BEEF AND BACON STROGANOFF AND RAIN GUTTERS

Photo courtesy Taste of Home

BEEF AND BACON STROGANOFF Taste of Home

Yes another wonderful recipe from Taste of Home, seems like I have more success then failure with recipes from their magazines. This is another tasty, simple and cheap meal to make. I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow so we are light on the food around the house, but I still had everything to pull this together, gotta love that, ok well you don't gotta but I sure love it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
• 5 thick-sliced bacon strips, chopped
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup, undiluted
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt ( I omit the salt since there is bacon and I have folks with high blood pressure in the house)
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 6 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
• Minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, bacon, mushrooms, onion and garlic until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in flour until blended. Add the broth, soup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt and paprika. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain.
• Stir sour cream and horseradish into beef mixture; heat through (do not boil). Serve with noodles. Sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with parsley if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

Well I finally scheduled someone to come out and clean the gutters. Yes I know that should have been done last fall, however did not get it done. I am excited because all summer and right now (because of the warm weather) we have Niagara falls outside our sliding glass door because the gutters are so clogged. Two hundred dollars for the gutters, and I should have the honey pot come suck out the septic there is another 200, then the driveway needs stone which is 200 dollars too. It is another enigma everything that needs to be done around the house is the magical number of 200. PHEW!

ASPARAGUS GROUND BEEF STIR-FRY AND ZOMBIES

PHOTO COURTESY TASTE OF HOME

ASPARAGUS GROUND BEEF STIR-FRY from Taste of Home
Loved, loved, loved this dish. There were no leftovers which was a big time bummer I could have really gone for some for lunch the next day. I opted to omit the water chestnuts, tomato and mushrooms because I have people in the house who do not like those foods. I did add some bell pepper and it was fabulous.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)

2 cups cut fresh asparagus (1-inch pieces)

1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 package (5 ounces) sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-1/2 cups beef broth

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1 large tomato, chopped

Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions

In a large skillet or wok, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same pan, stir-fry the asparagus, water chestnuts, mushrooms and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and ginger until blended; pour over vegetables. Return beef to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in the tomato. Serve with rice if desired. Yield: 4 servings.


Ok I might be addicted to Plants vs Zombies. I want to play it in my free time, and I have to fight Kaleb for the computer because he likes to play it as well. Right now is the perfect opportunity to get in some quality play time because the baby is asleep, I just put Evan up to bed and Mike took Kaleb to pack night. The computer is mine all mine for at least 2 hours. That is 2 hours of uninterrupted Zombie blastin' time...ok so maybe I am addicted.

COUNTRY GOULASH SKILLET AND GOLASHES

Photo courtesy of Taste of Home

COUNTRY GOULASH SKILLET adapted from Taste of Home

1 pound ground beef
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 C fresh/frozen corn
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium green peppers, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 C cooked elbow macaroni

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, soup, corn, green pepper, onion and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in macaroni and heat through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

DEFINITION GOLASHES

1. waterproof overshoes: a pair of waterproof shoes, often made of rubber, worn over other shoes as protection against rain or snow

Alright last night went well, the kool-aid cookies were a smashing success. The kitchen table took some abuse; one child told me after hammering that the nail went all the way through the foam and the whole thing stuck to the table. Yeah, the kid nailed the foam to my table. I inspected the table this morning, thanks to the dark finish it does not look any worse for the wear; either that or I am delusional.

BEEF-STUFFED CRESCENTS

photo courtesy of Taste of Home

Beef-Stuffed Crescents from Taste of Home

Stinkin' kids do not know what is good; AJ chose to eat dog food versus these crescents. Ok, so not the glowing kind of review to give a recipe I am posting, I know. However...the adults and Kaleb LOVED them. The two little ones did not even try them. This recipe is most definitely a keeper.

24 ServingsPrep: 25 min. Bake: 15 min.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

3 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions

•In a large skillet, cook beef and chilies over medium heat until meat

is no longer pink; drain. Add the cream cheese, cumin and chili

powder. Cool slightly.

Separate crescent dough into 24 triangles. Place 1 tablespoon of beef

mixture along the short end of each triangle; carefully roll up.

Place point side down 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at

375° for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield:

2 dozen.

BEEF ROLLS AND RECIPE ARCHIVAL

I like doing something different with ground beef, and while this recipe might need a bit more tweeking, they are different and you can make easy variations by adding different spices to the biscuit mix and topping the rolls with cheese or anything your heart desires.

