Traditional Food is Cheap #4: Beef Stroganoff

Once again, I enter my house at 5:15 p.m. after a long day.  I'm tired.  I hear my Mom's voice in my head saying "put on a happy face."  Aren't women amazing.  If you know one, remember to tell her and thank her for everything she does to keep life together for those around her. 

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had to clean my kitchen before I could start cooking.  I need to buy dog food tomorrow, or someone will be hungry, but there's enough for tonight.  And I haven't yet emptied the dishwasher, but at least I started it when I left this morning. 

Okay, time to get going. Two big cloves of garlic, minced or diced.  I need to get over to Diane's Produce and stock up.  I'm out of a lot of things.    A purple shallot diced. Not green onions, which some people call shallots.  By the way, have you noticed that Paula Deen calls green onions, spring onions.  I'm always so impressed with what a small world it is, but the things that make us different are interesting too.  

Half a pound of mushrooms.  I usually get crimini, but I've got these white things this time.  Have you noticed that people on Food Network recommend not washing mushrooms?  They all wipe them with a kitchen towel.  I wash mine and have never had a problem.  I wouldn't eat a potato or an apple without washing it.  Just saying people. 

I usually quarter mushroom.  For Stroganoff, I slice, but do what you want with your Stroganoff.  It's yours after all. Two T. good oil, canola or grape seed or olive oil. Saute the shallot, garlic and mushrooms. 

I like them a little soft and translucent in Stroganoff.  Nicer with the sour cream sauce.  One of the things I like about cooking is that it's all about me.  There are so many areas of my life that are all about doing things for other people.  Following other people's rules.  When I cook, the mushrooms can be any way I want.  And that's all I have to say about that. 

 A full pound of some type of less expensive beef steak.  With all meat, take the time to cut off anything you don't want to eat.  It's your decision. 

Slice the meat as thin as possible.    I've got two piece stacked.  I'm using a cheap serrated bread knife that I keep for this purpose.

Remove the vegetables to a pie plate sitting on the back of the stove.  Two T. butter and add the meat.  Saute until it's just cooked through.  Feel free to nibble a bit.  Cook's privilege. 1/2 t. salt, a couple good turns off the pepper grinder, 1 t. Worcestershire sauce.  Turn it off until you are close to ready to eat. 

Start the pasta.  I've made this with really good fresh pasta.  I've made this with homemade pasta.  Tonight, it's 1/2 pound of this, cooked according to the package. Salt the water as it heats.  Add a little oil to the water after adding the pasta. 

To finish, return the vegetables to the meat in the skillet.  Bring it back to heat and add 1/2 c. sour cream, a handful of chopped Italian parsley.  As you stir, add another 1/4 c. sour cream if needed for a very creamy texture.  Taste and consider another 1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce.  Always taste and adjust the flavors to suit you.  It's a recipe, not brain surgery.  Add the pasta and stir to combine.  It should be creamy. 

Oh, good.  Before long we are cozy on the couch, plates in our laps, a glass of wine.  Watching TV. Grateful not to be in Japan and Iran.  Grateful to have a home and good food and worthwhile work to do.  Grateful for a good warm bed and each other.  Feeling a little silly about any previous grumpiness.  Remember the important things.

Week end Beef Short Ribs from the Pioneer Woman

Let's start with a picture of my favorite sous chef.

I've been trying to make something each weekend that I simply can not make on a week night.  I really enjoy visiting blogs that are clearly a huge labor daily.  And I don't want to offend anyone.  My reality in the moment is that I come home on a week night after a full days labor to another workplace.  No other way to say it. 

Giving myself a creative corner to work in for a few hours on the weekend keeps me from being all frumpy and slumpy in the long run and helps me to stay in touch with myself.  My mother's daughter.  An American home cook.  A lover of food.  A lover of home and hearth, even though I must venture out each day for work.  

