Beef Stroganoff

I had never even tasted Stroganoff before I got married. Thanks to my favorite cookbook however, I found a recipe for it that I have used pretty much my entire married life. I really love it and I have had quite a few people ask for my recipe. Well you luckies get it today.


1 1-2 pounds beef tenderloin or boneless top loin steak (I use petite sirloin steak)
2 TBS butter or stick margarine
1 1-2 cups beef broth
2 TBS ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms (8 oz)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 TBS all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I only use 1/2-3/4 of a cup)
Hot cooked noodles or rice (I use egg noodles)

1. Cut beef across grain into about strips (beef is easier to cut partially frozen)

2. Melt butter in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. cook beef in butter, stirring occasionally, until brown.

3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the broth. Stir remaining broth, the ketchup, salt and garlic into skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until beef is tender.

4. Stir mushrooms and onion. cover and simmer about 5 minutes, or until onion is tender.

5. Shake reserved broth and the flour in tightly covered container; gradually stir into beef mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. boil and stir 1 minute; reduce heat to low.

6. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot. Serve over noodles.

Beef Pot Pie

One of my favorite things is to reinvent left overs. To serve it to my family at another meal completely disguised as something else. This is what I do to my left over roast. If it is only roast and no potatoes or carrots, I put it in this stew and just add the potatoes and carrots. If it is roast, potatoes, carrots and gravy, I like to make this little number. When we were in England there was a lot of meat pies, so this recipe always reminds me of England.

It is pretty easy and doesn't really have exact instructions. My mom made it growing up and I always loved it.

2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought)
Left over roast
Left over potatoes
Left over gravy
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauteed onions are optional (I usually have left over onions in my mixture of veggies, but it does need a little bit more onion in my opinion).

I put one pie crust in my pie plate, put in the cut up cooked veggies and meat, pour the gravy over the top, put the other crust over it and cut some slits in it to let the steam out. I bake it with a strip of foil around the edges at 425 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (until the contents are hot). Take off the foil in the last 15 minutes of baking.

P.S. Many people in our family like this dish with ketchup. Just an idea :)

Roast Beast (Roast Beef Roll ups)

I love to celebrate holidays. Dr. Seuss' Birthday seemed like a WONDERFUL excuse to celebrate to me. You can check out our celebration here. I got these fun recipes for the food from this blog.
4 triangles Light Cow Cheese or 1/3 c. softened butter

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 lb. thinly sliced med. rare roast beef

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch watercress, stemmed

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

Cream cheeses together with a fork in a small bowl. Lay roast beef slices on flat surface. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread 2 teaspoons of cheese mixture along the short end of the beef. Pile on the rest of ingredients. Roll the beef into a tight cylinder. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate till serving time. To serve, halve the rolls, crosswise.

Hearty Beef Stew

My sister in law, Amy made this stew for me once and I had to have the recipe. It is heavenly! I am posting it for her. My SILs have some serious cooking skills. I am trying to get them to post on here...we will see.

4 cups water
5 beef bouillon cubes
1tsp pepper
2 cups cubed cooked beef (sometimes I used leftover roast, it is good)
6 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
3 potatoes cubed
1 med onion chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1 small bay leaf
2 T flour

Bring water and bouillon cubes to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until bouillon dissolves completely. Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper.

Stir beef, carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic into bouillon mixture. Return to boil. Place bay leaf on top; cover tightly and reduce heat.

Simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove about 1/2 cup of the liquid to a small bowl. Blend with flour.

Increase heat to boiling point. Stir flour mixture into stew. Cook, stirring continually until juices are thickened, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

This is a very thick stew. If you don't want it so thick, add more water or beef stock.