Beef Stroganoff

As the weather has turned cool, we've been craving heartier dinners. My husband & I love mushrooms, so we decided we'd try stroganoff. I've never made the "real" thing before as I grew up on the Hamburger Helper version, and made crock-pot versions while in college (with lots of cream of mushroom soups and hamburger for the meat). This is definitely worth the additional effort. We easily had enough for about 6-7 servings, which meant easy lunches for the next few days as it reheated fairly well. Next time we make it, I hope to have the time to make egg noodles from scratch, too!



BEEF STROGANOFF (From The Joy of Cooking)

2 pounds of stew beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Cut beef into small strips. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the meat in batches, until just browned. Remove to a plate.

In the same skillet, melt the butter. Add, and cook, the onion for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the mushrooms, and cook until the liquid evaporates (approximately 8 minutes).

Add the beef broth, an simmer for 10 minutes. Then stir in the sour cream and mustard. Add back the meat, and simmer (do NOT boil) for about 2-3 minutes until the meat is heated through, but still medium to medium rare. Serve immediately over egg noodles.

ENJOY!

Salsa Chicken

We all love a good meal, especially when it's easy to make and fairly healthy. We served it over rice with sour cream, but it would be very good as meat for fajitas or tacos, too.



SALSA CHICKEN

4-6 Chicken Breasts (ours were slightly thawed, but not much)
1 packet of taco seasoning (we buy in bulk, and used 1/4 cup)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-1.5 cups salsa

Put chicken into crockpot, and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Mix cream of chicken soup with salsa, and pour on top of chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Chicken will shred very easily when done.