Beef Ragout

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 lbs boneless round steak, trimmed of fat and cubed
• reserved tomato juice, plus water to make 1 cup
• 2 bay leaves
• pepper
• 2 cups whole baby carrots
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
• 1 medium green pepper, slivered
• paprika
• seasoning salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons flour

Instructions

1. Sauté onion and garlic in margarine in large frying pan until onion is soft and golden. Turn into ungreased 3 quart casserole.
2. Add beef. Add tomato juice mixture, bay leaves and pepper. Stir. Cover. Bake in 325F oven for 1 1/2 hours.
3. Add next 6 ingredients. Stir. Cover. Bake for about 1 hour until beef is very tender. Remove and discard bay leaves.
4. Stir water into flour in small cup until smooth. Gradually stir into beef mixture. Cover. Bake for 15 minutes until bubbling and thickened.

Comments

Beef comes out super tender; kind of an annoying recipe in that you need to take out the casserole dish and stir it twice during cooking; diced tomatoes would probably be better than annoying large stewed tomatoes

Rum Balls

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed very fine
• 2 cups finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar for rolling

Instructions

1. In the microwave or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt evaporated milk and chocolate chips, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the crushed vanilla wafers and brandy until well blended. Roll the dough into small balls and roll the balls in chopped walnuts, then in confectioners' sugar. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Comments

Confectioners’ sugar is probably unnecessary.  Captain Morgan (or another spiced rum) is good for the liquor.

Puppy Chow

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 9 cups crispy rice cereal squares
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate; add peanut butter and mix until smooth.
2. Remove from heat, add cereal and stir until coated.
3. Pour powdered sugar into large plastic bag, add coated cereal and shake until well coated. Store in airtight container.

Comments

Taste was meh; pretty bland and sugary.

Frozen Vegetable Thai Stir-Fry

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
• (optional) 2 chicken breasts

Instructions

1. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, and peanut butter in a small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir frozen vegetables until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in soy sauce mixture.

Comments

This recipe has the advantage of not having to slice anything at all and being fast to cook.

I made this with a few chicken strips I had lying around.  Probably would have gone well over some rice.

The original recipe calls for (presumably?) tossing the sauce in like a salad, but I think I would prefer a think peanut sauce layered on top.  To do this, increase the peanut butter and soy sauce in the sauce and wayyyy decrease the garlic powder.

Crunchy peanut butter could be a nice twist.

Chicken with Quinoa and Veggies

Recipe from here

Ingredients

• 1 cup rinsed quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic scapes, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions

1. Bring the quinoa and chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan; reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Simmer until the broth is absorbed, the quinoa is fluffy, and the white line is visible in the grain, about 12 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet; cook and stir the garlic scapes and onion until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken breast strips and cook until the chicken is still slightly pink in the middle, about 5 more minutes. Remove the chicken meat and set aside. Pour 2 more tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet and cook and stir the zucchini and tomato until the zucchini is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and sprinkle with feta cheese, basil leaves, and lime juice. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked and hot, about 10 more minutes. Serve over hot quinoa.

Comments

Used garlic instead of garlic scrapes and skipped the remove-chicken-and-put-it-back-in step.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 1 pound regular white mushrooms, cleaned, quartered or sliced
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp minced shallots
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
• Minced parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. In a food processor, coarsely chop mushrooms and lemon juice.
2. Melt butter in (4-5 quart) sauce pan and lightly sauté shallots on medium heat. Add mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf, sauté over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid that is released from the mushrooms disappears.
3. Add salt, pepper, cream and chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add cornstarch and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning and add more lemon juice to taste.

Greek Salad

Got this recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the Romaine, onion, olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve.