Favorite Ingredients Friday - Easy Hamburger Stroganoff

This is one of my family's favorites.

Hamburger Stroganoff

1Lb lean ground beef
chopped onion - as much as your family likes
chopped garlic - again to your liking
2 tins cream of mushroom soup
4 oz cream cheese
2 pk beef bovril (or boullion cube)
splash of Worcestershire sauce
a tin of mushrooms or you can use fresh
1/2 c sour cream
Pasta - we like spaghettini (thin spaghetti)

1. Set a large pot of water on to boil.

2. Cook the beef, onions and garlic until no pink remains in the beef.

3. Drain the grease from the beef.

4. Add the soup, bovril, cream cheese, mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce.
This is the time to add salt and pepper or seasoning salt.

5. Heat over medium heat, the cream cheese will melt through - let it bubble a bit.

6. Turn down to a simmer and stir in sour cream. Once mixed turn off heat.

7. Cook the pasta to your liking.

8. Drain pasta.

9. Put pasta on plate and top with generous heaping of beefy sauce.

10. Enjoy!

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Favorite Ingredients Friday - Greatest Hits

This is a rerun post of one of my favorite recipes.


I can't claim this as my own - I got it from my online friend Jean at the Frugal Foyer.

I love this stuff - I could eat it all day! I usually eat it with celery - my DH likes it with crackers.

Fat Free Hummus

• 3 c. cooked garbanzoa (chickpeas - I use one lg tin - rinsed)
  
• 3 cl. garlic or more
  
• 6 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayeene
• 3 tsp. cumin

Blend it all together in food processor or blender. Add water/bean liquid as needed to make right consistency. Like a dip. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you want you can add some tahini or sesame oil (I never have).

For more Favorite Ingredients - pop over to Overwhelmed With Joy!

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Imitation Crab Dip

Of course you could use real crab in this dip as well - I just always have the imitation kind on hand in the freezer.

I made this recipe up so things are not exact - taste as you go along and change it up to suit your tastes.

• Package of imitation crab (Pollock fish) - sometimes called Sea Legs, etc. - chopped fine w/some bigger chunks
• 3 oz cream cheese - I nuke this for 30 secs to soften it
• 1/2 c mayo - I use Miracle whip
• 1-2 green onions - chopped fine
• 3 T seafood/shrimp sauce
• seasoning salt
• chopped garlic or garlic powder to your liking
• splash of worchestershire sauce

Mix this all up and chill for at least an hour to set flavors.
Don't be afraid to taste and add stuff (or leave anything out) to make it how you like it.
For instance - chopped salad shrimp would be nice, finely diced red onion, sour cream, maybe celery for crunch.

Experiment!

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FIF - Non-cream of Broccoli soup or Frog Soup

Ok this is another made-up recipe so bear with me.

I am not all that fond of broccoli but I know good it is for me so I try to eat it.

I wanted to make a cream of broccoli type soup one day but did not have any cream so while searching recipes online I came across one that used potato flakes to thicken the soup instead of cream.

So this is my homemade recipe.

• One bag of frozen broccoli - it is already precooked so is easier to use but I am sure you can use fresh too.
• I thaw it a bit - not fully - doesn't really matter.
• I cut it a bit smaller and place into my food processor where I whiz the heck out of it - you want it fine. I do this in batches as a whole bag doesn't fit in my processor at one time.
• I also whiz a large onion too.
• Place the whizzed-up onion and broccoli into a large pot - add 4 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water.
• I sometimes also add a packet of chicken soup base.
• I bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 minutes.
• I taste and add seasoning - salt, pepper, garlic powder (I sometimes add fresh chopped garlic at the beginning instead) - pretty much any spices you like - try it.
• Simmer a little longer - taste, adjust seasoning if needed.
• Then I use an immersion hand blender and puree the soup. If you don't have a hand blender you can put batches through your regular blender (small amounts as hot liquids expand!).
• Once it is smooth and creamy, I stir in about 1/2 cup of potato flakes - stir until smooth.

That's it.

We got my son to eat this when he was little by calling it Frog Soup - but he is older know and won't fall for that anymore.

