Recipes – Page 21 – The Pajama Chef

Beef Stroganoff #bookclubcookbookcc

October 26, 2015December 14, 2015 Sarah

Tender strips of beef are sauteed with mushrooms and butter, then tossed in a creamy sauce and served over egg noodles for the ultimate family meal… comfort food at its finest!

When I think of family meals, beef stroganoff is one of THE meals that come to mind. Growing up, my mom served beef stroganoff fairly often and I’ve had it a time or two at friends’ houses also. Though it’s not the most glamourous dish, there’s no denying that it is delicious. If you aren’t familiar with the deliciousness that is beef stroganoff, all you need to know is beef + mushrooms + onions + sour cream = amazingness. Sour cream haters like my husband still love this dish because the sour cream is just used to thicken and add creaminess to the stock-based gravy. And though I am not a fan of traditional gravy, in this dish I love it! The mushrooms help too. 🙂

There are many versions of beef stroganoff [and like the name suggests it has a Russian heritage], and I’ve read in a cookbook before that this became a popular dish in the post WWII era. In some ways it reminds me of other classic family dishes from that era like Swedish meatballs, porcupine meatballs, or even meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Can you really go wrong with a meaty dish served with rice or noodles and a creamy sauce? No, I didn’t think so. 🙂 Comfort food heaven! If you need any further confirmation that beef stroganoff is a comfort food thing, look no further than the Hamburger Helper aisle at the grocery store. If they have a version, you know it’s a thing! [I’ve never tried that version but I have no doubt that mine is better!]

Though we regularly eat beef stroganoff at home, I made this batch special for this month’s edition of #bookclubcookbookcc, a cooking project I’m a part of this year. This month, Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm was our hostess and she selected Julia Glass’ Three Junes. Though I didn’t make a recipe discussed in the book OR Wendy’s suggested recipe [a very delicious looking white chocolate pumpkin mousse]. I was inspired by the numerous family meals that accompanied events in the life of one family over [you guessed it] three Junes. And what better way to celebrate family than with a delicious family meal? I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did. Though this isn’t the beef stroganoff I grew up with [I still need to make and share that recipe], this version of beef stroganoff is so good and is sure to be a family favorite! Don’t forget to scroll down past the recipe for the giveaway. You could win a copy of the The Book Club Cookbook so you can join us in this project in the future, if you wish!

one year ago: Pumpkin Quinoa Oatmeal Bake
two years ago: Skinny Southwest Chicken Dip
three years ago: Mexican Rollups
four years ago: Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
five years ago: Asian Chicken Bowls

Beef Stroganoff

Servings: 6
Time: 60 minutes
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from Jenna’s Everything Blog

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips
freshly ground black pepper
16 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 1/3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar [or light brown with a splash of molasses]
2/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
handful of parsley, minced
cooked egg noodles, for serving

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. While oil is heating up, cut beef into bite-size chunks and season with pepper. Working in two batches, brown each side of the beef [about 3 minutes per side]. Beef doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through. When done, place in a bowl and set aside. Add a little more oil halfway through if necessary.

Next, add mushrooms and onion to the pan along with a little more oil. Cook until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Whisk in flour and tomato paste. Stir constantly for 30 seconds, then slowly pour in chicken broth. Add the brown sugar and the reserved beef. Stir together and reduce heat to low, then simmer uncovered for 30-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook 16 ounces of egg noodles according to package directions. When simmer time is done, stir in sour cream, lemon juice, and parsley. Serve over noodles. Enjoy!!

Giveaway

This month Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm, this month’s host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers – US and Canada only! – can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from October 1st till October 31st at 4 o’clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: Wendy received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Coconut Oil Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 22, 2015October 21, 2015 Sarah

Perfectly soft, chewy dark chocolate chip cookies… made with coconut oil for a little extra deliciousness. 🙂

Can I let you in on a secret? I don’t really like making cookies. In fact, I find it kind of… tedious nowadays. I feel bad saying that, because I have such great memories baking cookies throughout the years with my mom, sister, and grandma, with friends and roommates, even with Ben. I think it might be more enjoyable with someone else, so you can share the measuring and mixing, scooping and rolling, and even the cleaning if you’re lucky. But when you do it all alone, it’s ALL on you. It’s not that making the dough or rolling it out or baking it is hard exactly, but it’s a constant dance of getting everything in the oven and cooked the perfect amount without burning anything, then waiting for the cookie sheets to cool before putting more dough on. On and on it goes. So much work!

