Super Easy (and delicious) Beef Stroganoff

One of my personal favorites to make, this dish is one that can be thrown together at the last minute if you're in a hurry or just don't really feel like cooking much.  Plus, it's delicious.  Much better than Mr. Helper.

What you'll need:

• 8oz of pasta (typically egg noodles, but I used bow ties this time)
• 1lb ground beef
• 1 cube beef bouillon, crushed
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 8oz sour cream
• 2oz half and half (milk works, too)
• salt and pepper

What to do:

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water and drain.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large drizzle of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the ground beef to the pan, season with salt a pepper, and chop up into bits as it cooks through.  Drain and return to the skillet.

Add sour cream, cream of mushroom, half and half, and bouillon to the pan.  Stir until well combined and heated through.  Salt and pepper to taste, then stir the cooked pasta into the mixture.

Serve it up, and enjoy!

Makes about 4 servings.

Prep time: about 3 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes.

Best Shepherd's Pie EVER

I've often wondered if anyone ever actually reads the long stories before recipes on blog posts.  I think I have read maybe one.  Ever.

That being said, I don't need a reason to make shepherd's pie.  I just wanted it (and for once in my life had some ground beef thawed out).

Enough chit chat! Get to the recipe!

What you'll need:

Meat mixture

• 1 lb lean ground beef (I used 96%, but it's up to you)
• 1 cup finely diced mushrooms
• 2 cups mixed frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped (I actually completely forgot about the onion!! But it still turned out awesome)
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 T minced garlic
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 T parsley
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1-2 T avocado oil (or olive; whatever)
• salt and pepper to taste

Mashed potatoes

• 4-5 large red potatoes (peeled if you like, but I didn't)
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 1/2 cup half and half (or milk)
• salt to taste
• paprika

What to do:

Dice potatoes into one inch cubes, and boil in salted water until tender (about 15 minutes).  Drain.  Mash in the pot with butter and half and half until desired consistency.  You can use a food processor for this step, but I personally don't like my potatoes super creamy.  Also, I don't own a food processor.  Ahem.  Taste and see if they need more butter, milk, or salt.  Don't worry about calories.  You're beautiful.

At the same time you start the potatoes, heat your oil on medium heat in the bottom of a large skillet. Saute onions about 4 minutes, then add ground beef.  Cook your ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, chopping it up into bitty bits with a wooden spoon until browned all the way through.  Drain.  Set aside.

Drop mushrooms into the skillet and cook until brown and fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Return meat to pan and add garlic.  Cook an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant.  Add flour and combine well into mixture.  Preheat oven to 400°F.

Add broth, veggies, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary.  Mix them all together and let simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.  Spread meat mixture on the bottom.  Spoon mashed potatoes on to the top of the meat and completely cover.  I ended up with some extra potatoes, but those can be reheated on leftover night.  Sprinkle the top with paprika and pop in the oven, uncovered.  

Bake for about 10 minutes, then broil until the top of the potatoes are a nice golden color.  Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy.

Honesty factor:  The only things I actually measured were the frozen vegetables and the broth.  Everything else I pretty much eyeballed and guesstimated, which is what I love about cooking.  It's art, not science.

Prep time: about 10 minutes

Cook time: about an hour

Servings: about 6

Ground Beef and Lentil Soup

Oh, how I love fall.  For all of the normal reasons of course, but also because it is the best time to start bringing out those soup recipes, and of course for discovering more.

For this one, I had some ground beef thawed out for meatloaf, but then I remembered that I had lentils and really wanted to make a soup.  So, naturally, I went scrolling through Pinterest and found one that caught my fancy.  And then I made it my own.  If you're interested in the original recipe, you can find it here, but I did not agree with some of it, so I improved upon it.

I was actually unsure of how it would turn out at first, but it was a hit at my table.  Both kids and the husband ate every bite and loved it.  (Success!)

What you'll need:

• 1lb lean ground beef (I used 96/4)
• 1/2 an onion finely chopped
• 1 Tb minced garlic
• 1 Tb olive oil
• 1 Tb parsley
• 1 Tb thyme
• 1/2 tsp dill weed
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• approx. 50.7oz chicken stock (I used 3 16.9oz boxes)
• 1 crushed beef bullion cube
• 2/3 cup lentils
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice (I used white rice)
• 2 Tb soy sauce

What to do:

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large stock pot on medium heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent (about 4 minutes).  Add garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add ground beef and cook until it is all brown.  Add parsley, thyme, dill weed, cumin, and turmeric and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add lentils and carrots and mix into the ground beef.

Add chicken stock and beef bullion and stir it all together.  Bring soup to a boil (use high heat for this step).  Reduce to low heat and simmer for 25 minutes, covered, until carrots and lentils are soft.

Stir in the rice and bring to a boil (I used high heat again).  Reduce heat back to low and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until rice is thoroughly cooked.  Add soy sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste (be sure to taste before you add salt because of the soy sauce).

Serve it up hot with some crackers, and you've got yourself a hearty cold weather dish.

Yields about 6 hearty servings.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour(ish)

Enjoy!