c. minced scallions
1/3 c. toasted sesame seeds

Marinate meat for about 1 ½ hours.
Barbeque (can BBQ on piece of foil, so meat doesn’t fall through grate).
Slice meat in thin strips, across the grain.
Serve over rice.

**I also cook and reduce the marinade to make a sauce to drizzle over meat & rice when serving.
**Serve with stir-fry vegetables for a complete meal.

Beef Stroganoff

My mom doesn't love cooking like I do. In fact, she doesn't even LIKE to cook. She usually makes the simplest, easiest, fastest thing and eats only to survive. (sigh) I wish I was more like her...but instead, I love food. I don't mind the grocery shopping, I don't mind the prep work or the cooking, and I love the eating part of it all. That being said, there are still days when I need something simple, easy, & fast. So instead of looking through my recipes, I look to my mom. This is her recipe--the stroganoff I grew up on, and ironically, one of Marc's favorites.

Beef Stroganoff

(thanks Mom!)

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. beef boullion

Brown the beef and then add onions. Sprinkle garlic salt and dry mustard over meat. Then add in the mayo, sour cream and broth. Simmer until all mixed and heated through.

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Easy Crockpot Roast

Easy Crockpot Roast
(I have no idea where I got this recipe)

1 beef roast, any kind, sized to fit your crockpot
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 pkg. brown gravy mix
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix
½ c. or more water

Place roast in crockpot. Mix all 3 envelopes of seasonings together and sprinkle in top of roast. Pour ½ c. warm water in bottom of crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (or until it falls apart--all depends on the size roast).

Great because it makes its own gravy!!!!

Crockpot Roast

I know, I know.....ANOTHER crockpot roast. There are thousands of differing ways to slow cook a cut of beef, and here is 1,001. I am in the midst of trying to find a recipe to cook for our ward Christmas party and will probably be posting a few different recipes throughout the process. Here is attempt #1: good and ridiculously easy, but won't be used for the party. It turned out more "sweet-n-sour--candied--bbq" than I was expecting. I am looking for something I can stuff into a pita pocket with tzatziki sauce, so if you know of a good recipe, please pass it on!

Crockpot Roast
(thanks to Joy Park)

2-3 lb. rump roast
1/2 bottle Russian salad dressing (can not be substituted with anything else)
1/2 bottle bbq sauce

Put the roast in the crockpot and add about 1/2 c. water. Cover and cook on low for about 8+hrs. At about hour 6, dump water and add salad dressing and bbq sauce. Cook another 2 hrs. until meat can be cut easily or shredded.

(Obviously, all ingredients can be adjusted based on need and preference--just make sure you have equal parts salad dressing to bbq sauce).

Hearty Penne Beef

The name is lame. But the only other thing I could come up with was "Homemade Hamburger Helper"--which is probably worse. But the dish itself was pretty good--Marc really liked it. It is basically a casserole, but just on the stovetop--not baked. It was the perfect entree for me to use up the rest of my spinach and mozzarella cheese, so I figured I'd try it. Marc said "it's a keeper"--so I'm posting it for my records, lame name and all.

Hearty Penne Beef
(Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious, Sept/Oct 2008)

1-3/4 cups uncooked penne pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato puree, broth, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add spinach; cook for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.
Drain pasta; stir into beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

**not sure was "tomato puree" is, so I used a 10oz. can of tomato sauce and added about 1/4 c. diced tomatoes
**OH, in the magazine, it says that this recipe freezes well--next time I'll split the recipe before serving and freeze half.

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

I am sure most of you already have a recipe similar to this one. It is a Mormon basic. But I make it pretty consistently and always freeze half, so I thought it would be a good post for those reasons. I got this recipe at an Enrichment night on freezer meals--and this definitely freezes well. Amounts can easily be adjusted to make more, too!

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells
(wish I could remember names, but it was someone in our Boise, ID ward a few years back)

16 jumbo dried pasta shells
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 can refried beans
1 jar salsa
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c. green onion, sliced
sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook beef in large skillet until brown; drain. Add seasoning mix and follow directions on package; cook over low heat until thickened. Add beans and 1/2 c. cheese; mix well.
Spread 1/4 cup salsa over bottom of two 8-inch square baking dishes. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Fill pasta shells with beef mixture; place half of the shells in each dish, filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells in both pans.
Cover one baking dish with plastic wrap, then overwrap with foil. Label and freeze for up to 2 months.
Cover remaining dish with foil. Bake for 40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Serve wtih sour cream.

