Thinking outside the box Holiday Dinners post 2

You can have a great dinner with a portion of the effort  for Thanksgiving.

Beef Stroganoff.

This can be done one of 2 ways.

Quick Way  Sautee the beef cubes or even a london broil cut, or roast, cut up, in olive oil, with onions, and fresh minced garlic.    Once the meat is done, sautee some mushrooms up, you can use the same pan (take the beef out), the add the beef back in, 2lbs of sour cream (I use that much for 6 people), a tbsp of Better than beef bouillon paste, some wine to taste, and let simmer, if you need it darker, add more  beef broth, not thick enough add a slurry.  Cook egg noodles, or a pasta of your choice then ladle it over the noodles.  This can be prepared in about half an hour.

Want to do it in the crock pot to give your house a real homey smell?

Just lightly brow the beef, do not cook it all the way through, throw it in the crock pot.  Sautee onions, garlic and mushrooms (can be done all in one pan), add the beef bouillan or better than beef paste, sour cream to the crock pot, white wine ( I use sweet white if I have it), and let it cook on low in the crock pot for about 5-6 hours.    Serve over pasta of your choice.

Add a salad, bread, and a desert (or is it dessert), I can never keep the two straight.  And you have a very comforting meal with little fuss, and one that is ALWAYS a hit in my family.

Giving you more time to spend with family, and less time to spend in the kitchen.......

Cost saving tip, find the meats on sale in advance and freeze them.  I often find beef cubes on sale at least once a month at my local grocery store.  Taking the 9-12 dollars that I pay for 2-3 pounds of meat down to about 6-10.00.  Then its just Sour Cream, Beef Boullion, Egg Noodles and Mushrooms.  Making a dinner for 6, for well under 20.00 with left overs, need more, just double the recipe.

Leftover tip for any beef stronganoff sauce.

Make a mushroom and cheese omlette and pour a bit of sauce over the top of the omlette.

Estimated cost.

12.00 for 2-3 pound of beef.

3.00 for 2 lbs of Sour cream

Mushrooms 2.49 a pound

Baby Bella Mushrooms 2.49 half pound

Beef Base (I use better than beef) and the jar is 4.59 for the jar, but you only use one or 2 TBSP....

Onion .25 -50 cents (one or 2 out of a bag)

Garlic 3-4 for a small back of fresh garlic (you only need 1 or 2 cloves, a little fresh goes a long way remember this)

Powder onion and garlic cna be substituted for fresh, but I usually try to use fresh onions.

So there you ahave  another idea for a meal that is not 'traditional' but will give you less time in the kitchen and more time with family.

Mooch