Garlic Beef Stroganoff

When my mom and dad got their new kitchen table a few years ago, I had to be there when they delivered it since mom and dad were both working. As a surprise for them, I made dinner and had it in the crockpot for them when they got home. I think that actually started the whole "Jess brings dinner over several nights a week" thing that we enjoyed for several years until my hubby quit his job to go back to school and we moved across the state. It was great while it lasted...for all of us! Anyway, I was digging around in a cookbook and found this. We tried it and we loved it! It's super simple and totally tasty! Enjoy!


In your slow cooker, dissolve 2 tsp beef bouillon in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 2-4oz cans drained mushrooms(opt), 1 large chopped onion, 3 cloves minced garlic (I use more), and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire. In a skillet, brown 1 1/2-2 pounds cubed round steak. Add the meat to your slow cooker and cook on low 7-8 hours. Stir in 8 oz cream cheese before serving and stir until smooth. I like to serve over buttered noodles.

Turkey Tetrazzini

The cooking from the Guilt Free TOH book continues! Riley, my 7 year old, picked this recipe....there was no picture, but he thought it sounded good. Since it said it made 6 servings and there are 6 of us, I doubled it to ensure we'd have enough for the meal. Riley was not thrilled. JoJo and Tucker ate it, but I think that was only because they were HUNGRY...like "I GOTTA EAT RIGHT NOW, MOM, YOU'RE STARVING ME OVER HERE! ALL I'VE HAD TODAY IS 40,000 GRANOLA BARS AND 100 APPLES AND A GALLON OF MILK AND A JUG OF JUICE. YOU GOTTA FEED ME, LADY." Rugby liked it and TIm and I thought it was alright, but not something I'd make again, probably. It was a bit on the bland side, but I kind of expected that. There really isn't much for seasoning, but if that's your thing, then this is good for you! We just like a bit more zip. Enjoy!

Turkey Tetrazzini

1/2 pound uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can fat free evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups cooked, cubed turkey breast (A 3# turkey breast is enough to make a double batch)
1-4 oz can mushroom stems and pieces, drained (or do yourself a favor and use fresh...just saute them up with the onion and garlic)
1/2 tsp Lawry's season salt
Black pepper, to taste (I used about 1 tsp for a double batch, but I we like a lot of black pepper)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (I like to use the fresh kind rather than the powdered)
1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the spaghetti according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic (and fresh mushrooms if you choose that) in the butter until tender. Combine cornstarch and broth until smooth and add this to the saute pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the milk. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spaghetti, turkey, canned mushrooms, season salt and pepper.

Transfer to an 8x8 pan that you've sprayed with cooking spray. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika and bake another 5-10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is nice and melty.

1 serving = 1 1/4 cup. 331 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 28 g protein.

Venison Stew

Friday was another cold and rainy day here in Wisconsin. Great weather if you're a duck. I'm not a duck and I'm not enjoying it. Top that off with three coughing kids and you've got a ton of fun, let me tell ya. So, we needed comforting and soothing and relaxing. What better than a vat of stew? Yes, I mean a VAT of stew. I inherited this problem from my mother...I over cook. When it was just Tim and me it was a pretty big problem, but now that I have 4 additional healthy eaters, it's a bit more manageable. We have a freezer full of venison and we've slowly but surely been eating away at it, but it's hunting season again and I still have venison in the freezer, so I guess we'll have to eat even more venison and cut back on my beloved chicken. So, I wanted a recipe for venison stew that didn't include gravy mix because 1) I'm out and 2) we don't need all the extra salt. So, online I go...and I find a recipe that I fully intended to use as written...until I started making it and realize that there is NO seasoning in it whatsoever....unless you count the beef bouillon. So, I tweaked it and added some spice and some of this and that, some more veggies (because what's stew with only 2 potatoes in it??) the results were pretty tasty. Enjoy!

Venison Stew

2-3 pounds venison stew meat
4-6 cloves garlic
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
5+ carrots, peeled and chopped (adjust the amount to your liking)
1 onion, chopped
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1-2 cups chopped celery
5-6 tsp beef bouillon (1 tsp=1 cube)
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1 tsp marjoram
water (7ish cups?)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

Cut meat into bite size pieces. Toss with 1/3 cup flour. Pan fry meat in hot skillet with butter and garlic until browned.

Dissolve bouillon in some hot water. Add browned meat and add enough hot water to cover meat by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Add vegetables and spices and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. (I added my veggies the first time I brought it to a boil and made sure there was enough water that the veggies were covered.) Before serving, melt butter in a small pan and stir in flour. Stir this mixture in the stew and it will thicken.

**Edit 10/25/09: I made this again today, but used Country Herb Seasoning (found at Aldi's) and it was insanely awesome!!)

