Easy Beef Stroganoff

 

This easy beef stroganoff is one taught by my MIL and that is loved by my whole family. I almost always have all ingredients in my pantry/freezer. Whenever I run out of ideas and want something quick, this is one of those that come to my mind. An all-time favorite in my family no matter what season, I can't imagine why it took me this long to figure out I don't have it yet in my blog!





Ingredients:
1 lb (wide) egg noodles
1 lb ground beef, sprinkled with some flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
(optional: some drops of worcestershire sauce and 1/4 cup of sherry)
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom
some water (about 1/4-1/2 cup of water)
1 (8-oz) sour cream

Instructions:
Prepare noodles as directed in the package. While boiling water for this, start preparing the beef.

Brown ground beef. When it starts rendering oil, add the garlic, followed by the onions then mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add worcestershire sauce and sherry if desired.

Add the cream of mushroom. Put some water into the can to rinse out remaining cream and add to the pan. Stir well. Add some more water as needed to make a thick sauce. DO NOT be tempted to add too much because that sauce will get thinner once you add the sour cream. Simmer for about 10 minutes for flavors to blend well, stirring occasionally.

Turn off heat (for conduction cooktop) and add sour cream. Stir to blend. (For flame stovetop, turn the heat off after stirring to blend; sour cream should be just heated through).

Eating Your Words

 

Tangled Noodle and Savor the Thyme posted this challenge to "write" or "spell" using food or drink. I thought it would be fun to join, although initially I could not think of what to "write."



Well, two nights ago, I was on duty, and my charge nurse warned me about the possibility of being RIF'ed after 10 PM (RIF=reduction in force, a cost-cutting measure where employees are asked not to come to work or go home if there are not enough patients). So when I came home after that duty, I resolved to sleep only 4 hours, thinking I must be able to sleep with my husband that night. However, as soon as I got to work, I learned that somebody else called out. That meant, I would have to stay and work the whole shift. Darn...

I told my charge nurse and the other nurse, "I feel sad that I can't go home....boohoo...my husband and I were planning on making whoopie tonight." And they laughed...Suddenly I knew what to "write" about.

You see, Mainers (or probably New Englanders) know the meaning of whoopie that is not the whoopie pie pictured above surrounded by the spelled whoopie.

Whoopie pies are my husband's favorite sweet snack, the reason why he gave me my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. He cannot eat the ones available in stores because "they don't make it the way Mom does." The difference being that his mom's recipe makes use of fresh egg whites for the filling; those sold in stores use fluff. His request then was for me to learn how to make whoopie pies from his mom, and I gladly obliged. Now I am making them as well, although I tweaked the recipe to make double batch, and to make use of egg yolks in the batter instead of throwing them away after making the filling.

While baking these, my husband was eagerly waiting, and as soon as I took the above photo, he was standing beside me and saw it, laughed, and asked if he could have that one in the middle (the first one assembled as whoopie pie), which of course he could. He took a bite and said, "You make the best whoopie pies." Now the letters are sandwiched and hidden...My fridge is stocked with them whoopie pies, which will probably last 2-3 days...Hubby and older son particularly like eating them with milk, I with coffee.

Whoopie pies are very popular here in Maine, but I make them only about twice a year or so because they are heavy on cholesterol and sugar...and this way, they are a real treat when I do make them.

And yes, hubby and I are making whoopies tonight. :)

Recipe can be found here.

UPDATE:
Round-up of the entries by the challengers is posted here and here.

As a reward for participating in the fun event, I got the following badge!



Thanks to Savor The Thyme and Tangled Noodles for hosting this challenge!

Whoopie Pies

These, in my opinion, are more like soft cookies, or small cakes, instead of pies.

The photos shown below were taken way back in 2004 (payat pa ako nun). One picture shows my niece when I was receiving the lesson from my MIL and we were in my SIL's house then. The rest of the photos were during my first try to bake them.

Whoopie Pies are a favorite of my in-laws, and my husband gave me a Kitchen Aid standing mixer on our first Christmas together that I may learn how to make them for him. "You can never buy them the same from any store around," he says. And I guess the reason is that we use fresh egg whites for the creamy filling. The commercial ones taste like plain lard mixed with confectioner's sugar and vanilla (yuck!).

Caution: If you do not trust the freshness of the eggs, I do not recommend that you try this recipe. If you can get fresh eggs from a neighboring farm, then by all means, make these! (that is, if you are not allergic to eggs nor is your tummy squeamish)

Ingredients:
Filling -
2 1/4 cup shortening
6 cups confectioner's sugar
6 egg whites
3 tsp vanilla

Dough -
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
6 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 cups milk + 2 tbsp vinegar
8 heaping tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Filling -
1. Cream (beat together) the shortening and sugar well under moderate speed.
2. Add egg whites one at a time under slow setting, gradually increasing in speed until high.
3. When fluffy and forms soft peaks, turn speed to moderate then add vanilla and increase speed again until the right spreading consistency is achieved. Place in a ziploc bag then put inside the fridge until ready to use.

