Category Archives: dinner

Beef Stroganoff in a Cup

Bstroweb

 

Warm, with beef, noodles and cream, what could be better on a cold winter night. I like to use precooked, beef tips, they just melt in your mouth. You’ll probably find them in the ham and hot dog area of your market. We like it with a nice salad and a good Beaujolais. Life is good!

Ingredients

1 15 oz. pkg. precooked Beef Tips
1 4 oz. can Mushrooms, drained
3 pats of Butter
¼ cup diced onion
1 10 oz. can Beef Broth
1 Tbs. Flour
1 cup Medium Egg Noodles
Dash of Catsup, Garlic Powder, Dijon Mustard and Worcester Sauce
Pepper to taste (there’s usually enough salt in the broth and beef)
¼ cup heavy whipping Cream
1 Flour Tortilla
Sour Cream for the top or use Creme Fraiche (50/50 Heavy Cream and Sour Cream)
PAM cooking spray

Directions

Spray 3 eight to ten ounce ramekins with PAM. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Boil the egg noodles in salted water until they are slightly softened (about 3-4 min.), rinse, drain and reserve. Sauté the onion in the butter and when it has softened a little add the tablespoon of flour and stir it in well to coat all of the flour. Add about ¾ cup of the of broth, the mushrooms and dashes of catsup, mustard, garlic powder, pepper and Worcester sauce. Pour it into a medium sized bowl.

Separate the beef from most of the gravy in the box (you will need a little of it and they give you way too much) and add it to the bowl. Now pour in the whipping cream and the noodles and stir it all together. Cut the tortilla into thin strips and rough them up a little between your hands to form noodles. Fill the ramekins with the mixture and place a mound of the tortilla noodles on top. Bake for about 30 min. until the liquid is bubbling and the tortilla noodles have browned.

Serve in the hot ramekin with a dab of sour cream on top and a dash of paprika for color.

 

 

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Filed under beef, comfort food, Cooking, cooking for two, dinner, food, Food Photography, noodles

Artichoke and Spinach Pie

WebSA

We usually have this dish as a side for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I thought it would make a good entrée as well, so I worked up this version. Small size, no meat, it makes a perfect light dish for summer with a salad. If you need a larger, casserole style for a big dinner, just double or triple the ingredients, skip the Filo dough and just put some bread crumbs on top to brown. We like to add some fresh cilantro to it, that brightens the taste and adds a little zing. Makes about three 8 oz. ramekins.

Ingredients

1 14 oz. can of whole Artichokes
1 Pkg. frozen Spinach
4 oz. Cream cheese
4 Tbs. of Butter, warmed
¼ cup of bread Crumbs
¼ cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro leaves (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg. frozen filo dough
PAM spray
Cilantro or flat parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. and spray two or three ramekins with PAM

Defrost the spinach and cook it in the microwave until it is hot. Then put it into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Press the water out of the spinach. Rinse and drain the artichokes, cut off the stems if they have any. You want these to stand up in the cup. You can add the stems to the spinach mix, if you wish for flavor. Press the water out of the artichokes between paper towels.

Cream the spinach, onions, chopped cilantro, butter, bread crumbs and cream cheese together.

Place two sheets of Filo in each ramekin and let the sides droop over the top. Stand up enough of the artichokes in the ramekin to cover the bottom of each. Put a layer of of the spinach butter combination on top. Fold the filo dough over on top of the ramekin. Bake for 30 min. or until the top browns well. Pick the package out of the dish using two forks, plate it and I like to put a leaf of cilantro or flat parsley on top as a decoration, a slice of a small tomato works well too.

Serve with a salad and a good Pinot Grigo, Enjoy!

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Filed under Cooking, cooking for two, dinner, food, Food Photography, lunch, Pie