Day 42: Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds cubed round steak, cut into thin strips
• House Seasoning, recipe follows
• All-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can beef broth
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• Cooked egg noodles

Directions

Season the steak strips with House Seasoning, then dust with flour. In a large skillet, quickly brown them on both sides in the olive oil and butter. Remove the steak from the pan. Add the onion slices and mushrooms to the pan drippings. Saute for a few minutes, until the onion is tender. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Put the steak back into the pan with the onion and mushrooms. Add the mushroom soup and beef broth. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the sour cream the last few minutes, right before you serve. Serve over cooked noodles.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix the ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

What we thought: My grandma was feeling sick one day, and she requested that I fix dinner. Well of course, I didn't care, but I had no idea what to make. I decided to make beef stroganoff, which was my dad's favorite, and attempt to make it. Grandpa helped me with this recipe, that I got on Food Network, and it turned out on an average: 9/10. My brother and his fiance rated it a 9/10 because of the mushrooms. I do not enjoy mushrooms, but for some reason, I am ok with mushrooms on this dish. Jimmy, Grandpa, and I rate this a 10/10.

Day 39: Mexican Pizza with homemade tortilla chips

Family came into town for my surgery and Jimmy's graduation. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to use my 90-something tortilla wraps. Going against everything my doctor told me not to eat after surgery, I decided to make Mexican Pizza and homemade tortilla chips.

Mexican Pizza

(Grandpa's pizza)

(Jimmy's pizza)

Ingredient

• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans


• 1 pound ground beef


• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix


• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil


• 4 (6 inch) corn tortillas


• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese


• 8 tablespoons sour cream


• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped


• 2 green onion, chopped


• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles, drained


• 1/2 avocado, diced


• 1 tablespoon black olives, sliced

Directions

1. Heat the refried beans.


2. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Stir in the seasoning packet.


3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


4. Place a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Let the oil heat, then place one corn tortilla in the skillet. After 15 seconds, flip the tortilla over and let it fry another 15 seconds. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas, letting them drain on paper towels once they have been heated. When the tortillas have drained, arrange them on a cookie sheet.


5. Spread a thin layer of beans on the tortillas, followed by a layer of beef, and cheese.


6. Bake the tortillas in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Slice the tortillas into wedges and arrange them on plates or a serving platter and garnish them with the sour cream, tomatoes, green onions, chiles, avocado, and olives.
   

What we thought:

When we made these, we forgot the lettuce but substituted it with cilantro and left out the olives. I think everybody came to an agreement that these were a 9/10. The only thing wrong with these were the tortillas. They were kind of hard to cut. We tried to come up with an idea on how to make the lower tortilla softer, and keep the crispiness of the top tortilla. We added some mango-peach salsa we picked up at the store. Since I was not allowed any "spicy" foods, Jimmy picked out the mango-peach because it was not that spicy. We all were pleased, and we are looking for suggestions on how to make the pizza easier to cut through.

Tortilla Chips

See my "What we thought" section to learn on how to make homemade tortilla chips! We all thought these were a 10/10! They were tasty with the mango-peach salsa!

Day 37: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Today my sister, Jasmine, will be cooking and contributing to the blog today! I decided to do something easy tonight, and I figured Spaghetti and home made meatballs are perfect!

What you will need (Meatballs):

1 lb of ground beef


2 eggs


bread crumbs (enough to hold beef together, about 8-10 crackers)


2 tablespoon parsley


Onion (1/2 cup or so. I like lots of onions, so I will probably use more)


1 tbsp Olive Oil


1/4 cup parmesan


Salt & Pepper






Spaghetti:


Enough spaghetti to feed your family


Jar of sauce










Directions:


1. Cook pasta according to directions.


2. Prepare the meatballs. Mix by hand in a large bowl beef, parsley, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper until well mixed. Use small melon baller, or teaspoons to form 1-inch round meat balls (or your hands). Roll and compress into tight balls.


3.Heat frying pan on high heat. Add olive oil. Sear and brown meat balls on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook.


4. Combine cooked meatballs and sauce in a pan or crockpot. You can heat meatballs in crockpot all day on low or you can heat the meatballs on high for few minutes till sauce is warm






Ashley's Thoughts:


I really enjoy these, whenever we do make them. I blanched some spinach and put the spinach in the sauce to add a little bit of vegetables to it. Jimmy would rate these a 8/10. I guess i'll agree with him. He said these meatballs were missing something. Maybe I should have put like a jalapeno pepper of put cheese in them to make them "pop".

Day 33: Job Chae (Korean stir fry noodles with vegetables)

I was looking through cooking videos on YouTube and found this woman with a website dedicated to cooking Korean dishes. Click here I had to give this a try since I am not familiar with Korean cooking as well as consuming Korean dishes.





Ingredients:

Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
150 grams of beef

1 bunch of spinach

1 medium size carrot

1 medium size onion

mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)

3 cloves of garlic

7-8 green onions

soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds

How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
   
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).


3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.


4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.


5. Slice one onion thinly.


6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.


2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.


3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.


4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.


5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).


6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.


7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.


8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.


9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.


10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.


11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

What we thought:


Jimmy rated this a 10. I would rate this a 9. i did not use the mushrooms and I did not use seasme oil and the noodles. I could not find for the life of me the seasme oil nor could I find an Asian market for the noodles. Next time, i will do my homework and make sure I could find the Asian market so I could use the right noodles.

Day 26: Grandma's Meatloaf

What you will need:

1(ish) lb of ground beef
1 onion
About 15 crackers (crushed)
A quarter size of yellow mustard (eyeball it)
1 egg
Ketchup to drizzle

Directions:

Mix meat, egg, mustard, onion, and crackers in a large bowl. Once everything is mixed, mold the meat mixture into an oval shape. Drizzle desired amount of ketchup on top of meat. I bake at 450 for 35-45 minutes (until no longer red in the middle).

(this picture is what the meatloaf should look like before it goes into the oven)

What we thought:

Jimmy loves this meatloaf. He rated this a 10/10. I wasn't in the mood for beef tonight, but this meatloaf is still good. Usually this is a 8/10, but for some reason, im going to rate this a 7/10.

Day 23: Husband's Delight Casserole

You will need:

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 large onion

1 tsp pepper

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (your choice)

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz sour cream

8 oz egg noodles

1 cup grated cheese

Get cookin' ya'll!

Brown ground beef and onion. Add seasonings and spaghetti sauce. Simmer 15 min. Cook noodles as package says. In a baking dish: layer 1/2 noodles, 1/2 meat mixture. Add cream cheese and sour cream. Layer remaining noodles and meat mixture. Top with cheese, cover with foil. Refrigerate for 8 hours. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

What we thought:

Jimmy gave this a 9/10. I will give this a 8.5/10. It filled me up for sure, it is a delight, but this will be one of those once every two weeks, once a month kind of meals. I am more of a chicken person and I try to stray away from pasta. I did use light/low fat cream cheese and sour cream as well as egg yolk pasta....i think thats what it is called. It doesn't sound too healthy but I believe the pasta I used is healthier for you compared to the regular pasta.