Ice Box Noodle Stroganoff

This one of my camping meals.  You'll see the reason soon.  But it is equally helpful for those special nights when life has been beating you down all day and the kids need to eat.  This is the kind of meal that shuts kids up (and I mean that in the nicest way.)

Ice Box Stroganoff

Brown 1 lb of ground beef or less and drain off the fat.  Season with 1T dried minced onion and 1 t. dried garlic powder.  Add 2 T. Worcestershire Sauce and 3T. Red Wine. 

And a boat load of Crimini Mushrooms.  I love Crimini Mushrooms, the color, the texture.  They are so darn cute. I quarter them.  If I have less than a full lb of hamburger, I add more mushrooms and no one complains.

Now I cut a few more because my audience eats some of them.

Finally,  Mushrooms into the skillet with the meat and add a can of beef broth. 

Here's where it makes a good meal for camping.  Stop now and put the contents of the skillet in a zip lock bag.  Squeeze the air out and pat it into a nice square shape, then put it in the freezer to make a block of stroganoff ice. 

When you get ready to pack the ice box, take out the bag and use it as part of the ice in your ice box.  Pack the remaining ingredients:  1/2 a box of curly pasta and 1/2 c. sour cream.  

When you are ready to finish the dish, everything into the skillet to heat to a simmer and add the 1/2 box of pasta.  Yes, add them uncooked. 

Stir them to get them wet in the canned broth and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring fairly regularly.  If you stop stirring, cover the skillet with the lid to help steam the pasta.  Add a little water or broth if it starts to get dry, but I've been making this for years.  The noodles soften quickly. 

Finish the dish with 1/2 c. sour cream, 1/2 t. Salt., 1/4 t. fresh ground pepper.  Turn it with a big spoon to combine and continue cooking until heated through.  I like a little chopped parsley on top, but if you are camping or having a really bad day, that's optional. It's still creamy and bubbly, and makes the house smell good and brings them down to eat. 

Don't even talk to me about that boxed stuff.  Not real food, not less expensive, not more convenient.

Our lesson for today, kids:   This dish has several things in common with the last post:  Hamburger, which is a staple in your freezer.  Seasoning:  Having a well-stocked seasoning cabinet is important for this type of cooking.  Sour Cream, which I consider a necessity to always have in my frig. 
A basic canned good always on hand.  Basic staples from the pantry.  Real food in a hurry.   On to the side dish:  Brocolli cooked in beef broth with melted mozzarella cheese.  Husband and son will eat a pile of that. 

More on side dishes soon.  Now:  Knitting and the news.  Happy and warm family cuddled up together with full bellies.

Chili Heaven

There is something very comforting about a big pot of chili for me.  The source of my love for the stuff must be my mom.  She made awesome chili in a huge kettle. 

In addition to ground beef, she added bacon.  She was a very frugal person, but added bacon to lots of stuff.  Each time, she made a point of saying to everyone that bacon was expensive, but it was worth it for this particular recipe.  We often had cornbread with it.  We were allowed several toppings to both our chili and our cornbread.  To chili, we were allowed shredded cheese, saltine crackers, sour cream and chopped onion.  To cornbread, we had butter and something sweet, sometimes, honey, molassas, jam or dark karo syrup.  I know this wouldn't be for just everyone, but we all looked forward to this.

When we were finished with our meal, Mom spooned the remaining chili into Mason canning jars, put lids on them and put them in the freezer for other meals.  I have many happy memories of coming into the kitchen and seeing a frozen jar in the sink defrosting and being happy knowing that chili was coming. 

I don't have my mom's chili recipe.  Here is one my family likes a lot.  It is very good reheated, not very hot, but has lots of flavor. It still makes me happy to make it and eat it.  I'm just as happy to have left overs. 

Chili Chez Osborne (A modified version of a Taste of Home recipe)
3 lbs ground beef
1/2 large onion chopped.
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped.
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 can each (16 oz each) kidney and pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (29) oz tomato sauce
1 jar (16 oz) mild picante salsa
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained. 
1 can (10 1/2 oz) beef broth and 2 cups water
1 - 2 T. chili powder
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. dried basil
2 T. ground cumin
2 t. A-1 steak sauce
1 t. salt.

In a large pot, cook meat, onion, pepper, celery, and garlic unil meat is no longer pink.  Drain.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Make sure to rinse the beans.  Canned beans have a starchy liquid on them which isn't good.  Bring to boil. 

Reduce heat, simmering uncovered for 30 minutes.  Use any left overs for other meals or for lunches.

Ground Beef and Hominy Casserole

I've been making this dish all of my life. It is my Mom's recipe. I should say that it started out that way at least.

I have a fairly large collection of vintage recipes and cookbooks (50s, 60s, 70s). It is clear to me that our tastes have changed, become more sophisticated, and worldly. We want lower fat content, of course. There are more international influences. We also want stronger flavors. My mom made this dish with a can of stewed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce and chili powder instead of Italian seasoning and cayenne. It was more like hominy chili.

If Hominy is new for you, check out the canned vegetable aisle. If you don't find it, it is used in hispanic dishes. You may find it in that area. It comes as yellow hominy and white hominy. I use the yellow.

The advantage of having a large collection of recipes like this is you can feed you crew quickly, even on difficult days.

Ground Beef and Hominy Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1 t. dry minced onion.
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 t. salt
1 can (14.5 oz) yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
1/2 t garlice powder
2 t. Italian seasoning
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1 c. shredded medium chedder cheese
Brown the meat and drain any excess fat. Add dry onion, tomato sauce, salt, hominy, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and cayenne. Cook on medium heat covered for approximately 15 minutes, Top with cheese. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Do not stir after applying cheese.