Now, I want you to stay here, so I'm giving the link to the recipe late in the blog.  Beef Short Ribs.  I have most everything in my freezer.  I'm just that kind of girl.  But I don't have this.  It took a trip to the grocery store and a consult with the butcher, but she hooked me up.

It starts with browning the ribs in a large heavy bottom pan.  Hot oil, meat, significant heat.  Not a skill to be under estimated by a beginning cook.  But an important one lots of cooking styles. 

It really struck me a year ago when my mom stayed with us.  Age and illness had left her struggling with many things, from talking to walking.   Together one afternoon, we made Julia Child's Beef Bourguigon.  She couldn't go to the lady's room by herself, but she could brown meat in hot oil.  Some part of the brain of a good cook remembers the important stuff.  Brilliant baby was just really a baby then.  I was so impressed with how well she held him, even though she had trouble with so many other physical stuff.  http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2009/12/visit-with-my-mom.html    

Set the browned meat aside. My mom used a pie plate to hold things and pushed them to the back of the stove.

Now the sauce. I followed Pioneer Woman's recipe almost exactly, which is rare for me, but just saying.  Go to the link below for the recipe. 

Cover the ribs with the sauce and put in a 275 degree Fahrenheit oven.  I covered it with foil for a while, but uncovered it for the last about half of the cooking time.  3 1/2 to 4 hours total time in the oven. 

Pioneer Woman recommends cooling the ribs and refrigerating them for several hours or overnight.  Then removing the meat from the bones, draining off the excess fat and heating the remaining meat and sauce.  I was unaware that Pioneer Woman was so delicate.  I set them aside while I made other side dishes and tended to my household.  But then, I removed the bones and strained off the fat.  I have my mom's heat-proof fingers.  I can take anything.

I took husband a taste while he continued with his work.  Got his attention.

And the sous chef's.  I mean really.  What self-respecting Golden Retriever isn't interested in this.  

Served it with buttered fettuccine and Italian flat leaf parsly.  And I assure you that there was a brocolli side dish.  I never seem to photograph the stuff that's good for you. 

Remember to cook.  

Oh, and the recipe. 

 http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/short-ribs-in-tomato-sauce/

Go forth and be happy.

Savorty Sausage and Potato Skillet

We are feeling better and starting to have an appetite.  I'm cooking tonight and looking forward to it.  I miss it when I don't cook. It makes me happy.  Oh, and I can't recommend drinking wine when you are sick.  Just saying.

I have friends who say they are frustrated because they get to dinner time and have no idea what to fix.  They stop by Safeway for prepared food, or even inspiration.  Or they bring home Chinese food or pizza. Or they go to Costco for frozen food like items in a plastic bag. 

I don't think it is optional that we eat real food regularly.  Apples Oranges, Grapes, Broccoli, Beans.  This is not special occasion food.  On one of those nights when I didn't know that to fix, I started rummaging through my pantry and fridge and created this dish.  This is an original recipe.  I offer it for those special days when you just need some help.


Savory Sausage and Potato Skillet
2 T. olive oil or good oil of your choice
5 cups coarsely chopped small red potatoes, clean, skin on
15 oz package smoked beef sausage ring, sliced
1 scallion, finely chopped.
 and 2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz can tomato sauce.
1/2 t. salt
2 t. Italian seasoning
Pinch of cayenne

Heat the oil to high in a good skillet.  Add potatoes, moving them with a spoon as they cook for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup water.  Reduce heat to medium and add a lid.  Stir every minute or so for a few more minutes until the potatoes are starting to soften.  If this doesn't happen fast enough for you, cut them smaller next time.

Add the scallion, garlic Tomato sauce, and seasoning.  Toss to combine.  Reduce heat to a simmer with the lid on.  Stir every couple minutes for 5 minutes total. 

Once the potatoes are cooked, you are ready to serve. 

By the way, if you are in the market for an oven/stove, I highly recommend looking into a warming drawer.  I recently bought a stove with a warming drawer and it has changed everything.  If we are not quite ready to eat, everything goes into the warming drawer until we are.  No worries about cold food, or scorching the bottom of the pan.  Move onto an other dish without worry for the first.  Can't say enough.