Thanksgiving 2008

This is the second year we are hosting our "misfit/orphan" Thanksgiving. Everyone we know that has no family or anywhere else to go is invited here. I LOVE to cook, so this is awesome for me to have everyone over. I thought I'd post our menu and recipes to share. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey-Herb Glazed Turkey from 2008 TOH Thanksgiving book. I skip the thyme and use fresh rosemary from my garden.

Mashed potatoes-The boys recently discovered that if mom uses Heavy Cream instead of milk, potatoes taste better. So, we'll have to do that. Idaho potatoes make nice fluffy mashed taters.

Stuffing-I don't like stuffing. But, I know that most people look forward to it at the holiday's, so I found Slow Cooker Stuffing a few years ago when I hosted my first Thanksgiving and it was a hit so we do that every year now.

Buns-My mother in law makes the best dinner rolls, so I'm going to attempt to make them this year.

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1/3 C sugar

1/4 C butter or margarine, melted

2 tsp salt

8-8 1/2 C all-purpose flour

Additional melted butter or margarine, optional

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and 4 cups flour and mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down; divide into four portions. Shape each into eight rolls; place 20 rolls in a greased baking pan. (Might need more than one!) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter if desired. Best if served warm! Yields about 32 rolls.

Salad #1-Pomegranate and Almond Salad. An actual lettuce salad will be hitting the table this year. It sounded so good and I love pomegranates and almonds so I had to try it. This comes from the 2008 Pillsbury Thanksgiving book you find in the checkout aisle of the grocery store. (pg. 57)

1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup EVOO or vegetable oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
10 oz sweet baby lettuces (about 12 cups)
1 pomegranate, seeded (3/4 cup of seeds)

Sprinkle almonds in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes until almonds begin to brown. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat oil, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic with a wire whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss together lettuce and pomegranate seeds. Before serving, toss with dressing and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Salad #2-Tim wants baked beans. I made some last year that turned out awesome! So, we'll attempt to recreate them. Here's the starter recipe: Pat's Baked Beans.

Here's how I tweaked them:
Add half to one pound cooked hamburger
Use 4 cloves of garlic instead of just one.
Use navy beans instead of pinto
Add 1/4 cup maple syrup
Use black beans instead of garbanzo
Use only 1/4 cup ketchup
Add 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce
Add 4 oz can diced jalapenos

So, you can see that they really aren't exactly as they started out, but have a "Margie twist" to them. I rarely use a recipe as it was written. We got RAVE reviews on these last year...it's why I HAVE to make them again!

Salad #3-For the kids. Most of the kids won't eat the Pomegranate Almond Salad, so I'm planning to make Orange Jello Salad for them.

I'm also planning to have pickles, green olives and black olives as well as a veggie tray with dip (Marzetti's Ranch veggie dip)

Now, on to dessert! This year, I'm tweaking dessert. I plan to make my famous peanut butter cheesecake (skip the peanuts, use chocolate graham crackers or animal crackers and use a full cup of peanut butter.) with Chocolate Ganache, (skip the brandy) but I'm also planning to make Pumpkin Cheesecake and make some of them TURTLE pumpkin cheesecakes. All of the cheesecakes will be made in muffin cups so that they are individual serving size and I can freeze them later if I need to.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I use a 9 inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper. I have the paper extend over the edge of the pan when in the tightest position. This makes for easier transporting onto a cake stand for better presentation. This way you are not cutting onto the bottom of the spring form.

The following recipe will give the appearance of a color all the way through. You can also make individual cheesecakes (like muffins).

Crust: I just pat onto the bottom of the pan for a thicker crust and nicer presentation, but you can press it 2 inches up the sides if you like.

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (chocolate graham crackers work well)
1/2 c finely chopped pecans (optional, adds a little flavor and texture)
1/2 c butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

Mix crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto bottom (and 2-inches up sides of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes on 325 degrees. I put the spring form on a cookie sheet just incase the melted butter leaks through.

Filling:

3- 8 oz packages of Philadelphia Brand cream cheese (I use 1 regular and 2 neufchatel to lower the fat. You can use all low fat or fat-free with great results.)
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs (room temp is best, but not required)
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition, just until blended. Add pumpkin and spices to batter and mix well.

Pour batter over crust

Bake 55-60 minutes or until center is ALMOST set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Can serve with whipped topping.

I'm going to drizzle with chocolate and caramel and sprinkle with toasted pecans to have turtle pumpkin cheesecakes.

The other dessert that I'm planning to make is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. If any of you know Timmy, you know he loves Rhubarb, so I'll make one of those for the day, too.

Wow, ok, so that's going to be our Thanksgiving. I also plan to make stuffed mushrooms for dinner that night if there's anyone still here. We'll have turkey sandwiches and whatever else is still leftover.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 pound pork sausage (I like Farmland breakfast sausage)
2-3 pounds whole mushrooms

Pull all the stems off the mushrooms and throw the stems away.

Fry the sausage and melt in the cream cheese. Use this to stuff the mushroom caps. Bake at 350 about 20 minutes. Enjoy while still hot.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!