Beef Stroganoff

done3Have you ever wondered what you can do with left over steak from your fabulous weekend of grilling?  I know I don’t care for plain reheated steak, because as good as steak is right off the grill, to me, it has a funny taste in the microwave or even in the oven.  So, I came up with some creative ways to reuse it, not least of which is this amazing comfort food.  And with the steak already pre-made, you actually take half the work out of the meal!  It’s a win win.  Now I find myself making and saving a bit of extra steak to add into this creamy hearty meal.

The steak I use in this recipe is my Grilled Montreal Steak (about 8-10 oz) cooked to medium.  So, the steak is not only cooked, but seasoned.  Additional ingredients you will need are some sliced mushrooms which you can slice yourself as I did or buy pre-sliced (same price in the store, so save yourself the work!), some fresh herbs, onions, white wine, beef stock and sour cream.  And then I always like to ladle my stroganoff over some lovely buttered egg noodles, yum.

Before you get started, take your steak out of the fridge so it isn’t so cold when you need it.  Then grab yourself a nice big skillet, I am using a big 14″, but a 12″ will be fine too.  Then get your water salted and heated for to drop your noodles because this recipe doesn’t take long at all once you are prepped.

Here is my left over steak.

Here is my left over steak.

If you don’t have left over steak, of course you can still make this recipe, just grill up a steak and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Slice up the steak and set aside.

Start by dicing some onions and get them goin on the skillet over medium heat with some butter and olive oil.

Dice some onions and get them going on the skillet over medium heat with some butter and olive oil.

Prepare your mushrooms if you bought them whole like I did.  Brush off any residue from the growing and just cut nice even slices.  (But, like I said above,  you can save yourself this step by buying them pre-sliced)

Prepare your mushrooms if you bought them whole like I did. Brush off any residue from the growing and just cut nice even slices. (But, like I said above, you can save yourself this step by buying them pre-sliced)

Now add your mushrooms in with your onions in the skillet. Saute the two for a couple minutes (don’t add salt at this point)

Now crush one clove of garlic.  You can either just peel it an throw it in at this stage (then fish it out later) or you can mince it and leave it in... depends how much you like garlic, I mince it.

Now crush one clove of garlic. You can either just peel it and throw it in at this stage (then fish it out later) or you can mince it and leave it in… depends how much you like garlic, I mince it.

Chop up some thyme after removing from the stem and toss in the pan.  That's the last chopping you will need to do.

Chop up some thyme after removing from the stem and toss in the pan. That’s the last chopping you will need to do.

Grab some flour. About two heaping soup spoons should do it.

Spread the flour over the contents in your skillet and add a pinch of salt at this point. Mix in to cook the flour for about a minute.

Add in about a cup of dry white wine. Cook for a minute until it starts to come to a boil.

Now, add in one small can of beef stock. If you have homemade beef stock, great! Add in about a cup and a half… but, I didn’t have any on hand, so I took some help from my pantry.  Again, cook this stirring pretty frequently until it comes to a boil. Then turn your burner down and let thicken up a bit (4-5 mins).

Add in your beef at this point. Remember your beef is already cooked, so you are really just reheating in your gravy.

Add in a few dollops of sour cream and stir. Turn off your burner as soon as you have mixed in. Crack about 4-5 cracks of fresh cracked black pepper.  Taste for salt and you’re done.

Serve over egg noodles.

Serve over egg noodles, sprinkle with some fresh ripped parsley, an extra dollop of sour cream and enjoy with a nice glass of wine!

Recipe for Beef Stroganoff:

(Serves 4)

1 8-10 oz. grilled steak, sliced

1 cup sliced Baby Bella mushrooms (or white is fine too)

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove of garlic (either crushed or minced)

1 tsp. minced fresh thyme

1 cup dry white wine

1 small can of beef stock or 1 1/2 cups home-made beef stock

1 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. olive oil

3 Tbs. flour

5 Tbs. sour cream

4-5 cracks of fresh cracked black pepper

Kosher salt to taste

Fresh ripped parsley over top

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt in butter and add oil.  To this add onions, saute for a minute.  Add in mushrooms, saute for a few minutes.  Add in garlic, saute for one more minute. Add in thyme. Add in a pinch of salt and flour. Stir and cook for an additional minute.