Remember to get better.   

Green Chili Tortilla Stack

If you've read here much, you know that everything for me goes back to my parents.  I'm not sure that everyone was so deeply affected by their childhood, but I was.  I still dream consistently of my father.  I talk to him in my head when things go wrong.  Some times it seems that he is talking back to me.  Giving me bits of encouragement.  "Kid, hold your head up and don't let it bother you."  "Kid, you are fine." "Kid, dig in and fight."

One night I needed to produce a meal and didn't have a plan.  Actually some extra eaters used the meal I had for that night for lunch earlier in the day.  I needed to come up with something.  To my freezer and pantry.  My mother made a stack of tortillas with seasoned meat and cheese.  Hers had onions, which we do not eat.  She added diced tomatoes and lettuce or top and didn't use the olives.  This recipe is completely original to me but is reminiscent of those nights when her version came steaming hot out of the oven. 

Green Chili Tortilla Stack

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning, or home made taco seasoning
1 can mild green chili enchilada sauce, (we like La Victoria Mild green chili enchilada sauce)
4 flour tortillas

1 cup pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese

2.25 oz can sliced black olives

First, know your microwave.  Most modern microwaves will do a good job of defrosting frozen ground beef.  Experiment until you find the setting that works best and the number of minutes.  That way, you'll be prepared for those nights when it is necessary 

Next, I rarely buy those taco seasoning packets.  Here is what I do.  It works for burrito meat, as well

Homemade taco seasoning.

2 t. dry minced onion

1. t. salt.

1 t. chili powder

1/2 dried minced garlic

1/2 t. dried ground cumin

1/4 t. dried oregano

Brown hamburger with taco seasoning.  In a pyrex pie plate or casserole dish large enough to accommodate one tortilla lieing flat, place 1/4 cup of the meat mixture and 1 T. of the enchilada sauce and spread it out.  Place a tortilla over.  Layer another 1/2 cup meat, 2 T. enchilada sauce, 1/4 cheese.  Start layering again with another tortilla.  Continue with these layers until you run out of engredients.  Top with sliced olives.  Cook in overn preheated to 350 for 20 minutes or until heated throughout.  Slice into wedges like a pie.  Serve with a vegetable.

The leftovers can be packaged for lunch.  I've done the same thing with black beans for a vegetarian option. 

Remember to pile it high.

Turkey and Oregano Skillet Dinner

Just a few things.
1.  I haven't harvested a single leaf of lettuce.  Oh, I planted quite a bit.  And the plants are there.  There is a little bunny coming 'round and nibbling on it.  Each leaf is nibbled to the end as the next one comes up.  I'm still in mourning for Cocoa the Doberman who lost her battle with old age.  She kept the yard free of varmits and raskily rabbits in a way no other of our dog family can.  I miss you Cocoa.
2.  Step son and I have arranged to purchase a half a cow from a local rancher.  I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing.  The freezer needs some cleaning out, so we'll be eating its contents until the new meat comes.

3.  I'm so happy to have fresh herbs again.  My green house allows me to keep a few herbs almost year round, but now I can have parsley.  The greenhouse oregano and thyme are pitifully picked stubs.  But the outside plants are coming back.  Summer means fresh herbs in everything I make!.  Yeah.

Turkey and Oregano Skillet Dinner

1 lb ground turkey

1 t. salt, coarse sea salt is my favorite right now

1/8 t. ground pepper

1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can green beans (I'm buying Santiam brand because I know they are canned locally) 

1/4 c. fresh organo chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red pepper, roasted and chopped

3/4 c. rotelle pasta cooked.

Brown the meat until completely cooked and drain any liquid.   Add salt and pepper.  Add the tomatoes with liquid.  Drain the beans and add them.  Wash and pick over the herbs.  Remove anything you don't want to eat.  I usually find some little spider about the time I think they are clean, so take the time.  Remove leafs from the stems.  The stems go in the compost.  Chop the leaves finely. 

