Beef Stroganoff

Wow, now posts since October! Well seeing that we've eaten 3x a day everyday since the last time I posted its easy to say I am behind! Now that I think about it, morning sickness started in October and is finally subsiding. I'm finally in the mood for food again and lots of it! Dinner around here has been rather hectic. Nicholas is usually in his high chair hollering. By the time I get food in front of him he is too upset to eat. Usually then he screams through half the meal before realizing there is food right in front of him, if only he would calm down enough to eat it! The woes of being one.

Thanks Betty Crocker for the picture and recipe base :)

Beef Stroganauff is a new one for me, I have never made it before. I found I really like it! We had a package of stew meat in the freezer so that is what I used instead of sirloin. One thing Andy can't bring himself to eat is mushrooms. So I skipped those and used a whole green pepper instead.

1 pounds beef sirloin steak, 1/2 inch thick

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used 1 chopped green pepper)

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2-3Tbsp butter or margarine

1 can beef flavored broth 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sour cream ( I only needed about 1/2 this much, maybe I had less volume than the original recipe since I skipped the mushrooms)

3 cups hot cooked egg noodles

1. cut beef across grain into about 1 1/2x1/2-inch strips 

2. Cook mushrooms, onions and garlic in butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender; If you used mushrooms remove the veggies from skillet so mushrooms don't get too "mushy." If using peppers leave them in the skillet to continue to soften while you cook the beef

3. Cook beef in same skillet until brown. Stir in 1 cup of the broth, the salt and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through

4.  Stir remaining broth with flour; stir into beef mixture. Add the mushroom mixture if needed. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot (do not boil). Serve over noodles.  

Meatloaf Cupcakes

Yesterday I had a lot of rare free time. Nick was sleeping off the shots he got at the pediatrician. He spent most of the day snoozing in his crib. I had ground beef in the fridge. Blah blah ground beef and I wanted to do something not boring with it. Then I found meatloaf cupcakes, PERFECT!!! We just so happened to have some cooked bacon in the fridge.  Andy considers bacon to be some sort of health supplement so I decided to use it as "sprinkles." Cute huh??? Yields 8 cupcakes

For meatloaf bottom:
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Wostershire sauce
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg 
I had some McCormick hamburger seasoning so I threw in a teaspoon of that too! 

Meatloaf Glaze
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Wostershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray
3. Mix together meatloaf ingredients. (my LEAST favorite part of meatloaf is getting cold meatloaf hands)
4. Fill muffin tins with the meat mixture to the top, but not overflowing
5. Mix together glaze ingredients and spoon over each cupcake
6. Bake for 30 minutes
7. Carefully tilt the tin over the sink to pour off the fat

Mashed Potato Frosting
 2 cups of mashed potatoes prepared however you want. I like salt, pepper, garlic powder, milk, and either a tablespoon of butter or cream cheese.

I happened to have some piping bags and tips to pipe the mashed potatoes on top. You can also just put it in a ziplock baggie and cut off a corner to use as a piping bag. Add crumbled bacon on top and you're done!

Orange Beef (or Chicken!)

I love stir fry, and this one was amazing. It calls for top sirloin which can be a bit pricey, about 5.39/lb here. Well it just so happened to be on sale this week, and since I only needed one pound I didn't mind buying it. Did I mention our grocery store is attached to an open to the public meat processing plant? Don't feel like butchering your own deer or turkey? Well just drop it off here and pick it up later! The meat case is also stocked with interesting things like gizzards, fresh pig feet, and other things I'd prefer not to eat.

I never used fresh ginger before but it was really easy and smells great. You could probably substitute dried ginger. Rice vinegar is worth picking up. Its cheap and has a mild almost nutty smell. It isn't nearly as acidic as other vinegars.

• 1 pound beef top sirloin, thinly sliced (or chicken)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup oil for frying

Directions

1. Cut beef into small inch pieces. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice concentrate, salt and soy sauce. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok  or large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss beef in flour to coat. Fry in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown; set aside.
4. Add orange zest, ginger and garlic to the remaining oil, and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, bring to a boil, and simmer till thickens, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and heat through, stirring to coat. Serve immediately over steamed rice, and garnish with broccoli.