Dough -
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
2. Cream the shortening and sugar first. Beat well.
3. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Add eggs/egg yolks one at a time to the creamed sugar and shortening and beat on low going to medium until lemony creamy.
5. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk-vinegar mixture under low setting into the cream. Scrape bowl with spatula from time to time.
6. Add vanilla.
7. Place in ziploc bag. Cut one corner of the bag and squeeze out about 1 tbsp of dough onto baking pan lined with aluminum foil (makes it easier to change pans if you make bigger batches), 2 inches apart.
8. Bake for 10 minutes.
9. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
10. Put the filling and sandwich between two cookies.
11. Refrigerate those which you will not consume right away. (Remember, there are raw egg whites there).

Potato Dill Salad

When I was still in PI, I used to have potato salad with shreds of chicken breast added to the potatoes, spiced with chopped onions, and the taste adjusted with salt and pepper.

Now I have embraced what my husband's family of origin traditionally prepares. Potato dill salad is usually served on July 4th, and is now commonly found in our menu during summer days when it is too hot to have a hot meal, especially after harvesting our own potatoes that we planted.

The red potatoes are usually the first (we also plant Russett(?) potatoes which we harvest later in the fall). They are smaller but more compact and yummy! For me, they are the best to use for potato salads as they do not easily crumble, and they retain their shape better when stirred. They are also very good for mashed potatoes, but they don't create fluffy mashed potatoes -- just sticky and creamy, like that served in KFC here (as commented by my older son's friend once).

This potato salad is not the same as the potato salad I used to have back in PI, where we add shreds of boiled chicken breasts, chopped onions, mayonnaise, salt and pepper to the chunks of boiled potatoes.

Here in Maine I had to prepare it the way my husband's family would eat it; otherwise, I will end up eating the salad by myself. Anyhow, I have developed a taste for the dill, which gives the distinct flavor of this recipe. When I first made it, I cut the potatoes in bigger chunks, but hubby requested to make them smaller next time, to enhance absorption of the flavors.

Here's the recipe as passed on by my MIL:

Ingredients:

10 red potatoes, boiled with some salt, peeled and sliced (approximately 2x1 inch cubes)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp grated onion
1 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste
sliced hard-boiled eggs as topping

I added a sprinkle of lemon.

Instructions:
Boil the potatoes in water enough to submerge them, add some salt and boil for about 30 minutes or until done (check with fork). Once done, drain and peel as soon as cool enough to handle. (I have tried putting them in the fridge prior to peeling, and it was not a good idea! They were harder to peel that way!).
Add all other ingredients. Taste. Adjust ingredients according to your taste preference.
Chill for at least 3 hours. Top with sliced eggs.

Hubby wants it chilled overnight for his work lunch, and wants it even more when 3 days have passed. It will suffice for lunch, but for a heavy supper, I serve it usually with salad greens and grilled chicken (my Wish-Bone Robusto-marinated recipe).

Salmon Loaf

This is a re-posting from my old kusina. Photos updated as of 7-9-09.

Salmon loaf is one of my husband's favorite seafood recipes (I only know of 3 seafoods that he likes: RED salmon, haddock, and Kippered Herring (canned). He hates squids, doesn't care for shrimps or lobsters or freshwater fishes or even tuna, nor the PINK salmon (which is sad because I love all those!). So, since I have very limited seafood dishes which I can offer to him, I asked my Mom to share the recipe with me. The very day my Mom told me how to make it, I prepared it for supper. My husband excitedly ate it!


The next day, my Mom asked me whether I have tried the recipe. And of course I told her about the previous day. She was impressed that I made it the very day she shared the recipe with me! The impression they got was that I loved my husband that much that I was willing to learn from his Mom those recipes which he used to love so much when he was still living with them. (His ex never made that salmon loaf for him, and never baked rolls for him either.)

Well, what can I say? I do love my husband that much! Besides, the recipe requires very few ingredients and is very easy to make. I once tried to add some powdered garlic and onions (just a tad!) but my husband detected the change in the recipe right away! He really prefers the original recipe...the one he grew up with. Can't blame him there...I would stick to a recipe that I have come to know while growing up.

He loves bringing some leftover to work.

Ingredients:

1 can Red Salmon (Bumble Bee brand)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup saltine crackers, crushed (about 15 pcs)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" square pan. Prepare the ingredients.
Crush the saltine crackers (may use plastic bag then pound with bottle or use the chopper or blender or food processor). Let soak in milk for at least 5 minutes.
Mix together the rest of the ingredients with the milk-cracker mixture.
Transfer to the greased pan. Bake for 45 minutes.