Weekly Recipe Roundup

I've made a new rule for my Weekly Roundup to include no more than 4 recipes in one post. I don't want the post to get so long that you lose interest and potentially miss out a great recipe, so hopefully 4 isn't too many. Feel free to let me know if it's too hot to handle, too cold to hold. Thanks.

First up is a blend of 2 Beef Stroganoff recipes. I guess if you don't copy a recipe entirely, it's considered your own creation - at least that's what I'm going with. I couldn't find the source of the inspirational recipe anyway, so we'll just say it's mine (see below).

Beef Stroganoff

2 T. butter

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

8oz fresh mushrooms, quartered

1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak, sliced very thin (smile really big and ask your butcher to do it!)

2-3 cups beef broth (depending on how thick/thin you want your sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup tomato puree (I mixed 2T. tomato paste with enough water to make 1/4 cup)

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 package of wheat egg noodles

In a deep skillet or saute pan melt butter. Saute garlic until golden. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let mushrooms cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add meat, tossing as you go, and let it brown a few minutes. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture and stir until incorporated. Add broth, Worcestershire, tomato puree, bay leaf, thyme, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes. (Now is a good time to cook your noodles.) Remove bay leaf and stir in sour cream (feel free to add more than the 1/2 cup if you prefer a creamier version). Serve atop egg noodles.

*****

I have tried and tried to give Rachel Ray credit for the following recipe but alas, it isn't hers. I think it's the "sammies" part that makes me think of her. I don't care who's they are, they are delicious little gems! These Oven Ham Sammies are tasty little treats. I erroneously only made one for each of us and after we each devoured our sammie in 3 bites, I realized my mistake. And here I thought I was being frugal splitting the bag of Hawaiian rolls and freezing half for another use - that's what I get for thinking ahead! I did have scale the recipe down to accommodate my 7 rolls but that was no problem. I did omit the poppy seeds and probably reduced the amount of butter and ham a little more but it's all in the name of the good ol' gluteus maximus! These would be great for tailgating or as an appetizer at a party.

*****

Every time I go to an Italian restaurant, I always wish I had an extra stomach so I could eat more and try more things. One thing I always see but never want to waste the stomach space on is Pasta e Fagioli soup. I'm just not a soup-ordering-out kind of girl. But when I saw this recipe for Pasta e Fagioli, I knew I wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I can't compare this to the real thing but after having this one, I'm not sure I want to try anyone else's! We had this the same night as the Ham Sammies and I felt like a kitchen goddess with the rave reviews I was getting from Wes. You would've thought I had slaved in the kitchen for 3 days - too bad I made the soup the day before and the sammies took a whopping 10 minutes! I did alter the recipe a touch by adding ground turkey instead of hamburger. The recipe calls for a seasoning blend and since I don't have any such blend, I used a little cumin, chili powder, and dried onions. I ditched the V-8 because of the high sodium and used an organic tomato juice from Whole Foods that was much easier on the sodium and actually quite tasty for breakfast! Oh and I also can't get used to using the leaves of celery, so I omitted that part too. The ingredient list leaves out the pasta, so don't forget it like I almost did!