Mexican Stroganoff

Delicious flavourful comfort food, perfect for your next freezer meal day and a hit with the whole family. You can make this in your crock pot or pressure cooker for an easy weekday solution. 

This creamy tangy meal has a little twist with the addition of mexican flavours.

Mexican Stroganoff

2 lbs beef steak (round or inside steaks work nicely), sliced thin

1 cup Onion, finely diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 can Sliced Mushrooms, drained

1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 cup Beef Broth

1/2 cup Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tbsp Paprika

2 tsp Seasoning Salt

1 tsp Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Allspice

1 cup Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt

3 Tbsp Flour

Cooked Broad Egg Noodles

Combine all ingredients except for sour cream, flour and egg noodles. Freeze in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. Defrost before using. Cook in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Cook in a pressure cooker for 25 minutes.

Whisk Sour Cream and Flour together. Add to mixture in slow cooker 15 minutes before finished (when you get the noodles going). Cook until thick and serve over hot cooked broad egg noodles.

Dig in!

~Adel~

Wild Blackberry Streusel Tarts

The dog days of summer seem to be behind us! Today it finally rained and was cool enough to turn the oven on. 

I've been dying to try out a blackberry pie recipe I've been concocting in my head while watching the blackberries ripen in the hot sun, so today was a perfect day to make them while the berries were fresh and ripe and so juicy!

I'd planned to make this into a full pie recipe, but could only find frozen tart shells in my freezer...so why not experiment, they are better for the waistline when they're small anyway!

The juice of this filling when it was all mixed together was so amazing I didn't want to waste any and over-filled them a bit, but I just couldn't resist, I wanted to drink it!

Wild Blackberry Streusel Tarts

24  Tart Shells (defrosted if frozen)

4-5 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen (thawed, rinsed, drained, dried)

3/4 cup sugar (less if you have exceptionally sweet berries)

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp almond extract

3-4 Tbsp cornstarch (3 for wild berries, 4 for very ripe/frozen)

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Flour

2 Tbsp Butter, softened

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract and cornstarch in a bowl and gently mix the ingredients. Spoon filling into uncooked (thawed if needed) tart shells (about 3/4 full to prevent overfilling like I did!). 

For the Streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together with a fork until butter is completely combined with sugar and becomes crumbly. Top each tart with a generous spoonful of Streusel topping.

Bake in a 400 F oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown around the edges and the filling becomes bubbly & starts to rise and is no longer liquidy. 

Let cool before serving (or it will be really hard to get out of the tins). Perfect with ice cream or a dollop of whip cream!

Yum.

Happy Berry Picking (and watch out for those nasty thorns!)

~ Adel ~

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

This deliciously easy side is a staple for family gatherings! 

I can't tell you how many casserole dishes of these I've made in the past couple years, but I know I bring one to every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gathering, plus the many times I bring it to other family gatherings or other communal meals with friends. I've started making mine in the slow cooker so I can have them without heating the kitchen in the summer or a great way to make more room in the oven for busy holiday meals, but it works great in the oven too! 

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes (Slow Cooker or Oven)

1/2 cup Butter (melted)

1 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced or your favourite garlicky seasoning (like Johnny's from Costco...yum)

1 can cCondensed Mushroom Soup

1 cup Sour Cream (substitute Greek Yogurt for some or all)

250ml container of Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese

7 cups Frozen Hashbrowns (one of the smaller sized bags)

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Corn Flakes

Slow Cooker: I like to brown my onions before tossing them in the slow cooker, but it's not necessary, just adds more flavour to the dish. Combine the melted butter, diced onion, garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a saucepan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Add Hashbrowns to the slow coker and pour cheesy sauce over. Mix well and cook until potatoes are heated through, about 2-3 hours on high. Top with corn flakes before serving (you can put them under the broiler for a few minutes if you want the top to be golden brown.

Oven: Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook until slightly browned. Add garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a sauce pan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Mix with hashbrowns and pour into an oven safe dish. Top with corn flakes. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes until sauce starts bubbling and the top is golden brown.

This recipe freezes really well, perfect for a big cook/freezer meal and makes a great alternative to Mashed Potatoes!

~Adel~

Ravioli Soup

I haven't posted with any regularity since February 2015. Life happened - big things. We had another little Ladybug (I'll introduce Little Bee later), we moved, we changed careers. Life kind of went upside down for a while, but I'm feeling the inspiration and need to return to the things that bring me joy. That and I keep having to unsuccessfully try to remember how I made that recipe that I didn't write down here in my virtual cookbook!

So here's the inspiration that has changed things as I lay awake in the dark well past my bedtime last night, thinking about food...mmm...that would taste really good, I need to make it and write it down! Time to find the camera and blog again! This ravioli soup is inspired by the classic hamburger soup with a little italian pasta twist. A lovely hearty cozy meal, an easy crowd pleaser, and perfect make-ahead/freezer meal for busy people.

Ravioli Soup

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 lb Ground Beef

1 large Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Cup Carrots, diced

1/2 cup Celery, Chopped

4 Cups Beef Broth

4 cups Water (or beef broth if you want more flavour)

28 oz can Diced Tomatoes

1/4 cup Bread, cubed in small pieces (add more if you like it less soupy and more stewy)

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

2 Tbsp Maple Syrup (the good kind, or substitute honey, sugar or another sweetener to taste)

2 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix (or 1 tsp dried Basil, 1/2 tsp dried Oregano, 1/2 tsp dried Thyme)

1/4 cup fresh Parsley, chopped

Fresh Ravioli, Family Sized packaged (I used beef for this recipe)

Brown Beef in a large soup pot. Once brown, add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and cook until tender. Add in beef broth, water and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil, lower temperature to a simmer. Add in bread, parmesan cheese, maple syrup, seasoning and parsley and let cook for 5 minutes until all the flavours combine.  Just before serving add fresh ravioli to the soup base and cook as long as the package instructs.

This soup is perfect for a make ahead meal or to have in the freezer. If freezing this soup, don't add the ravioli until serving time as it soaks up the liquid and becomes mushy. Better to add fresh ravioli just before serving.

mmm. Perfect make ahead meal with Aged Cheddar Biscuits or Grandma's Dinner Buns!


~Adel~