Next, add in wine,  bring to a boil. Add in beef stock, bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Add in steak and sour cream.  Cook just long enough to heat steak through.  Shut off burner.  Taste for salt, add if needed.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Serve over warm buttered egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream in each plate and enjoy!

Chicken Mozambique Sandwich (Sanduíche de frango Moçambique)

main plate3If you are looking for something fun and exciting with a Portuguese twist for those Spring baseball games or just to enjoy with your family tonight for dinner.  Try this super easy and quick recipe for Chicken Mozambique Sandwiches!  While hot dogs and hamburgers definitely have their place all summer long, it won’t be long before they can become less than desirable.  Throw this in the mix and keep um guessing.

A good Mozambique sauce is a staple all year long.  Traditionally, Mozambique sauce is paired with shrimp, but it has proven to have great results with chicken.  Check it out and try it with whatever protein you would like.

onions

Start by slicing up a large onion. Traditionally, onions are minced for Mozambique, but since we are making a sandwich, I thought it would be extra yummy to have some nice onions on top of our sandwich. (If you are not a fan of onions, try not to leave them out, instead ether do it this way and remove later or mince and they will melt right in. You need the onion flavoring though.)

add butter

Saute the onions on medium in olive oil until they soften. Then add half a stick of butter.

garlic

Once the butter melts in, add minced garlic.

sazon

After about a minute or so, add in a packet of saffron seasoning. (If you don’t have saffron seasoning in your neck of the woods, just add in 6-8 tendrils of actual saffron and about a teaspoon of salt)

add sazon

This is what you should have.

sliced chicken

Slice two chicken breasts about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick.

add chicken

Add in the chicken… You want to coat all that yummy saffron seasoning directly on the chicken for just about a minute. (It’s a crazy color, right?)

glass of wine

Next, add in a glass of dry white wine. (about a cup… beer can be substituted here)

hot sauce2

Add in your favorite hot sauce, or whatever you have on hand, to taste… if you aren’t into spice, leave it out, no biggy, there is still a ton of flavor going on.

 

done

If you have some fresh parsley around, add some in… it’s not totally necessary, but I like it. Simmer for 5-8 mins and your done with the chicken part of this sandwich. If you want to serve this over rice, it’s super good!

I like to make a kind of aoli sauce to top my sandwich, here’s how I do it:

mayo

Measure about a half cup of mayo. (If you prefer a healthier option, you can use Greek yogurt here, gives if a bit of a tang)

add broth

Add in about half a cup of broth and wisk to combine

add garlic and hot sauce

Now we want to intensify some of the flavors we used. So add in about 1/2 t. garlic powder and some hot sauce. Wisk.

add paprika

Lastly, add in some paprika. This is Hungarian paprika, its got a spicy kick, whatever you have on hand works too.  And you’re done… If you have extra after the sandwich… Keep it! This would be really yummy over some fish or shrimp.

Now just a couple of preparations to build your sandwiches:

bread

Find some sub rolls.

cut bread

Cut down the middle using a serated knife.

 

 

toast

Toast up your sub roll with some butter.

swiss2

Slice up some Swiss cheese.

main plate1

Build your sandwiches by first placing in the cheese. Then add the piping hot chicken, don’t forget to grab some of those onions to place on top and then top with the sauce. And wala, you’re done!

Recipe for Chicken Mozambique Sandwich:

(Serves 4)

For the chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly

2 T. olive oil

1/2 stick butter

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 packet saffron seasoning

hot sauce to taste

For the sub sauce:

1/2 c. prepared mayonnaise (or Greek yogurt)

hot sauce to taste

1/2 t. garlic powder

pinch of paprika

For the Sandwich:

4 torpedo rolls or sub roll of your choice

1 t. butter

8 slices swiss cheese

Directions:

Chicken:

Saute onions until soft in olive oil over medium heat. Melt in butter.  Add in garlic, continue to saute one minute.  Add in saffron seasoning.  Add in chicken to coat with spices. Add in remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  (Wine should come to a boil)

Sub Sauce:

In a medium bowl add in 1/2 c. Mozambique broth with mayo, garlic powder, hot sauce and paprika.  Wisk.  Set aside.

Putting the sandwich together:

Toast the sub roll with butter.  Cut down the middle to allow for stuffing.  Layer cheese, chicken, onions (from the chicken recipe) and top with sub sauce.