BEEF ROLLS adapted from Where's Mom Now That I Need Her?
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C catsup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Adobo seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
3 C biscuit mix
2/3 C milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1 C shredded cheese
2 Tbsp flour
2 C hot water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper

Brown ground beef in large skillet; add onions and garlic, cook until tender. Stir in catsup, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper; set aside. In large bowl combine biscuit mix, garlic powder, shredded cheese and milk; knead until smooth. Roll out into a rectangle about 15"x 8" or until biscuit is less then 1/4" thick. Spread with meat mixture. Roll up jelly roll style and pinch seam shut. Slice into 1" slices, arrange in ungreased cookie sheet cut-side up, sprinkle some more cheese on top if desired, and bake at 475 degrees for 10 minutes. In pan used to cook the beef, stir in 1 Tbsp flour. Dissolve bouillon cubes in hot water and pour into pan; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Pour gravy over beef rolls.

I received this book, Where is Mom Now That I Need Her?, from a family member and really dug the whole concept which got me started thinking (yes, this is when I am most dangerous, when the gears are grinding and the smoke is escaping from my ears) about making my own version, loosely based off this for my boys. I would like to make one for each boy filling it with great tips, short cuts, and their favorite recipes. That is when I realized my own archival methods were seriously deficient. I went on the quest, not unlike the quest for holy grail, I had to find the ultimate recipe archival method. I think for myself I needed something I could change without having to re-write recipes because ever so often I change my mind on how things should be organized. Yes, I like to switch it up in the middle of the game, this goes for most aspects of the household Mister is still looking for the whisk and the trash can in the wrong places because I rearranged; it's why they love me so.

My favorite way to keep recipes now is in a series of small 9"x & 7 1/2" three-ring binders with the plastic pages that hold two 3x5 cards. This way I put all my recipes on cards and not only can I shift pages around, but also the individual recipes as well. I have one book for desserts and the other contains the rest however, I am thinking that I need another binder so I can separate the main courses out from the other categories. See that is the beauty of my system, I can do that with minimal effort and NO rewriting or crossing off recipes. So now things are orderly; the ground beef recipes are all together, the chicken recipes hang out in another section and my seafood recipes are contained all in one spot. I can add new recipes in and they all go into the appropriate sections, none of this mucking about.

ENIGMA AND HAMBURGER PUFFS

"The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma."- Patrick Star, SpongeBob SquarePants
Some days I feel this way, like I am on a totally different wave length then the rest of my family. There are days when I am talking to the boys and I have to wonder if we are speaking the same language; scratch that, I wonder if they can hear me at all.

Most days I make things that K will eat, but the other two have no interest in trying. These boys do not like pasta, macaroni and cheese (boxed or homemade) or potatoes unless they are in fry form. They make life interesting in more ways then one. In hopes of finding some recipes that everyone will eat without complaint I try a few new things a week and I thought the Hamburger Puffs were great. K liked them very much and the other two put their noses up and never even tried. I am unsure of where this ancient piece of paper came from, I found it in my teenage archives and altered the original by adding 1 Tbsp of hamburger seasoning to the meat and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce to the end mixture.

HAMBURGER PUFFS
2 Tbsp butter
2 medium onion, thinly sliced (threw them into food processor because the boys do not like biting into onion)
6 slices of bread
1 C milk
2 eggs
1/2 C finely chopped green pepper
1 tsp salt (I omitted this)
1 pound ground beef
1 Tbsp hamburger seasoning (Grill Mates)
1 tsp garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Cheese optional

Melt butter in skillet; saute onions and green peppers until tender. Crumble bread into a large mixing bowl; add milk. Let stand until bread is moist. Add eggs and mix well. Add onion, green pepper, Worcestershire and seasonings; add meat and mix well. Pile mixture lightly into greased 2 1/2-inch muffin pans. Top each with thin onion slice. Bake in 425 degree oven until browned about 30 minutes. Right out of oven I topped some with a thin slice of cheese and let it melt.

CHEESEBURGER PIE

Ok, so not the most appetizing photo, but it was really tasty...I swear. I have a sick boy at home today and between him and the other two I have been running around as busy as a one-arm coat hanger.

CHEESEBURGER PIE adapted from Southern Food 

1 9 inch pre-made pie crust

Filling:

1 pound lean ground beef

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 can (10 3/4oz) cheddar cheese soup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce

1 tablespoon steak seasoning

1 tablespoon steak seasoning sauce (I used A1)

I used a pre-made pie crust, fit it loosely into pie plate; fold edge to make a high standing crust rim. Flute around the edge and prick inside with a fork in several places. Bake pie crust for 8 to 10 minutes at 450°, or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. In a large skillet over medium heat, break up beef and brown with the onion; drain off excess fat. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, soup, salt, oregano, steak seasoning, steak sauce, pizza sauce and pepper. Stir in meat mixture. Spoon into prepared pie pastry. Reduce oven temperature to 325° and bake pie 50 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 to 1 cup of shredded cheese. Cut into wedges and serve hot.
Makes 6 servings.

I made some modifications to the original recipe because I like more seasoning then some recipes call for. This is a keeper for me and it is always good to have something different to do with ground beef.