That being said, I find it funny that so many people would rather bake cookies over anything else. I’m happy to make muffins or cake or pie or cookie bars any day but asking me to bake [and/or GASP decorate] a bunch of cookies for something makes me freak out. Weird, I know. I will never be that person showing up at a bake sale with impeccably decorated cookies. Oh well.

You might think it’s strange that I’m rambling on about how I don’t really like making cookies… while I’m sharing a COOKIE RECIPE. Geeze, not good endorsement there. Ha! And yes, maybe that is a bit weird. But truthfully, these cookies are worth the trouble and the fuss! They’re worth every bit of that measuring and scooping and rolling and tedious baking process. They’re soft and chewy, with just a hint of coconut goodness, especially when freshly baked. Plus, if you don’t want to bake all the cookies at once, you can freeze the dough balls and pop them out to bake on a random Thursday afternoon for no good reason at all. Something fun to pull out of the freezer, me thinks. 🙂 I hope you love ’em as much as I do!

one year ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
two years ago: Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal Cookies
three years ago: 30 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
four years ago: Pumpkin Biscuits
five years ago: Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Coconut Oil Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 32 small cookies or 16 larger cookies
Time: 30 minutes + time to chill
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from Leelalicious

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature [consistency of softened butter]
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or coconut extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

With a mixer, cream together coconut oil, sugars, egg, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy–about 3 minutes. Add flour, cornstarch, and baking soda, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into balls–about 32 small balls or 16 larger balls. When chilled, dough will be hard to roll so do this first! Then place on a baking sheet or plate, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. At this point, you can either bake the cookies or freeze for later.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place dough on a lined baking sheet [with a silpat or parchment paper], then bake for 9-10 minutes until edges are just set. Do not overbake! Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or enjoy right away!

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes

SRC: Crockpot Barbacoa

October 18, 2015December 14, 2015 Sarah

Try this easy crockpot barbacoa for your next taco night! It sure tastes great. 🙂

It was a little surprising that I picked this recipe for this month’s edition of the Secret Recipe Club. Sure, I love Mexican food. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has ever met me. The surprising part is that I don’t think I’ve ever had barbacoa, except in one or two bite tastes from my husband’s Chipotle burrito. What can I say? Pork or chicken or even–GASP–vegetarian > beef almost allll of the time in my life. But when I was selecting a recipe to make this month from Sashi’s blog, Get off the Couch and Cook, I was feeling like pulling my crockpot out of hibernation. Sashi has tons of other great recipes on her blog, but I must have been in a savory mood when perusing her blog because everything I seriously considered making was a dinner recipe! Hoisin Pulled Pork, Bean and Potato Tacos, Slow Cooked Pulled Pork… they all sounded amazing, as did the barbacoa. And honestly, I planned to make Sashi’s pulled pork, but the grocery store foiled me! There was nary a big hunk ‘o pork in sight, so beef it was. 🙂

I have to admit, that when reading SRC posts I don’t always click over to the original recipe but if you have a sense of humor, you should definitely read Sashi’s barbacoa post. It is hilarious! Especially the part about how she likes her meat… err, men. 😉 I think Sashi and I would get along well, especially since her husband sounds a lot like mine–he even contributes to her blog, OTT style, and his nickname on the blog is Mr. Onion-Hater! Ben hates onions too, though I think his tolerance of them is a wee bit higher. She doesn’t live all that far away, relatively, as I’m in Nashville and she’s in the Atlanta area. Fun times!