I know I've said this many times, but you deserve to take the time to stand there and enjoy this.  Smell the herbs.  What do they make you think of?  How do you feel?  Feel how soft and nice they are.  I was remembering a series of summer days, sitting in the grass in front of the house on the Homeplace on my grandparents farm.  Making clover neckless until there were mountains of them.  Later as it started to get dark, laying back in the piles of clover neckless with my cousins, watching bats fly from the barn to the big tree and back to the barn and back to the big tree.

Okay, now we are roasting a pepper:  Turn on your broiler. Cut it in half and remove the stem and seeds.  Wash the pepper well.  Lay the 2 pepper halves on a piece of foil.   Flatten each half out by breaking it until it lays flat.  Rub the skins with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and stick it under the broiler.  And I mean broil it until the skins turn black and start to separate from the meat. 

Don't skip this step.  It creates a lot of flavor.   I've got flats of some special pepper plants in my green house.  I'm hoping for a good crop and that I'll do this to some of them and freeze it.   (I saw that on someone else's blog.) 

Once they are cool, the black just pulls off leaving a soft, moist, red, and very flavorful pepper.  Rub the red flesh with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with a bit more coarse sea salt.  If you enjoy this, I won't tell anyone.  Chop it and put in the skillet for this dish.

Add the cooked pasta, stir to combine, and you are done.  I don't need a lot of pasta for this type of thing, but add more if you want.  Probably more if you are serving kids.  More if you need to stretch it so serve more people. 

Stir and serve.  It's just the two of us tonight, so the left overs will go to work with us in the morning for lunch. 

Remember to feel good.

S'ghitti at the Osbornes

I'm known for my Spaghetti among the young Osbornes.  I grew up in a family with traditions and order.  There was also too much restriction and not enough exploration, but that's another story.  Traditions create a feeling of security among young ones.  I recommend that.  S'ghitti was a tradition in my family.   I married into a family of exploration, emotion, and adventure.  Not that those things are bad, but tradition, order, security and peace are good too, especially for the young ones, just figuring out what to do.


The first two grandchildren who first ate my s'aghitti are teenagers now and couldn't care less, but the next decade is coming.  Hailey likes my s'ghitti too.  I'll be feeding it to Caleb as soon as I get permission.


This is the adult version.  For young children, reduce some of the seasoning.

S'ghitti meat.

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained

1 T. dried onion

1/4 dry garlic powder

2 t. worchestershire sauce.


Cook meat until done.  Drain off any liquid and add seasoning.  Cook for an additional few minutes.  There you go.  This meat is good in a variety of casseroles.  Add an egg and some bread crumbs, shape it into balls and bake it.  You have meat balls.  But this is good for now.


S'ghitti sauce.

1 1lb 10 oz jar of your favorite spagetti sauce.
8 oz can of tomato sauce.
a pinch of cheyanne pepper, more to taste
1/2 t. or more of Italian seasoning to taste, more to taste

Add these ingredriedents to the meat and bring it back to simmer.


Meanwhile start a pot of well salted boiling water.  Cook the pasta. Drain the pasta when cooked and immediately add it to the sauce, stirring to combine. 

Less than a year ago there were some problems within my own family.  We invited my Aunt and Uncle over on a week night to talk about the troubles and form a plan.  This is what families do.  There are problems, but they work together towards a solution to keep unity. I made this dish and it helped; That's a nice philosophy.  If you know what really happened, you know that this doesn't work as well as that, but it is a goal.

Remember to find a little comfort.

Lemon Chicken and Rice

Off to Yoga at 5:30 and come back after 6:30.  Husband comes out his cave and we start our evening.

Lemon Chicken.
3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. milk
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
! T. butter
1 T. canola coil

In one pie place the flour and salt.  In another the milk.  Wash and dry in a paper towel each chicken piece.  Then into the milk to coat   Next, use thongs to move the milk coated chicken piece into the flour mixture.  Carefully move each piece until coated with the flour. 