TO BAKE FROZEN SHELLS: Store baking dish in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; recover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. green onions and 1/4 c. shredded cheese. Serve with sour cream. Makes 4 servings.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

A few years back, a friend and neighbor in Boise, ID invited us over for Sunday dinner. She made a great pot roast. Seems like everyone should know how to do this, but I didn't. So she casually gave me a verbal recipe and I quickly took written notes on a scrap of paper. I just came across this scrap of paper in time to make this for Father's Day. Marc was in heaven! So for those of you who feel like you should know how to make a roast and are too embarrassed to admit it and ask someone for a recipe, I'll share mine via this blog......and noone will ever know!

Good Ol' Pot Roast
(a good neighbor whose name I have completely forgotten---now THAT is embarrassing!)

pot roast OR chuck roast
salt and pepper
onion
carrots
celery
oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. beef broth
dried thyme

Generously season meat with salt and pepper. Sear meat in oil for about 7 minutes on each side. Set aside. In the same pan, saute chopped onion, carrots and celery. Add sugar and garlic. Once all veggies are tender, add chicken and beef broth. Add roast back to pan and fill with water until comes halfway up meat (don't always need much water, depending on size of roast). Sprinkle top of roast with dried thyme. Cover and simmer. Then place in oven at 300 degrees for about 4 hours.
OPTIONAL: At 3 1/2 hours, you can add large pieces of potatos and carrots to cook with the roast for the last 1/2 hour.

YUMMY!!!! The roast just falls apart and is so tender--even my girls ate it!

French Onion Salisbury Steak

This is SO good. I have made this dish a few times when my parents or my in-laws came into town. They all liked it. I made it today (because I happened to have parsley on hand and didn't know what to do with it) and Marc and I loved it, once again. Definitely worth sharing. Unfortunately, we gobbled this up before I could get a picture of it.

French Onion Salisbury Steak
(Cuisine At Home magazine)

1 ¼ lb. ground chuck
¼ c. fresh minced parsley
2 T. scallions, minced
1 t. kosher salt
½ t. black pepper
2 T. flour
1 T. olive oil
2 c. onions, sliced
1 t. sugar
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. tomato paste
2 c. beef broth
¼ c. dry red wine (I use cooking wine)
¾ t. kosher salt
½ t. dried thyme leaves
Cheese Toasts (see below)
4 t. minced fresh parsley
4 t. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Combine chuck, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper.
Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape each into ¾ - 1” thick oval patties.
Place 2 T. flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour.
Reserve 1T. flour.
Heat 1 T. oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
Add patties and sauté 3 minutes on each side, or until browned, and then remove from pan.
Add onions and sugar to pan; sauté 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and tomato paste: sauté 1 minute, or until paste begins to brown.
Sprinkle onions with reserved flour; cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth and wine, then add the salt and thyme.
Return meat to pan and bring soup to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.

Serve steaks on Cheese Toasts with onion soup ladled over.
Garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese.

Cheese Toasts

4 slices French bread or baguette, cut diagonally, about ½” thick
2 T. butter, softened
½ t. garlic, minced
pinch of paprika
¼ c. Swiss cheese, grated
1 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place bread on baking sheet
Combine butter, garlic and paprika and spread on one side of each slice of bread.
Combine cheeses and sprinkle evenly over butter.
Bake until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.

Grilled Bacon Burgers

Grilled Bacon Burgers
(Simple & Delicious, May/June 2008)

I know, the picture kind of looks gross. But the burger is so juicy it is hard to keep it looking pretty. Reminded me of those Carl's Jr. commercials where they pride themselves on how messy their burgers are.

1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
5 bacon strips
5 hamburger buns, split
Leaf lettuce, tomato slices and onion slices, optional

In a small bowl, combine the egg, cheese, onion, soy sauce, ketchup and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into five patties. Wrap a bacon strip around each; secure with a toothpick. Grill patties, uncovered, over medium-hot heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink. Discard toothpicks. Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato and onion if desired.

French Dip

This is almost embarrassing, but I had never had French Dip in my life until last night! When I had my freezer mishap a few weeks ago, one of my thawed items was a beef roast. I called my trusty neighbor for suggestions on what to do with all of my meat and she gave me this recipe for French Dip. The best part was that after I made it, I was able to freeze it! I pulled it out the night before and then warmed it on the stove last night. YUMMY!

French Dip
(thanks to Cheri Taylor, the best neighbor!)