But anyway, back to the beef! This crockpot barbacoa isn’t exactly authentic since it’s cooked indoors in the crockpot [hence the name] instead of over an open fire, but it sure is easy and tasty! The only changes I made to Sashi’s original recipe was to reduce the amount of spice with the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I used two to her four, and that was plenty spicy for me. No burn but enough heat. This was a great meal to make on a lazy Saturday to enjoy during a football game. True to Chipotle, I served our barbacoa in soft tortillas with cilantro lime rice, guac, and loads of toppings. I know this will be a repeat meal at our house, and we’ll be devouring the leftovers for dayyys! Hope you try this out too! 🙂

one year ago: Pumpkin Bagels
two years ago: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Frosting
three years ago: Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce
four years ago: Pumpkin Brownies
five years ago: Cran-Tan-Oat Scones

Crockpot Barbacoa

Servings: 8
Time: 8 hours
Print

from Get off the Couch and Cook

Ingredients:

3-4 pound beef chuck roast
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup lime juice [about 2 limes]
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
freshly ground black pepper
tortillas, for serving
rice, for serving [stir in some lime juice, chopped cilantro, butter, and a little garlic after the rice is cooked for a cilantro lime rice knockoff]
lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole/avocados, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc. for topping as desired

Directions:

Place the beef chuck roast in the bottom of a large crockpot. Pour chicken broth, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar over beef. Spread chipotle peppers and garlic on beef, then sprinkle with oregano, cumin, cloves, and freshly ground black pepper. Use the back of a spoon to rub seasoning into meat, then cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

When beef is fully cooked, remove from crockpot and place on a large rimmed baking sheet or dish. Trim fat as necessary, then shred with two forks. Return meat back to crockpot and stir to redistribute the juices.

Serve barbacoa in tortillas with rice and other desired toppings. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out other recipes from the SRC this week here:

Breads, Recipes

Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

September 28, 2015September 16, 2017 Sarah

Soft, fluffy cinnamon sugar swirl bread made with fall’s favorite flavor–pumpkin! This bread is utterly fabulous!

Happy Monday, guys! I have a treat for you. At least, I hope it’s a treat. Do you love homemade bread? I love homemade bread. Especially in the fall. Is there anything better than that yeasty, sweet smell filling the house as bread bakes on a cold day? I can’t think of much else that I love more, except the result: getting to enjoy slice after slice of that fresh, homemade bread. Mmm!

Cinnamon swirl bread has long been my favorite treat. When I was a little girl, it was a huge treat to buy a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread at the grocery store. As I got older, I experimented with making it myself. A few years ago I went through a phase of making it twice per month–a loaf a week. Those were the good ole days! BTW I can’t believe I haven’t shared my all-time favorite whole wheat cinnamon swirl bread recipe yet. Ooops! These days I don’t seem to make time for that, but this fall I know I’ll be making time to make batch after batch of this PUMPKIN cinnamon swirl bread! It’s soft and fluffy; the perfect project for a lazy weekend afternoon at home.

Ben and I have enjoyed this bread in many different ways–toasted with butter and pumpkin butter for breakfast, with a smear of peanut butter for a snack, and just plain sometimes too. But add butter–any kind–and you are in for a gigantic treat! 🙂 Next time I want to try this for french toast. Now THAT would be fancy. 🙂 I hope you get to try this bread soon. I know you’ll LOVE it as much as we did!

one year ago: Chipotle Mustard Pork Chops
two years ago: Sweet ‘n Spicy Apple BBQ Chicken & Slaw
three years ago: Peach Ginger Pie
four years ago: Honey-Lime Fruit Salad
five years ago: Rebel Banana Bread

Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Servings: 2 loaves
Time: 4 hours
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from Cookie Monster Cooking

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water – about 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons instant yeast
2/3 cup warm milk – about 110 degrees F
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
4 cups bread flour – 508 grams
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour – 312.5 grams

for swirl

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add water and yeast. Whisk to combine. Stir in milk, eggs, pumpkin, oil, brown sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. With the dough hook on the mixer, add in half of the bread flour and mix on low to combine, then add remaining bread flour. With mixer running, gradually add the all-purpose flour. Mix on low for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Shape dough into a ball and place in bowl. Turn to coat, then cover with a tea towel. Let rise for about one hour, until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and transfer to a floured countertop. Divide dough in half, then roll in a 9×11 inch rectangle. Butter each rectangle with softened butter, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over butter. Roll up each rectangle into a log, starting with the short end. Pinch the long seam and the ends to seal the dough.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray, then place dough in pans. Cover pans with tea towels, then set aside and let rise for 30-45 minutes, until dough has topped the edge of the pans.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When dough has risen, bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. If you insert a thermometer in the middle, temperature should read 190 degrees F. When tapped, dough should sound hollow. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

