The Fastest Beef Stroganoff

I admit, beef stroganoff is not one of my favorite dishes on earth but every once in a great while, it sounds delicious. The recipe I've used for years takes a couple hours and even then, is tricky to get get to reduce so often you are left with beef stroganoff inspired soup. I saw this recipe in my Our Best Bites Cookbook and was surprised how quick the instructions made it sound. I gave it a shot and had dinner done (start to finish) in less than a half hour. Seriously. My husband ate it up and said it was better than my stand by recipe! This one's a keeper for sure.

Ingredients:
1 pound top sirloin steak (I buy the thin-cut, it saves work)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup diced onion (about one small onion)
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp. butter (divided)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp. beef boullion (1 cube)
2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Slice steak into strips that are approx. 2" long and 1/4" thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
Melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large skillet and saute the onions, mushrooms, and garlic for 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft and transparent. Empty out of the skillet onto a plate and set aside. Melt the remaining tbsp. butter in the skillet and cook the beef for about 5 minutes until it's no longer pink. While the meat is cooking, whisk together the water, boullion, worchestershire sauce and flour. Pour into the cooked beef and add the onion/mushroom mixture back in. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or rice!

Pan-Seared Chicken with Lemon Chive Reduction

Now, now, I know what you're thinking. Yikes, that sounds hard. No, it is not. And yes, it IS fancy. Fancy enough that you could serve it to company and they will marvel at your skills but only YOU will know how easy it is. The problem with pan-seared anything but ESPECIALLY chicken is that it tends to be dry, chewy, and tough given the heat of the pan needed to brown it. It usually overcooks way too fast. Not so with this method. I got this off of my FAVORITE show and cookbook, America's Test Kitchen. Seriously, I'm addicted like a housewife is addicted to Soap Operas. Husband even calls it my "stories". That aside, here's the recipe.

***One important note before we begin, you MUST have a stainless steel pan to make this work. Non-stick WILL NOT WORK. I always get blasted by people who swear by how great their non-stick cookware is. Please, bear with my soapbox. Having grown up in a strictly non-stick household, I prefer aluminum/stainless clad for several reasons. Hippie stuff like, "The teflon will kill you!" aside, here they are: 1. You don't have to treat it like fine china. I scratch the heck out of mine almost every day, throw them in a cupboard, let them rub against each other and they are still working like champs. 2. In my experience, they tend to heat more evenly and retain heat more consistently. 3. They really aren't a pain to clean. Put a little dishsoap in it and let it soak and almost everything wipes right off. For charred marks, a sprinkling of Barkeeper's Friend cleanser makes them look like new. 4. And the most important reason, meat browns BEAUTIFULLY and gives off a glorious fond to make the most delicious pan sauces. You don't need to go out and buy an entire set of stainless on my word, but honestly, one good-quality large skillet, in my opinion, is a must-have. Stepping down from soapbox. Thank you.

Ingredients:

4 (6-8 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trust me on the weight thing, the bigger they are the (way) longer they take to cook)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil (I have tried olive in the past and prefer canola for this recipe)

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. pepper

Pan sauce:

3 tbsp. shallot minced (I usually just use an onion because I never have shallots)

1 tsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh chives (psh. I rarely use fresh. Dried works fine but if you are substituting dried, only use 1-1/2 tsps.

1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Use a fork and poke the thick side of the chicken breast 5-6 times. Sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp. salt. Place in a 9x13" dish, skinned (smooth) side down, cover tightly with foil, and bake 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Remove from the dish, put on a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry.

Heat oil in a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke (this is key. If the oil isn't hot enough, the meat will not brown)

While heating you are going to make a "velvet" which is basically just a coating over the chicken to protect it from getting tough. Whisk together the butter, flour, cornstarch and pepper. Brush tops with it. Cook, coated side down, for 3-4 minutes. While cooking, brush the top of the chicken with the remaining coating. Flip them over and marvel at your skills. They will be GORGEOUS. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the internal temp is 160-165 (or you can just cut it open and make sure it's done but only a tiny slit, you don't want all the juice running out!) Place the chicken on plate to rest while you make the sauce. If you aren't making the sauce, let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Now the sauce. See all those browned bits on the bottom of the pan? That's called a fond and it's all the juices from the meat that have thickened and carmelized and it tastes DELICIOUS. Reduce your heat to medium, put in your onion or shallot and stir around for about 2 minutes. Add, the flour and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen the fond. Increase heat to medium-high again and bring to a vigorous boil for 3-5 minutes to let the sauce reduce to about 3/4 of a cup. Remove from heat, pour in the juices the chicken has released on the plate, add the lemon juice and chives, stir for 30 seconds, pour over chicken and impress everyone!!!

