Cow

Ingredients
1 large onion, cut in half and sliced into thin half moons
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 pounds leftover roast beef, sliced and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch thick strips (I used leftovers from an Eye Round Roast.)
1 envelop Lipton’s onion soup mix
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cups frozen peas
12 ounces egg noodles, cooked as instructed on packaging

Instructions
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and sauté until softened.  Add mushrooms and cook until just starting to release their liquid.  Add the beef, onion soup mix, and water and stir to combine. 

2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to a thick gravy.  (If the liquid is reducing too quickly, add more water.  If the liquid isn’t reducing enough, remove the lid and increase the heat.) 

3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in sour cream and mustard until well combined.  Add peas and stir until peas are warm.  Stir in egg noodles and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from one of my childhood best friends who I was fortunate enough to find through the magic of Facebook.  Knowing that I love stroganoff, he passed this on to me to try.  I’ve never had peas in stroganoff before and what a great addition they were!  I did find that 1 cup of water was a bit too much, so I might reduce it to ¹⁄₂ cup next time to see how things go.  There definitely will be a next time, since this was a fantastic way to use up some leftover roast beef.  Thanks Dave!

Person - Dave Schramm

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced (I used ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried since I can’t find fresh thyme these days.)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
2 cups salt (I used kosher.)
4 strip steaks, rib-eye steaks, or tenderloin steaks, 1 to 2 inches thick, trimmed well

Instructions
1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375*F. Mix butter, thyme, mustard, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in bowl and refrigerate.

2. Spread 2 cups salt over bottom of 3-inch deep disposable aluminum pan. Pat steaks dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to wire rack. Set rack over aluminum pan and transfer to lower-middle oven rack. Cook 6 to 10 minutes, then remove pan from oven. (1 inch - 6 minutes, 1 ¹⁄₂ inches - 8 minutes, 2 inches - 10 minutes.) Flip steaks, pat dry with paper towels, and let rest 10 minutes.

3. Heat broiler. Transfer pan to upper-middle oven rack and broil steaks, flipping every 2-4 minutes, until meat registers 125-130*F (for medium-rare), 6 to 16 minutes. (1 inch - turn steaks every 2 minutes, 1 ¹⁄₂ inches - turn steaks every 3 minutes, 2 inches - turn steaks ever 4 minutes.) Transfer steaks to platter, top with reserved butter mixture, and tent with foil. Let rest 5 minutes. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and falls into the category of “I’ll follow it exactly because those ATK people know what they’re talking about even if it seems weird.”  The logic of the disposable pan is that it gets the steaks closer to the broiler which is better.  I believe that the salt is there to catch drippings and keep the moisture down. 

I used 2 inch thick tenderloin steaks (filet mignon) since that’s what was on sale at the butcher this week and they were delicious.  I do think that 2 cups of salt was overkill and wasteful, so I’ll probably try it with just 1 cup next time. And I will be using this method in the future since it was very easy.  My steaks only took 8 minutes total for the broiling, so make sure to check yours between every turn, just to make sure you’re not overcooking them. 

The compound butter was great and it would be extremely easy to modify for different flavors.  I look forward to trying this with other cuts in the future. 

Shown here with Gratineed Gnocchi with Spinach and Ricotta.

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
2 (10 ounce) cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained with ¹⁄₂ cup liquid reserved
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha.)
¹⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds lean ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix (I prefer the low-sodium varieties.)
12 taco shells
3 green onions, sliced thin

Instructions
1. Adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475*F. Combine half of tomatoes, beans, hot sauce, and cilantro in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.

2. Cook beef in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Pour off fat, and then stir in taco seasoning, remaining tomatoes, and reserved tomato juice. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened and nearly dry, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Spoon 1 tablespoon cheese into each taco shell and top with beef mixture. Arrange tacos upright in bean mixture, cover with foil, and bake until bubbling, about 10 minutes. Remove foil, top with remaining cheese, and bake until cheese is melted, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and just like a fun, easy, and tasty dish to make.  Turns out, it was!  I did find it to be a tidge too spicy, but I had intended to serve it with lettuce and completely forgot this plan once I was in the store.  I think that lettuce or even a dollop of sour cream would have taken the heat down the tiny notch I would have preferred.  Art and Lance felt it was perfect. 