Now heat the butter and oil in a skillet. Get another clean set of thongs.  With the thongs carefully add the chicken to the skillet cooking at medium high heat until brown on both sided.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan.  Start a kettle of cooked rice.  Clean 2 big heads of brocolli and start a pan of salted water to boil for cooking the brocolli.

Now the sauce for the chicken. 

Juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 c. dry white wine.  1/2 t. fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped.  Bring to a boil for a couple minutes carefully scraping up the chicken bits from the bottom of the pan.  Then return the chicken to the pan.  

We watch a show about young Albatross who are hunted by sharks, have some conversation about the kids, what's wrong with the furnace, what laundry didn't get finished and ready to go upstairs, calling the Golden Retriever to join us.

I have one of my hot flashes and throw the covers back.  He carefully removes himself, the sheet, the blanket, the comforter, as I lay there and practice Sleepy Mothers Breath from Yoga class.  Until I reach for the covers again. 

He carefully covers me with sheet and blanket but keeps back the comforter and himself until called for.  And we go back to listening to each others breath and feeling each others warmth.

And suddenly it is morning and time to do it again.

Remember to share your life with someone.

Beef and Brocolli

I absolutely love Ginger.  It has like a mood altering sort of anti-depressant sort of thing for me.  Here is a link to the best ginger dressing that I have ever tasted.   

http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2009/11/ginger.html

Peel ginger by scrapping it with the back of a spoon.  Use a carrot grater to mince it.  Seal it tightly in a freezer save bag and freeze it.  Take it out next time you want to use it and repeat until you are down to nubs, then buy another.

Wait a second.  Let me stand and sniff a little bit. 

Okay, so I've been working on a ginger stir fry sauce of my own for most of a year.  I have it tasting just about right for us.  Husband loves it.  The problem is that I want it to thicken up.  The amount of cornstarch stated in this recipe thickens into a lovely smooth sauce for some "Asian" recipes, but it is too thin for some foods.  The amount of liquid already present, the types of foods used, all affect the thickening of this sauce.  Still tastes really good. 

There are so many purchased sauces available and most taste good.  But they are expensive and what's really in them?  

This sauce suits our taste and I'm satisfied that I understand the ingredients.  I measure out the ingredients in a measuring jar and have it waiting for me. 

Stir Fry Sauce
1/4 t. fresh minced ginger
3 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. white wine
1 c. water or beef broth
1 1/2 t. hoisen sauce
1 1/2 t. corn starch
1/2 t. Asian sweet chili sauce, optional

Broccoli & Beef with Rice

Prepare all parts before starting to cook 

2 good sirloin steaks, purchased on sale then cut up.

1/2 half red pepper cleaned and finely diced

2 stalks celery cleaned and finely diced. 

In a cast iron skillet, 2 T. canola oil.  Add the red pepper and celery.  Saute until a bit soft.  Add meat and cook, turning the meat to cook on all sides. 

Add the florrets of two large heads of broccoli, cut and cleaned. 

Continue to cook until meat is cooked through and brocolli is just tender.  Add the sauce and bring to a boil.  If the sauce reaches a satisfacory thickeness, serve with a pot of rice. 

If you'd like it a little thicker, use a large spoon to drain off a few T. or a 1/4 cup of the liquid into a small bowl.  Add another 1/4 t. cornstarch and stir to combine.  Add it to the sauce and bring it back to a boil to thicken. 

Remember that sauce improves the quality of life.

Baked Lentils with Cheese

I'm a very frugal person and always have been.  I've always believed that it was because my parents and grandparents had it so hard during the depression and lived so frugally from there on.  So then I marry a man who can't hold onto a dollar for the life of him.  But he is awful cute.

I've been making Baked Lentils with Cheese since my college years.  I'd make it in my big casserole dish and eat it serving by serving throughout the week until it was gone.  I like it, but it is also very frugal. It was in my lunch box the previous post.

