RECIPE: Beef Stroganoff in a crock pot

Disclaimer: I cannot take full credit for this recipe. Let it be known... my Mom used to make a similar dish and I would ask for it at every birthday, merit celebration, etc ... as a youngin' it was my comfort food!

It still is... walk with me...



We start where? With a hot skillet, oil and butter...



And then with onions...





And crimini mushrooms... after cleaning them, remove the stems, slice them into 5 or 6 slices... and then slice them cross-ways. Add to onions and butter... and give it a stir. And then keep stirring... for about 10 minutes. Add a little bit of salt and pepper to the sauteing veg... just a touch.













What's next? The beef of course... it's a chuck roast.



Slice it into 1 inch strips...



And then cut into 1 inch bits...





Once that's done, start placing all of the goods into the crock pot. (Tip: don't place cold foods into hot crock pot. The temp shock could crack your ceramic pot - believe me, I learned that one the hard way.)



Turn to "high" heat, give it a good stir...



Cover with lid and set the timer... I usually leave it on "high" for 2 hours, and then turn to "low" for the last 2-3 hours.



When you think it might be ready, give the meat a taste test... I'm usually tasting a bit before the meat is ready ('cuz I just can't wait any longer). And it always needs another hour or so... hmph...



And when it's ready, start your rice or noodles (or whatever you're serving this with)... and add the sour cream to the mix. I usually start with a few dollops, stir it in until dissolved ... and then see if it needs anymore.



It needed a bit more...



While I was stirring, I decided to scrape the brown flavor bits off the side of the crock pot. These bits have so much flavor to them... and dissolve right away into the sauce.



Can you see why it's our comfort food?





Beef Stroganoff in a crock pot
adapted by Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 pound chuck or rump roast
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup crimini mushrooms, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 ¼ cups chicken stock (or fill empty cream of mushroom soup can once)
Kosher salt/black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Olive oil
1 -1 ½ cups sour cream

Instructions
In large skillet heat olive oil and butter until melted and sizzling. Add diced onions and mushrooms… sauté until soft and tender (about 8 min). Stir often. About 5 min into sauté, add 1 tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Turn off heat, let cool.

Cut roast into 1” pieces and place in cold crock pot. (Add all ingredients to crock pot before turning it on.) Add cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper and onion/mushroom mixture. Stir well.

Place lid on crock pot. Set on high for the first hour or two. Stir again after 2 hours, turn heat to low and replace lid. Continue to cook for at least 5 hours. Test a few pieces meat to check tenderness of roast. This can usually cook on low for 6-7 hours. Should be fork tender.

Right before you serve, add sour cream in small spoonfuls to meat/sauce, stir contents of crock pot until sour cream is melted and mixed well. (Some people like the sauce more creamy while others like it less creamy.)

Serve with white rice or egg noodles (we prefer white rice).




enjoy your time in the kitcen...

A special treat...

Several years ago I visited Alaska during the week of the Iditarod... it was a fun experience! But it was sure cold... so, I visited Humpy's Great Alaska Alehouse for a night out on the town (and interestingly enough was introduced to heated toilet seats and heated water in the toilet bowl... but I digress...)

I am happy to report that the highlight of my visit at Humpy's was that I got to taste this for the first time in my life!





It's a beer, a Belgian beer to be exact... and it's packaged with a cork and a bottle cap. It's not your typical beer, as it's kinda "sparkly"... so it takes you by somewhat of a surprise.




Lindeman's offers several different flavors... my favorite is Kriek (black cherry). This is a "once in a while" treat for me... and I sure relish the time spent with my Lindeman's...





What special treat do you look forward to?



enjoy your time in the kitcen...

My Sunday routine...

By far, Sundays are my favorite day of the week - for many reasons!

I'm up before the sun rises and enjoying my coffee at home... see I only get to enjoy my coffee at home 2x a week. The rest of the week... I'm sipping it while driving to work. And at that point, it's more of an act of survival than enjoyment... so I cherish my coffee-at-home mornings. But that's just the beginning...

Then I head to church, catch up with some friends and hug a few necks...

Then? The next few hours are all about food... need I say more?!

You can find me at the same grocery store at the same time every Sunday (and it's so much of a ritual that I run into the same couple every Sunday morning who are there at the same time as me - we ARE creatures of habit, apparently...)

Above is an example of this week's produce bounty... interestingly, the weekly bounty doesn't change much from week to week. Every now and then there will be something different in this mix... but this is what it usually looks like. Bell peppers, green onions, garlic, crimini mushrooms, avocadoes, yellow onions and cilantro. I bring them home, unwrap them from those nasty plastic bags and prep them for storage... wanna see what I do?


Green onions:

They don't usually need to be washed. I just wrap them up in a paper towel (to catch their moisture and keep them fresh). From here - they go right into the veggie drawer.

Cilantro:

Same thing as the green onions. I wrap the bunch in a paper towel to catch the moisture - which keeps the bunch fresh.

Crimini mushrooms:

Personal note: I prefer these to button mushrooms because they seem to have a bit more flavor when sauteed...yum!

Cleaning - Someone once told me that if you rinse mushrooms they soak up water and get rubbery when cooking. Instead, I wipe off the caps and sides of the mushroom with a SLIGHTLY damp cloth. This helps to remove the grit and dirt without allowing them to soak up water. Then I store them in a bowl lined with a paper towel (to soak up any additional moisture).