Nutella Wontons with Raspberry Sauce

Okay, let me just start off by saying this... I LOVE Nutella. I am addicted to this chocolate-hazelnut spread. Lol! My friend, Val, has the same addiction. About five years ago, we were at her house and craving something with Nutella in it, so we made these deep fried goodies. I also whipped up a quick raspberry sauce to dip them in. They aren't too difficult to make and they are to die for! Enjoy. =)

Nutella Wontons
Ingredients
16 wonton wrappers (you can find these in the produce section)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
Vegetable Oil, for frying
Powdered Sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Take 1 wonton wrapper and brush the edges lightly with the beaten egg.
2. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Nutella into the center of the wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half over the filling and press the edges of the wrapper to seal.
3. Place the wonton on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, egg and Nutella.
4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Add enough oil to a heavy, large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches, heat the oil over medium heat. If you have a deep fryer, heat it to 350 degrees.
5.Working in batches, carefully add the wontons to the hot oil and cook until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds per side.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wontons to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then, transfer the wontons to the lined baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while frying the remaining wontons.
7. Once all of the wontons are fried, dust them with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry sauce (recipe to follow)
These wontons can be made a day ahead. Cool them completely, cover and refrigerate. Before serving, place them on a baking sheet and re-warm in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 7 minutes.


Raspberry Sauce
Ingredients
1 half-pint package fresh raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup (12 ounces) seedless raspberry jam

Directions
Place the package of raspberries, granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries and jam into a food processor, fitted with the steal blade and process until smooth. Chill.

Pecan Bars

I made these for game day and I have to say...I don't think my family will ever be able to cope with a pecan pie ever again. Even my husband who NEVER eats dessert (marital point of contention) ate a bar and later told his mom how delicious they were. Whoa. Now you KNOW you'll have to try them. These are from the Our Best Bites Official Cookbook from the blog. I highly HIGHLY recommend you spring for the book. I didn't think I needed it because, ya know, all the recipes are on the internet! Not so, friends. This little gem isn't on the blog and I'm here to tell ya, I'm the favorite kid right now because of this recipe. So go get the book at Costco, or Deseret Book, or if you do nothing else, follow their blog...then make these bars.

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. Butter
6 Tbsp. Shortening
3/4 Cup Powdered sugar
1 1/2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp flour divided
2 eggs
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 Cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. Orange juice
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter, shortening and sugar.
Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix until combined
Press evenly in bottom of 9x13" pan. Bake crust 13-14.
Mix remaining flour and rest of ingredients and spread over hot crust. Bake another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread with glaze while warm. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Slow Cooker Pudding Cake

I had a busy day on Saturday. I'm talking, leave the house at 8:30 and don't get home until late at night busy. One of my engagements was a BBQ at a friend's house where I volunteered to bring dessert. On Saturday morning it hit me that I wasn't going to be home to make anything....that's where my trusty slow cooker came in! This recipe is out of my Official Crock Pot Cookbook. The only reason I chose it was because I happened to have all the ingredients. It was HUGE hit at the BBQ. People I didn't know where asking me for the recipe. And what could be easier than cake in a crock pot?!

Slow Cooker Pudding Cake
Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 Cup Flour
1/8 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/3 Cup sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 Cup whipping cream
Vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions:
Coat your slow cooker with cooking spray and preheat to LOW.
Blend cocoa, flour, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs with an electric mixer on medium-high until thickened. Graudually add sugar, beat 5 minutes until mixture becomes very thick and pale yellow.
Mix in butter and vanilla. Once incorporated, add the cocoa mixture and blend well. Add cream. and mix until blended.
Pour in crock pot and cover opening with a paper towel to catch the condensation (unless you like soggy cake). Put lid on and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Serve warm with ice cream.

Homemade Pita Chips

I was inspired by Brittney's hummus recipe and decided to post my recipe for homemade pita chips. You can buy pita chips at your local grocery store, but these are far more delicious. Enjoy! =)

Ingredients
4 pita breads
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, pepper, minced garlic and basil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy.
    Makes 32 chips

WARNING! Watch carefully while these chips are baking, as they tend to burn easily.

Hummus

I think hummus is just scrumptious, but the thought of making it from scratch has always intimidated me. I think it's the unfamiliar flavor profile.

A few days ago, however, I put on a brave face and decided to give it a whirl? Why? Well, even though I love hummus, but am not particularly fond of the plain, boring, canned chickpeas I had in my pantry.

After doing some research, I concocted the following recipe. It was actually quite easy and was also very delicious. Win, win!

Ingedients:

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 can of chickpeas (reserve 1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid - more liquid will result in thinner, creamier hummus)

4 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best, but from concentrate will do in a real pinch)

2 TBSP Tahini (sesame paste - not only can you find this at most gourmet food stores, but some grocery stores carry it, too)

3/4 - 1 tsp salt

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 - 3/4 tsp cumin

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender (or do as I do and use a bowl + an immersion blender).
2. That's it! See I told you it was easy! Serve with pita squares or pita chips, crisp bread, zucchini or celery sticks, red pepper spears... you name it! If you want to make it more authentic, garnish with a little olive oil drizzled on top.