It came from my favorite cookbook.  The one that my paternal grandmother gave me that I discussed in the post about Beef and Barley Soup.  This poor book has obviously seen better days.  I've been thinking about taking the binding off and putting it into a three ring binder.  Can anyone think of a better solution? 

The broken out pages are between Arroz Con Pollo, another frugal dish if you leave out the saffron, and Cheese Strata, which reminds me so much of a dish my materal grandparents ate.  Anyway, I recommend this for a vegetarian but delicious meal that feeds a crowd for penny's.

Baked Lentils with Cheese.
12 oz bag lentils, rinsed
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 T. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. marjoram
1/8 t. crushed sage
1/8 t. crushed thyme
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 large can of tomatoes
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 c. celery, thinly sliced
3 c. shredded medium sharp Tillamook cheddar cheese

In a large casserole dish mix all ingredients except the carrots, celery, and cheese.  Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Uncover, add the carrots and celery, and bake for 40 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender.  Discard the bay leaf. Add the cheese and cook for 5 additional minutes. 

Interesting that the original recipe calls for 2 onions and 2 tablespoons of salt.  I've never made it that way.  Also, it calls for American cheese, which I have never used.  There are some other small changes I've made over the years to suit myself.  Husband won't go near it so it's all mine.

Remember to be humble.

Beef and Vegetable Stirfry

As I have mentioned, my husband and I own and operate a small contruction company.  We do commercial HVAC.  (that's heating ventilating and air conditioning, if you don't know)  So when you are in an office and you look up at the grilles in the ceiling with conditioned air coming out of it, or you go shopping at the mall on a hot day and it's nice and cool in the stores, that's the work we do.. 


I work as the estimator.  I look at plans which were prepared by a mechanical engineer and add up all the costs associated with the work, including materials, equipment, rentals, subcontracted work and our own labor and come up with a bid for the work.  If I'm the low bidder, we get the job.  At that point, my husband and step-son take over and manage with work with the help of our crew of installers.


That's what I do.  My work can be rewarding and scary and satisfying and stressful.  When I come home at night, I'm tired and ready to be happy and feel good with my family. 

So, although I love to cook, I often don't want to.  Like every cook, I have ways to make my life easier.  Here is a recipe my husband likes a lot and goes together easily.

Beef Stir Fry Supper

4 cube steaks or approximately 1 1/4 lbs of cube steak cut into bite size pieces
2 t. olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch strips

1 lb mushroom, cleaned and quartered
3/4 c. frozen peas
.
Sauce: 1/4 t. minced fresh ginger, 3 T. soy sauce, 1/4 c. white wine, 1 C. water or beef broth, 1 1/2 t. hoisen sauce. 1 1/2 t. cornstarch

Heat oil in a skillet and add the cube steak.   Cook meat moving it around in a skillet until it is no longer pink.  Remove meat to a pie plate.  If there is more than 1 T. of liquid in the pan, drain off all but 1 T.   Add vegetables and cook they soften slightly but are still firm  Add sauce and bring to a boil.  The sauce will thicken because of the cornstarch once it comes to a full boil.  Serve immediately over cooked rice.

I bought this meat for $2.29 per pound.   This easily makes 5 or 6 servings so you have a frugal meal here.  Buy a piece of ginger and keep it frozen.  Take whatever you need each time and put it back in the freezer so you get every bit.  A little ginger goes a long way. 

On Cooking Rice

Some people have trouble cooking rice, but it is really very simple.  2 cups water.  Bring it to a full boil.  1/2 t. salt into the water.  Measure out 1 cup of rice.  Add it to the pot.  Stir just enough to get all the rice wet.  Bring it back to a full rolling boil and immediately put on the lid and turn the heat to low.  Do those two things together.  Don't open the lid to check.  Don't touch it.  Come back in 20 minutes and you've got rice.

Remember to relax.