Storage - The mushrooms then get stored on a shelf in the refrigerator - not in the veggie drawer. Not sure if that's the "right" or "wrong" thing to do - not sure that I care either way.



What I do with other veggies:

Whole green pepper - store loose in the veggie drawer (most definitely NOT in the plastic produce bags). Once they are cut open and partially used, they get loosely wrapped and put back in the veggie drawer until I use the rest of it.

Celery/Carrots - in the bags they were sold in, in the veggie drawer.

Lettuce - wrapped in a paper towel, in the veggie drawer. I was the leaves once I get ready to use them.

Poblano peppers - these may be the only item that stay in their plastic bags once they get into my veggie drawer. Reason? I use them rather quickly... and I need that big to steam them in once I've roasted them over the flame.


At room temperature, but in a cool, dry place...
Avocadoes, yellow/red/white onions, garlic, shallots, potatoes, squash, etc...


And my citrus/fruit?
At room temperature, typically like this or on a platter as a kitchen table center piece.




Isn't this pretty... I love these colors...


The rest of the afternoon usually consists of assembling/making breakfasts and lunches for the work week... trying out a new recipe for dinner (or making a good "comfort food" dish, like Sundays at home used to be)... napping... watching football or baseball or whatever the season may be... being creative in the stamp room or reading or more napping...

I love Sundays! I'm sure you can understand why...



enjoy your time in the kitcen...

RECIPES: 1 night, 2 new recipes... and "wife-of-the-year award"...

I was feeling bold and adventurous today... after spending most of the day in my favorite chair, reading my current favorite book and working up a true appetite. I decided to try out 2 new recipes tonight: Tender Pork Tenderloin and Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin.

Talk about ambitious. And just you wait... it gets exciting and dangerous at the end...

Starting with the pork tenderloin: Pat it dry on all sides...

And quick ... find your garlic!



Next: cut a few cloves in half and smell the garlic...



You need these cloves sliced thin... so I sliced up about three or four cloves...



With a small knife you make little cuts into the tenderloin and slide the garlic slivers in... mmm...



Then sprinkle with the seasonings: I used kosher salt, ground black pepper and ground cumin.



Lower the tenderloin into hot oil ... and brown on all sides.



Turn every 3-4 minutes to brown on all sides...



Then you'll add the goodness that keeps this so moist... dry white wine and chicken broth.



Carefully splash the broth mix into the Dutch oven or skillet, cover and slide into hot oven.



Approximately 45 minutes later you have this...



A moist pork tenderloin that has reached at least 150 degrees F... keep it covered and let it rest for a while.



And when it's ready... move it to a cutting board and find your best knife...



But first, take a look at those beautiful garlic slivers poking up out of there... can you smell them?!



Thinly slice and serve up ... but first ... don't forget about the potatoes... let's back up for a bit and start at the beginning...

Well, I'll let the Pioneer Woman show us in all her glory. Check it out: Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin.




And for those of you who read all the way through this to read about the exciting and dangerous portion of tonight's dinner... and, this is how I won the "wife-of-the-year award".

My hero-of-a-hubby is on very strong antibiotics this week and cannot, I mean C-A-N-N-O-T, consume any alcohol. Fast forward to sitting down with this yummy-looking, fantastic-smelling plate of food and taking a few bites. My hero-of-a-hubby asked me what the meat was cooked in and I explained "chicken broth and white wine" and he just about jumped out of his chair. He had taken 2 or 3 bites and, wait... what is that?! He tasted something similar to wine...

Enter the "wife-of-the-year award"...

I promise... I will N-E-V-E-R make that mistake again! But I do get to enjoy the rest of the tenderloin... all-by-myself...


RECIPE: Tender Pork Tenderloin
Recipe courtesy Parade magazine (Oct ’01)

Ingredients
1 ½ - 2 pound pork tenderloin
3 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

With the tip of a sharp knife, make deep little slits all over the tenderloin and insert the garlic slivers. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.

Place the oil in a Dutch oven and sear the tenderloin well on medium-high heat on all sides (3-4 minutes on each side), turning the meat over as it browns.

Add the chicken broth and white wine to the pan and place it in the oven for approximately 45 minutes (or until meat thermometer inserted into middle of largest part reads at least 150 degrees F . Remove it and let it rest for 10 to 12 minutes (covered), before carving. It will continue to cook as it sits. Slice and serve immediately.




enjoy your time in the kitcen...

my fav mac n' cheese...

it's perfect... it's heavenly... it's amazing... it's mouthwatering...

it's delectable... it's tasty... it's tempting... it's out of this world!

it's my favorite mac 'n cheese... E-V-E-R!!!

excuse me for a few moments....

it got a little ugly this afternoon... but it was yummy!

(my hero-of-a-hubby is out golfing ... so i didn't even have to share...)

btw - it's from Trader Joe's... it's found in the frozen food section... it's hard to wait 25 minutes while it's in the oven.

but it's worth the wait...

tip from Lori: about half-way through the cooking time, take it out of the oven and stir it up with a spoon. make sure it's mixed well... it cooks more evenly if you do!

enjoy your time in the kitcen...