3 lb. beef roast
2 c. water
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
Bay leaf
3-4 whole peppercorns

Put together in a crockpot and cook on high for about 4+ hours. Shred meat and serve on crusty rolls with sauce on the side.

I used Ciabatta rolls from Costco and topped the meat with Provolone cheese.
I served them with tator tots and a fruit salad--we all loved our dinner last night!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
(??i have no idea??)

1-2 lbs. cubed beef stew meat
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I prefer to just use 1)
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 packet dry onion soup mix (I use the whole thing for a stronger flavor)
1 Tblspn. worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. water
salt, pepper, garlic salt
4-6 oz. fresh mushrooms (I never put in because I don't like them)
dollop of sour cream

In a crockpot, sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, garlic salt (or fresh minced garlic). Combine the soups, onion, water and Worcestershire sauce in crockpot as well.
Cook on low setting for 8 hours or high setting for about 5 hours.
About 1/2 hour before serving, saute mushrooms in a little oil and add them, and stir in sour cream and cream cheese.
Serve over rice or noodles (I always use curly "egg noodles")

Saturday nights dinner menu

Cahoon's Crockpot Roast
("Favorite's" cookbook)

3-5 lb. beef roast
garlic salt, to taste

Garlic salt the roast and place in crockpot (no need to brown first)

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 can beef gravy (I forgot to buy this, so I just added 1 1/2 c. water and some dry gravy mix I had)
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all together and pour over roast. Cook for about 12 hrs. on low, or 6-7 hours on high. Remove roast. Strain gravy and thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and cold water until preferred consistency.
(We did not use the gravy since our potatoes did not require gravy. But it does make a lot of gravy that would be great over mashed potatoes!)

Blue Cheese Potatoes
(Quick Cooking, March/April 2002)

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into chunks
1/4 c. whipping cream, whipped (but not sweetened)
1/4 c. crumbled bleu cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 lb. sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, fold whipped cream and bleu cheese into mayonnaise. Drain potatoes; gently stir in bleu cheese mixture. Sprinkle with bacon. Serve warm. 6-8 servings.
(OK, so they aren't low fat, but man, they were so good!)

Steamed Baby Carrots

OK, so their really isn't a recipe for these. I just steamed about 1.5 lbs. baby carrots for about 25 minutes, then tossed with butter and brown sugar. YUM!

Tart Lemon Ring Mold
(Taste of Home, April/May 2002)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 c. cold water
2 pkgs. (3 oz. each) lemon gelatin
2 c. boiling water
1 can (12 oz.) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
2 c. whipping cream
3 Tblspn. powdered sugar
fresh strawberries

In a small saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until gelatin is dissolved. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve lemon gelatin in boiling water. Stir in unflavored gelatin mixture and limeade concentrate. Refrigerate until slightly thickened.
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 Tblspn at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat the gelatin until frothy. Stir in the whipped cream. Pour into an 8-cup ring mold (I used a bundt pan) coated with nonstick cooking spray; refrigerate until set.
Unmold onto a serving platter (easy to do if you float the pan in warm water for just a few seconds to loosen the mold). Fill the center and surrounding edges with sliced strawberries.
10-14 servings.
(This made for a great, fresh presentation. Very pretty with the soft yellow and red. It is quite tart, so it was not everyone's favorite, but I love anything citrus and thoroughly enjoyed it. It would be great in the summertime, especially at a BBQ or other outdoor party)

Mint-Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
(Simple & Delicious, July/August 2007)

1 pkg. Suzy Q's (or DingDongs, Ring Dings, etc.)
3 c. mint chocolate ice cream, softened
12 Oreo cookies, crushed, divided in half
2 c. whipping cream (or Cool Whip)
1/2 tsp. mind extract, optional

Line a large loaf pan (8 X 4 X 2") with plastic wrap. Place 4 Suzy Q's (I used 6 Ding Dongs) in pan, completely covering the bottom. Spread ice cream over the Suzy Q's; sprinkle with 1/2 of the cookie crumbs. Press remaning Suzy Q's (or another 6 Ding Dong's) on top. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.
Just before serving, remove from the freezer adn invert onto a serving plate. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Combine whipped topping and extract, if desired (I left it out); frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Slice and serve.
8 servings.
(Super easy to make--in fact, it's a great recipe to let kids make. I thought it might be so simple that is would just taste like a few ingredients served together, but it was actually better than I thought. Marc even compared it to a Baskin Robbins cake!)