SRC: Cantucci (Almond Biscotti)

September 20, 2015September 19, 2015 Sarah

Sweet, nutty, crisp almond biscotti is a wonderful fall treat. Biscotti always looks so fancy, but only requires a handful of ingredients and comes together in a snap! A great fall treat.

This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to a lovely, exotic blog filled with recipes from across the globe! Choosing a recipe from Manu’s Menu was a tough assignment! Manu, an Italian-native lives in Australia with her Indian husband and their adorable children. Did you catch all those countries and all that cuisine? Italy, Australia, India… Manu’s recipes comes from literally ALL over the world–from her homeland(s) and her travels. So fun. Her photography is gorgeous and every recipe seems authentic, delicious, and do-able for any home cook. I’m not sure how she manages this but I’m so impressed. I thought about making tons of recipes, like her Artichoke Frittata, these cute Kitten Chocolate Cookies, Tahini Honey Roasted Cashews, or this refreshing Moroccan Mint Tea. Ultimately [as I usually do when stressed out about making a SRC recipe choice], I consulted Ben and he thought biscotti sounded like a good choice. So biscotti it is… 🙂

I think biscotti was a great choice from Manu’s blog. What’s more Italian than crunchy cookies to dip in coffee? But while reading Manu’s blog post with her recipe for biscotti, I learned some interesting facts that I just had to share with you! First of all, what we think of as biscotti is actually called cantucci to signify that they are twice baked. All cookies in Italy are called biscotti [plural, singular is biscotto]. Confusing, right? And traditionally, cantucci are dipped not in coffee but in sweet wine! Huh. I mentioned this to Ben and he was like, hmmm, a new sort of communion? Haha! I hope that’s not too sacrilegious to say online but it was just too funny not to share. 🙂 I can’t attest to how these taste dipped in wine, but in coffee… let me just say they are FABULOUS!

These almond biscotti, err--cantucci–are sweet, crunchy, and a lovely treat to make even a weekday morning more special. I love it whenever we have biscotti on hand, since they last for a couple weeks on the counter and also freeze well. #treatsfordays Thanks, Manu, for a great recipe! Enjoy!

one year ago: Baked Blueberry Pork Egg Rolls
two years ago: Autumnal Muffins
three years ago: Iced Tea with Ginger-Mint Simple Syrup
four years ago: Honey Fig Scones
five years ago: Citrus Tilapia

Cantucci (Almond Biscotti)

Servings: 48
Time: 90 minutes
Print

from Manu’s Menu

Ingredients:

10.5 ounces whole almonds – or a generous 1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 eggs
10.5 ounces sugar
5.25 ounces butter, melted
2 cups/500 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond extract [or vanilla]
egg and milk, for brushing – optional

Directions:

Toast almonds in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 3-4 minutes, or on the stovetop. Or you can take the easy way out and buy toasted and sliced almonds like me. 🙂 Set aside, and leave oven on. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

Then, place eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with whisk attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in melted butter, then slowly beat in flour and baking powder with paddle attachment on low speed. Fold in almond extract and toasted almonds.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and gently knead dough to form a ball. Dough will be sticky, so flour your hands too. Divide dough into two equal parts, then roll each ball into a long log and place on prepared baking sheet. Brush with an egg/milk mixture, if desired. I forgot to do this!

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the top is just getting golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for about 20 minutes, then slice into thin strips and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Reduce oven temperature to 340 degrees F, then bake for 20 minutes or until crisp on each side, flipping halfway through.

Cool completely, then eat by dipping in beverage of choice–coffee, milk, tea, or cocoa. Mmm!

For more great Secret Recipe Club recipes, check out the link below!