Beef Stroganoff 1

Stove Top - 30 minutes. Serves 6

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb. beef tenderloin
1/2 medium onion
1/2 lb. button mushrooms
3/4 cup to 1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons of cognac
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of dried dill weed.

Directions:

Thickly slice the mushrooms and finely dice the onions. Cut the beef into thinly against the grain, and then slice into small rectangles.

Place a large pot filled with 4 quarts of water over high heat (for the egg noodles). While the water is coming to a boil, place two tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat.

Brown the beef (it will probably take 2 batches.) Once the beef has been laid down on the pan, allow it to brown, about one minute. Once the beef has browned, flip the pieces over and let the other side brown. (It is okay to add a bit of vegetable oil if the pan starts to dry up.) If done properly, the beef should still have a medium rare interior after this browning process. By browning the meat first, we give the beef tenderloin a stronger flavor and also leave some flavorful, browned, caramelized bits (fond) in the pan for making the sauce.

Once all the beef have been browned, place the diced onions in the pan over low heat. Move the onions around a bit to coat evenly in the remaining fat in the pan, then spread out the onions and allow them to cook. The onions will release liquid as they cook down, about four minutes. While the onions are cooking, use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the fond off the bottom of the pan and mix into the onions.

Add the thickly sliced mushrooms to the onions and stir to evenly coat with fat. Add a pinch of salt to the mushrooms. Seasoning with salt at this stage will help the mushrooms release their water faster. Allow the mushrooms to cook, tossing occasionally, until all the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes.

Add the beef broth and cognac to the pan and turn up the heat to medium or medium-high and allow it to reduce. When reduced, the liquid should coat the back of a spoon (or your mushrooms). This will take about 15 minutes.

While waiting for the mushrooms to cook, cook the egg noodles (a 12 ounce bag is a good amount). Hopefully, the water should be boiling at this point. Add the egg noodles and cook to the desired texture. Remove the noodles from the pot and toss with 2 tablespoons butter to keep them from sticking and to add some flavor. Rinsing the noodles will make it more difficult for sauces to cling to the noodles.

Back to the stroganoff: Lower the heat and add the sour cream and Dijon mustard. Stir the mixture together and bring to a light simmer.

Add the beef (and any juices that have collected in the plate) to the mixture and stir in. Allow the sauce to simmer, reheating the beef. Do not heat the beef too long, or you could overcook it - about two minutes should do it.

Stir in some dill and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve immediately over the egg noodles.


Notes:

If using another cut of meat, select a lean cut and remove any excess fat, gristle, or membranes.
Freezing the beef for about an hour and using a sharp knife will make the slicing easier.
I used olive oil instead of butter for this recipe and did well. sara
I omitted the cognac (who with kids has that?) and used a dill mix instead of straight dill. sara
Try adding extra veggie power by boiling peas and carrots with the noodles for a great change! sara

source: cooking for engineers
includes lots of pictures!

Swiss Steak

Stove Top - 2 hrs. Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

One 2 to 2.5 pound round or top round steak, about an inch thick
A couple tablespoons of flour
Salt and pepper

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil, or other high smoke point oil for browning (olive, canola)
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cups puréed tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 teaspoons each of fresh thyme, sage, marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon each of dried

Optional: Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, or green beans

Directions:

1 Rub flour into both sides of the steak. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a wide, shallow (3 inches), covered pan to medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to coat the pan. Place the steak in the pan, and cook for approximately 10 minutes on each side, enough to brown the steak.

2 Remove the steak from the pan and set aside. Add onions and garlic to the pan and another tablespoon of oil. Cook the onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes, using a metal spatula to scrape up any steak drippings, mixing them in with the onions. Add half of the herbs to the onions. Return the steak to the pan, placing it on top of the onions. Crowd the onions around and on top of the steak. Sprinkle the rest of the herbs on top of the steak. Add the 2 cups of puréed tomatoes to the pan.

3 Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Use a high lid if available. A high lid will help circulate the steam and moisture from the cooking juices and keep the steak moist. Bring the steak in the tomato purée to a simmer and then lower the heat to the lowest heat possible to maintain a low simmer (we use the warm setting on our electric range).

4 Cook for 1 1/2 hours. While the steak is cooking, you may want to slightly pre-cook vegetables that you want to serve with the steak. For example, for this dish we steamed 4 small, peeled, quartered russet potatoes and 2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 2 inch segments, for 5-10 minutes. (You could use other vegetables, such as green beans, or no vegetables at all.) After 1 1/2 hours of cooking time for the steak, we uncovered the pan, turned the steak over, added the potatoes and carrots, covered the pan and cooked the steak and vegetables for another 30 minutes.

The reason that you might want to pre-cook the vegetables a bit first is that the steak is cooking at a very low heat. You'll have more control over how cooked the vegetables are if you pre-cook them a bit first.

5 The steak should be done after a total cooking time of 2 hours. To check it, you can poke it with a fork. The meat should be quite tender. To serve, remove the steak and slice it on a carving board. Alternatively, you could have started with individual steaks that were smaller. Spoon the sauce over the steak.

Notes:

Needs a larger pan than my cast iron one.


source: Simply Recipes

Crockpot Swiss Steak

Crockpot - . Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 lbs. round steak
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1/4 c. water
1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped in bite sized pieces

Directions:

Cut steak into 5 to 6 serving size pieces. Place in crock pot. Add dry onion soup mix, water, soup, tomatoes, and potatoes. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours.

Notes:

If you like lots of gravy use 2 packages soup mix and 2 cans of soup. Maybe also add a few carrots and celery? I combined two different recipes and you can see the sources below.

source: cooks.com and Miller Manor

Eight Ball Beef Kabobs

Grill - 1 day + 30 minutes. Serves 6

This is a delicious, colorful and easy meal to prepare on your outdoor grill.

Ingredients:

Marinade: This will be enough for up to five pounds of beef.

3 tsp minced garlic
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Beef:
Filet of beef or sirloin, cut into 1 ½” cubes

Vegetables:
Eight Ball squash 1 ½" diameter
Cherry tomatoes
Purple onions, cut into 1 ½" pieces
Orange bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces

Directions:

Mix together all marinade ingredients. Add beef to marinade, turning to coat completely. Leave in the refrigerator 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Thread ingredients onto skewers, alternating ingredients to make each colorful and attractive. This may be done in advance of dinnertime so that you, the host,
will be relaxed and prepared. Grill skewers for about three minutes per side, basting with marinade. Serve with your favorite rice dish.