This came together surprisingly quickly and I think it was ready in just about 30 minutes.  I will definitely be making this again!

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
1 (5 pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 4 pieces
4 slices bacon, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 ¹⁄₂ cups brewed coffee
1 ¹⁄₂ cups ketchup
¹⁄₄ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha.)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (I used some amazing Red Apple Balsamic Vinegar.)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Salt and pepper
Sandwich rolls, split

Instructions
1. Place beef in slow cooker insert. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to slow-cooker insert. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan and cook onion in remaining bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder and paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in coffee, ketchup, sugar and 1 tablespoon mustard and simmer until reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Add half of sauce to slow-cooker insert and refrigerate the remaining half. Cover and cook on LOW heat until meat is tender, 9 to 10 hours (or cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours).

2. Using slotted spoon, transfer meat to large bowl and cover with foil. Transfer cooking liquid to large skillet, skim fat, and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 to 20 minutes. Off heat, stir in reserved sauce, remaining mustard, hot sauce, vinegar, and liquid smoke.

3. Pull meat into large chunks, discarding any excess fat or gristle. Toss meat with 1 ¹⁄₂ cups sauce and let sit, covered, until meat has absorbed most of sauce, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on rolls, passing remaining sauce at table. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and Art was kind enough to let me give it a try.  He’s not a fan of pot roasts and this came pretty close!  But he loved the barbecue sauce so he was a happy enough camper.  Lance and I both thought the meat was great and I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this is the best rendition of barbecue I’ve ever gotten out of a crock pot. 

Shown here with Crunchy Potato Wedges.

Update: Leftovers the following day were even better!

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
4 (4 ounces each) filet mignon steaks, about 1-inch thick and trimmed
Cooking spray
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₂ cup red wine
3 tablespoons shallot, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup beef broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Add steak to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan; cover and keep warm.

2. Add wine and shallots to pan. Cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in broth; cook until reduced to ¹⁄₃ cup (about 2 to 3 minute). Remove from heat; stir in mustard. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.  

Comments
I’m always looking for new ways to prepare filet mignon.  Our butcher has amazing sales on the cut so we tend to stock up on it and always have steaks in the freezer.  I found this recipe in the 2009 Cooking Light Annual and was pretty pleased with the results.  The Dijon adds a great flavor to the pan sauce and compliments the filet quite nicely.  

Five minutes per side works well if you like filet in the rare to medium-rare range and are working with 1-inch thick steaks.  

Shown here with Devilish Potatoes.

Cooking Light 2009

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
²⁄₃ cup cracker crumbs
¹⁄₃ cup onion, minced
1 egg
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt (If your crackers are very salty, you might want to omit this.)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried ginger
¹⁄₄ cup milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar, packed
¹⁄₃ cup rice or white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 pineapple, rind removed and fruit cut into small pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  

2. Combine beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger and milk in a large bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  (I prefer my hands for mixing meatballs.)  Shape meat mixture into small balls.  Place meatballs on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through.  

3. Mix cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Add vinegar, soy sauce and beef broth.  Stir until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir for one minute.  Add pineapple and bell pepper; heat through.  

4. Serve meatballs and sauce over rice.  

Comments
This is a recipe that came to me from Art’s parents.  We’ve tweaked it slightly because we prefer fresh pineapple to canned and to bake the meatballs instead of frying them as in the original recipe.  The sauce is a nice sweet and sour sauce, the fresh pineapple adds amazing flavor.  

You can combine the meatballs with the sauce before serving, but I’ve found that the meatballs break down in an unappetizing way when saved with the sauce.  Instead, I keep the meatballs and sauce separate and just combine everything when it’s ready to be eaten.  

Sadly I forgot to buy a red bell pepper, which is why you don’t see any red bell pepper pieces in this photograph.

Person - Art’s Mom

Ingredients
²⁄₃ cup dry red wine
¹⁄₃ cup soy sauce
6 large cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₃ cup parsley, chopped
Coarsely ground black pepper
2 flank steaks, about 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds each

Instructions
1. Combine the marinade ingredients in sealable container or ziptop bag.  Add the flank steaks and coat well with the marinade.  Cover or seal and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.  

2. Heat grill (or grill pan or griddle) to high heat.  Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry.  

3. Grill 5-6 minutes a side, or until steak reaches your desired doneness.  Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes.  

4. Slice thinly against the grain and serve.  

Comments
I’m always looking for new marinade recipes and this one reached out and caught my eye on epicurious.com when I was looking for a marinade for the buffalo flank steaks I picked up at the market a few weeks ago.  After reading the comments to the recipe I decided to reduce the soy sauce by half and I believe that was the right call since this steak was perfect.  I’m still not entirely used to the grill so the flank steak probably could have used a minute or two more per side for medium-rare, but I’ll get there!  

Shown here with Winter Squash Risotto.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef broth
2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
1 pound beef tenderloin, top loin, or sirloin tip, well trimmed and sliced into thin strips
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried dill

Instructions
1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons flour and whisk until smooth. Add 2 cups of beef broth, whisking continuously.

2. Simmer until sauce is smooth and thickened. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms have released all of their water, the water evaporates, and the mushrooms start to brown.  Remove to plate.  Note: You might need to use more butter (or olive oil) in this step and the following step depending upon your skillet.  If things start to stick, add more. 

4. Heat remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet over medium-high heat and add beef and onions.  Cook, stirring often, until the beef is evenly browned and onions are soft.  Remove from heat.  

5.  Add mushrooms to beef mixture in skillet.  

6. Return sauce to medium heat and stir in sour cream, mustard, dill, and salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir until combined and heated through.  Pour sauce over beef mixture.  

7. Serve over rice or egg noodles.  

Comments
Stroganoff is a huge hit in my family and, as a result, I’ve got many different recipes for the dish.  This one came from the 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking and contained the mind-boggling instruction of “discard the onions.”  I never understood that so never bothered to obey.  

I like to save up the end bits of the filet mignon from the butcher to use in this dish, but it works equally well with whatever steaks you’ve got around.

Joy of Cooking (1997)

Ingredients
1 pound bacon, sliced
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 cans (10 ¹⁄₂ ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use Healthy Request)
¹⁄₂ pound cheddar cheese, shredded
32 ounces frozen tater tots

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Prepare 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large frying pan or saucepan, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain.

3. Using the same pan, brown the ground beef. Remove ground beef, leaving oil in pan, and drain.

4. Sauté chopped onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, mix together bacon, beef, onion mixture, thyme and soup. Spread in a layer in the prepared dish. Spread cheese over the top and then cover with tater tots. Bake for 1 hour or until dish is heated through and tater tots are crispy. 

Comments
This is a classic trashy meal and oh-so-delicious.  It’s great on a cold evening when you can take advantage of the oven being on for an hour and heating up your home.

Shown here with mustard greens sauteed in bacon fat (from step 2 of the recipe above) and lots of minced garlic.

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Ingredients
8 ounces sour cream
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¹⁄₂ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless sirloin steak, cut into 2” strips
1 tablespoon butter
¹⁄₂ cup onion, chopped
14 ounces beef broth
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Fresh parsley, chopped, optional
Egg noodles, cooked as directed

Instructions
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add beef, seal and shake to coat beef.

3. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Add beef and flour mixture, sauté 3 minutes or until beef is browned. Gradually add broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add mushrooms, cover and cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to low; gradually stir in sour cream mixture. Cook uncovered, 1 minute, or until heated (do not boil). Stir in parsley, if desired.

4. Serve over egg noodles.

Comments
Over the years I have tried numerous stroganoff recipes and, for the most part, I have enjoyed them all.  Lance is a big lover of steak, so I picked this as a recipe to make for him when I was gone for the weekend.  I used three huge strip steaks that had been in the freezer and it turned out very well.  I was able to have a taste when I got back home from my trip, although there wasn’t much left by then!  I prefer to serve stroganoff with egg noodles, but you can serve it with rice if that’s your preference.

Don’t be surprised if you see different Beef Stroganoff recipes here in the future!

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