My husband and I love this soup - I often make big batches and take it for lunches daily - it tastes good and is good for me.

For more great recipes, check out Favorite Ingrediet Fridays over at Overwhelmed With Joy.

FIF - Side Dishes

Here are a few of my favorite side dishes - I hope you know by now - I really don't use recipes - be adventurous!

Roasted potatoes
-scrub potatoes, cut into chunks, place in oven dish
-toss with olive oil (2 tbsp but depends on how many spuds you have)
-toss in seasoning of your choice - I often use garlic powder, seasoning salt and chili powder - or you can add spice blends - whatever you like, add some)
-bake in a preheated 350 oven - for about an hour - stirring every 20 mins or so - until brown and crispy.

Snow peas and mushrooms
-tip & tail the snow peas (cut off the ends)
-slice the mushrooms
-place about 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in large fry pan
-over medium heat
-add snow peas and mushrooms
-add garlic powder & seasoning salt
-saute about 20 mins until the snow peas are tender crisp
- stir often

Sauted garlic spinach
-wash spinach - I often use baby spinach because it doesn't have the woody stems to cut off
-chop garlic or use bottled chopped garlic - as much as you like but at least a tsp
-olive oil & butter (tsbp each) into fry pan
-over medium heat
-add garlic and spinach
- cook only for a few minutes - until the spinach is whilted
- serve - salt & pepper to your liking

Maple carrots
-I use a small bag of baby carrots but any pealed carrot will work - cut to size you want.
- I steam my carrots in a double-boiler over med-high heat for about 6 minutes - I like them tender crisp - not soft.
- drain water from double-boiler and put steamed carrots in bottom pan
- add about 2-3 tsbp of maple syrup (the real stuff)
- toss to coat and rewarm is needed
- serve

I hope you try and enjoy some of these. For more great recipes, check out Favorite Ingrediet Fridays over at Overwhelmed With Joy.

Favorite Ingredient Friday - Fake Crab Dip

Ok this is a made up recipe - so please be aware that you may have to play with it a bit to make it how YOU like it.

You know that fake crab stuff? Sometimes called Sea legs or something like that? It is actually made from a fish called Pollock and just has crab flavoring and some food colouring added - anyway, back to the recipe.

Feel free to use real crab if you want, but I really hate that mushy stuff in the can so I just used this instead and since it is usually for a crowd, it is cheaper too.

• A package of fake crab - chop finely or just give it a whiz in the food processor - you want fine chop - not puree.
• 2 oz cream cheese - I have used flavored before - nuke it for about 15 sec to soften.
• 1 oz seafood sauce - you know the red sauce you dip your shrimp in? That stuff.
• Green onions - chopped fine - at least one - more if you like - oh and use ALL the white part - that is were the flavor is.
• 2-3 tbsp - mayo - I use Miracle whip because that is all I buy but I am sure your mayo will work just as well.
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning salt, cayenne - whatever floats your boat.
• Couple shakes Worcestershire sauce.
• Couple shakes hot sauce - I use Frank's.
• Cooked salad shrimp - optional - I have used this if I had it on hand - chopped small
  

- So chop the fake crab (and shrimp if using)
- Nuke the cream cheese and then stir the seafood sauce into it
- add that to the chopped crab (or vise versa) and then add the remaining ingredients
- taste and see what it needs - if anything - be creative.

I serve this with crackers - I set a small dip knife in the dip and an assortment of crackers around the dip - I have never had leftovers so I guess it is a hit.

For more great recipes go to Overwhelmed With Joy!

Favorite Ingredient Friday - Hummus

I can't claim this as my own - I got it from my online friend Jean at the Frugal Foyer.

I love this stuff - I could eat it all day! I usually eat it with celery - my DH likes it with crackers.

Fat Free Hummus

• 3 c. cooked garbanzoa (chickpeas - I use one lg tin - rinsed)
  
• 3 cl. garlic or more
• 6 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayeene
• 3 tsp. cumin

Blend it all together in food processor or blender. Add water/bean liquid as needed to make right consistency. Like a dip. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you want you can add some tahini or sesame oil (I never have).

For more Favorite Ingredients - pop over to Overwhelmed With Joy!