Beef Strogonaf

30 minute meal, here we come. The great thing about it is that it tastes great for hardly any effort. Even my kids love it! I don't know of that says much- but hey, if my kids will eat it I'm a happy camper.

Today's tip for making a quicker meal: use dry seasonings instead of the actual raw food. In this recipe I use dried onion or onion powder, for example, instead taking the time to chop up fresh onion. Of course fresh onion would be preferable (if you like them) but the key here is to cut down on cooking time as much as possible, with, still, a great turnout!  You can do this with cilantro, garlic, basil, Just about anything. 

What you will need: 

-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. 

-1 lb or beef (or less if you're trying to cut down on the meat). 

-Milk (or water, if you're like me and didn't realize you were out of milk. Still tasted great though)      
    Probably about 1 can (using your cream of mushroom can) 

-Some beef or chicken bouillon. 

-Garlic powder (about 1 teaspoon) 

-Onion powder (about 1 teaspoon)

-3-4 cups of uncooked brown rice.
-about 6 cups of water. 

Tools to simplify: 

Rice cooker. 

1- Put about 3-4 cups of brown rice in rice cooker, and fill according to rice-cooker instructions. Inside of my bowl there is a "brown rice" measurements. If I put 3 cups of rice in, I fill up my rice-cooker to line 3. My rice cooker also came with a cup to measure the rice.  It's pretty easy. Turn the rice cooker on and let it will do the rest of the work. By the time you are done preparing everything, your rice should be done.

2-Put ground beef in sauce pan, sprinkle a bit of each seasoning over the beef, while cooking on stove on med heat. 

3-Once beef is cooked, add cream of mushroom soups and milk or water to the beef. Once it's heated up, your dinner should be ready!

4- top beef sauce over rice and enjoy!

Bon Apetit!

Easy Broccoli Cheese Casserole!

The key to a quick meal? first, have as much pre-prepared items as possible! For this Broccoli Cheese casserole I like to use frozen broccoli. My choice right now is from Costco! It comes with 4 pre-packaged broccoli flourettes, which are microwavable. So what do I do?

I mix some cream of chicken, sour cream, REAL mayonnaise  and a handful of grated cheese together in my 9" by 11" pan. Yes, I buy my cheese already grated, my mayonnaise is pre-made, my cream of chicken comes from a can! Do I care?....I will be completely honest, it is not the healthiest way to go but, when you have only 30 minutes to prepare a meal you want the family to enjoy, it beats store-bought, pre-made meals that are over-priced, processed, filled with all sorts of junk and never fill our family! And it definitely beats a burger from a fast food restaurant! So, a quick meal may not be the healthiest but it falls right in between!

Next I throw some paprika and black pepper in my mixture. Then I get my broccoli, which I just thawed in the microwave for a mere 4 minutes while I was mixing all the other ingredients, I mix the broccoli in with the rest of the stuff, combine a handful of plain croutons (or buttered bread cubes) to the mixture, then top casserole with remaining croutons (or buttered- bread cubes).

What next?  I just put it in the oven and wait for the cheese to melt.  It's that SIMPLE!

Below is a recipe, especially made for those who panic when confronted with free-style cooking (cooking without an exact recipe). But, before I share this incredibly easy recipe with you I would like to give credit to Dana Chamberlain for her inspiration on most of the food that gets scraped off of our plate each night, after dinner. She has taught me most of what I know about cooking...and many of my simple meals are just her recipes, well, simplified. ;-)  You want an exquisite meal made completely from scratch? Check out her blog danabananaskitchen.blogspot.com

Okay, anxious to get started?

For this meal you will need:

1 pint sour cream
1-2 cups mayonaise
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1-3 cups of grated cheese (any white cheese is always my favorite)
paprika
pepper(optional)
salt (optional)
1-2 packages broccoli (about 4-6 cups)
plain croutons (or 4-6 slices of bread  and1/2 to 1 cu butter - I prefer this option)

* If you're trying to cook quick, a recipe is almost bound to slow you down. When I make this, I never measure- it makes cooking quicker! don't fret, just put what you think you will want, then stop and taste it every once in a while. If it's good, you have no worries, right?

Well, If that intimidates you,

Here's what you do:

1- preheat your oven to 325

1-get your broccoli flourettes out of the freezer. If it comes in a microwavable package, throw that baby in the microwave for 1-2 minutes less than the directed time (I microwaved mine for 4 minutes ). the point is to de-thaw your broccoli without cooking it completely, because it will continue cooking once you put it in the oven. If you cook it less, you will end up with firm broccoli in your completed casserole. If you cook it more, soft broccoli...maybe even mushy.  It all depends on your taste. Some like it mushy, I guess.  If you don't mind a firm broccoli, you can completely skip this step. You can also steam broccoli on the stove for a few minutes, if you prefer, but microwaving seems like the fast way to go.

2-Meanwhile, combine sour cream, mayo, chicken soup, grated cheese in a 9 by 11 pan.  I like less cheese than most people. I get 1 maybe 2 handfuls and toss it in the pan. No need to measure, it's going to taste good no matter what. Add paprika, pepper and salt to taste (i probably used about 1/2 tsp of paprika and pepper, and didn't even use salt).

3- If you are using croutons, ignore step 3. If you are using bread an butter: Microwave your 1/2 butter in a big bowl until it's all melted.  Slice all of your bread into bite sized cubes. combine bread with butter. (it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't matter how big or small. It's all a matter of preference....or time. ;-) )

4- combine thawed broccoli flourettes with the cheese and sauce mixture that is already in your pan. If you left them frozen, make sure you break up broccoli flourettes so they are not all stuck together. You may have to leave it in the oven longer if you put them in frozen. you may also want to add a little water to the mixture so the broccoli has more moisture to absorb.  "WHAT?" "I DUNNO. Just an IDEA".

5- mix about 1/2-1 cup of croutons or buttered-bread slices into the sauce mixture (depending on which one you are using). Then, top with remaining croutons (about 2 cups....or 2 handfuls if I must say. ).

6- Place pan in preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes (until cheese is melted).

When it's cooled down, enjoy!!!!!