Poor Man's Beef Stroganoff

Missy Tippens

I wanted to share a recipe I threw together the other day that turned out pretty tasty. I had a container of fresh mushrooms and wanted to make something with those using red wine (I love mushrooms cooked in wine and butter). So I decided to make beef stroganoff, but make it a little healthier by using non-fat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

First, I have to share a fail! LOL I had a frozen pound of beef that didn't finish thawing. So I put it on low in the skillet, covered it, and allowed it to start cooking slowly to finish thawing. Well, I made the mistake of going back to my computer and got distracted. My husband got home from work, lifted the lid, and said the beef looked done!

Unfortunately, it was. It was a solid cooked block!!! haha So I had to take two forks and try to crumble it. :) Here it is partly crumbled...

And here it is about ten minutes later.

Then I added some shallots and sautéd them. Once softened, I added a bit of butter, some red wine, the shiitake mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce.

Once it was done and ready to serve, I stirred in the Greek yogurt and let it heat through. Because I was making up the recipe as I went, I didn't know how much yogurt to add. I ended up wishing I'd added more. I'll probably also add more seasoning next time.

I wish I'd had some egg noodles, which just seem to go perfectly with beef stroganoff. However, I ended up serving it over leftover whole wheat spaghetti noodles.

I don't have any photos to share! Once it was served, we got sidetracked. :)

If you get a chance to make something similar, I hope you like it!

www.missytippens.com

Cheddar Potato Pie with Beef or Chicken

Guess what?

I managed to get the oven to ignite long enough to cook something!

After chatting with Mindy about alternatives to salmon last week, I decided to try both a ground beef and a chicken version of my cheddar potato pie.

I'll let the pictures tell the story.



I had bought hamburger for Fenway, so I decided to use some of it for my pie.  Cute boy was good about sharing.

 The meat pie started with a pre-baked shell and a good coating of cheese.

 Next, the ground beef (pre-cooked as well).

Layer on the pre-boiled potatoes and some cheese and bake.

I added a sprinkle of freeze-dried garlic on top of the potatoes.

The chicken version:

 Same drill but with a chicken layer rather than beef.

Overall, I far preferred the hamburger version. It was sort of like a cheeseburger with potatoes on top!But I can't eat all that much hamburger, so the chicken is a worthy alternative!

And I may finally have eaten my fill of cheesy potatoes!

Braised Short Ribs

I love short ribs. They're like a decadent comfort food. And I've had some sitting in my freezer for months, just awaiting that perfect day when I was motivated enough to take the time to fix them. Well, that day came this past weekend. It's not that they're difficult to make, but the prep does take a little time. Of course, once the prep is done, that's about it. They cook, you serve. Easy peasy.

Here's what you'll need for these deliciously braised short ribs:

• 3-4 lbs. short ribs, you can use boneless or bone-in
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• Bacon, cut into small pieces (about 4 strips if you're using thick-sliced like I did or 6 regular slices)
• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil 
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 32 oz beef broth
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Season your ribs with salt and pepper.

Then lightly dredge in flour.

Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook the bacon until all of the fat is rendered and the meat is crispy, but not burned.

Remove bacon to paper towel.

Crank up the heat to high and add your oil to the bacon fat. Brown the ribs in batches.

Remove from pan and set aside.

Lower the heat and add the carrots, onion and garlic.

Stir that around for a minute or so, then add a little bit of the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all those little bits of meat.

Add the remainder of the broth, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil.

Now add your browned ribs and top with thyme and rosemary.

And don't forget about that cooked bacon.

Cover and place pot in oven for two-and-half to three hours.

Remove from oven and allow to rest with the lid on for at least 20 minutes.

Oh, the aromas of this feast will have you counting the seconds.

I like to whip up a batch of creamy cheese grits to serve with these. You can find that recipe here. But if you prefer, mashed potatoes are an option, too.

So here we are, two weeks into 2019. Life has been fairly peaceful here at the ranch, which is good since I have proposal due at the end of this month and I'm also working through line edits. Though I did have to pause to celebrate my baby's birthday Sunday. How he can be 20, I have no idea. It seems like only yesterday I was cradling him in my arms. Time sure has a way of flying by, making me realize just how important it is to savor every moment. Something that's hard to wrap your head around when you're dealing with the terrible twos or three AM feedings. Then one day you wake up and realize those challenges may not have been so bad after all. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Now it's your turn. What are some of your favorite comfort foods? Do you have a favorite dish you love to indulge in but don't make it very often because it requires too much effort? 

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

  

Easiest Pot Roast Ever Makes for TWO Great Meals

One of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is to watch the Food Network. If I'm cleaning or working around the house, I like to have it on because I never know what I might discover. Like this totally different pot roast recipe.

You can find all the details here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mississippi-pot-roast-3517283

Though it's still done in a Crock Pot, this is not your typical brown gravy, onions/carrots/potatoes roast beef. Aside from being uber easy, it has a unique flavor that lends itself to some wonderful leftover possibilities.

Gather all of your ingredients.

Place the roast in the bottom of your slow-cooker and simply toss the other ingredients on top of it.

Put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove roast to plate and allow to rest 10-15 minutes.

Now, armed with a couple of forks, simply pull the roast apart and serve as you like.

Depending on the size of your roast and how many people you're feeding, you'll likely have leftovers. I always get a roast that's slightly bigger than I need so I'll be guaranteed to have leftovers for another quick and easy meal.

A couple of days later, it was time for roast beef sandwiches. However, since the flavors of this roast are so different and a little bit tangy, this calls for a different kind of roast beef sandwich.

Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add two slices of rye bread.

Top each with a slice of provolone cheese. I picked provolone because it's a mellow Italian cheese, perfect with the flavors of the meat.

Add some of your leftover roast to one side. Be sure to get some of the pepperoncini in there.

Cover with the other side and grill until both sides are toasted to a golden brown.

Since was for dinner, I cooked up some sweet potato fries as a side dish. The sweetness of the fries was a perfect match for the tanginess of the sandwich.

Now that's some good eatin'. Best of all, I had two meals that involved very little effort on my part, which gave me more time to write. 

Well, we finally got a tiny bit of rain here at the ranch. Emphasis on tiny, though it was a very soothing rain. And with the sun still shining, made for a nice photo op. 

That's Spanish moss dripping from the trees, but if you look closely, especially there on the bark of that darker limb, you'll see little diagonal lines. That's our rain.

So what do you think about this variation on your typical pot roast? Would you give it a try?

------------------------------

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children, two dogs and countless cattle. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining and sometimes adventurous manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com.