Beef Stroganoff

 Forget about the dish being difficult. I took a recipe & put in some short-cuts to make it quicker and easier.

1 1/2 - 2 pounds of beef chunks.
(I used stew meat. It's already chunked into bite size pieces.)
4 oz. can of mushrooms (you can omit the mushrooms if you do not like them.)
1 10oz can french onion soup
1 c. sour cream
3 c. cooked noodles

In a large skillet brown beef chunks with olive oil. After meat is browned, add mushrooms. Stir in french onion soup. Bring to a boil the Set to Simmer for 30 minutes. Until broth thickens. Remove from heat and gradually stir in sour cream.

Cook noodles according to package directions, until tender.

This is a delicious recipe that you can easily make to feed a whole family, just one person or substitute ingredients for a lower calorie dish. Use lite or fat free sour cream, light french onion soup and whole wheat noodles.

I always serve with a vegetable and a tossed salad.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies have always been a nemesis of mine. They either come out  hard, flat, fluffy or bland. No matter what recipe I used. The back of the chip bag or a family recipe. I botched it up...I blame the air pressure, yeah. That's it.
So I set out and research every ingredient in the chocolate chip cookie & what it's purpose is and some ingredients and why they are NOT in this traditional cookie.

My husband walks into the kitchen one evening, lured there by the smells of chocolate chip baking, I assume. He spies the photocopied "back of the chip bag" recipe with my scribbles all over it.
"What's this?" He asks.
I say, nonchalantly,"I did some changes to the chocolate chip recipe & I'm seeing how it works."
He looks closer at my altered concoction."This is what it's come to? Chocolate chip cookies recipe isn't perfect enough for you?" He says with a sideways glance at me.
I can see him chuckling, the bugger. He teases but I saw him grab a cooled cookie on the way out of the kitchen.
I'm onto him.

Here is my altered cookie. I hope you like it as much as I do.
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 ounce chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Add flour baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time mixing well. Slowly add in flour mixture to butter & sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. use a regular spoon to scope the dough & drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

It's a little harder to see if chocolate cookies are browning because they are already so dark. I look at the top center part of the cookie. Once it looks dry remove the cookie from the over & let sit on the pan to cool.

 Serve with hot chocolate for a chocolate overload!

Or with milk for you traditionalists!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Man oh man, I can remember coming home from school on a cold and snowy day and opening the door to the smells of beef stew that has been in the slow cooker for hours. MMMMM......so good. This recipe is pretty easy. It's really understanding the level which different food cook. Like meat and potatoes takes longer to cook then celery. Here, let me show you. Below is a photo of my ingredients.

1 pound of beef cut into bite size chunks. 4 or 5 potatoes (depending on their size), french onion soup 2 10 once cans. celery, baby carrots & corn. I use green beans too but I didn't have any for this one.


I put a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan & brown the meat. Don't cook it all the way through. Just brown it some on either side.

Pour the 2 cans of french onion soup into the slow cooker & put the cooker on high. Add the browned meat & cut up the potatoes into bite size pieces. Put the lid on & stir occasionally for the next 3-4 hours or until the meat is cooked & the potatoes are tender. I do season the meat with black pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. Not too much, you want the natural flavors of all the ingredients to show through.


Then add the celery, baby carrots and corn. cut up the celery into small pieces. Turn slow cooker to low & stir occasionally over the next 2 hours. By now, you should be able to smell the awesome goodness of this meal everywhere in your house. Your neighbors might even be knocking on your door.

Use a ladle or a large spoon to serve the stew. Leave on low so it stays warm. You will have many going back for seconds I can assure you.

Serve with homemade bread or rolls. Tell everyone it took you 6 hours to make it. Just don't mention you spend 4 of those hours on Facebook.

Pineapple & Ginger Snap Cookie Sundae

A combination I would never have thought of if when I unpacked the groceries I didn't place them next to each other on the counter. Hmmmm....I wonder. I searched the web looking for someone...anyone who had combined these two flavors together & survived to tell about it. But, alas, I could find none. So with the wind at my back & caution tossed carelessly out the door I reached for a pan. A pan to sear my fresh pineapple with, dear. For canned....it will not do.

I cut up a handful of gingersnap cookies. They are a hard cookie so breaking them up is a "snap" with a mallet or a sharp knife. Scoop a few spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream on top.

Brown the pineapple a bit on each side & remove from heat. Cut up right away and place on ice cream. Server immediately! The hot pineapple will melt the ice cream fast!

It is so delicious. I think there might be some leftover in the fride. Yes. I believe there is. OK, I'll see you tomorrow folks, I must wrap with up. (grabs a spoon & heads toward the kitchen.)

Hot Dog its Hot Dogs!

Hot dogs are great over a campfire but these lean beefy goodness are not just for summer fun! I rolled out crescent dough that I bought in the dairy section in the tube. Place a slice of provolone then the hot dog & roll. Wide side to tip. Like the photo!

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet & bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Until tops start to brown.

You can you ball park franks, beef dogs, turkey dogs, fat free dogs. Whatever you desire.

I steamed broccoli & served with a romaine lettuce tossed salad. Yum! It was a big hit. Prep time was 10 minutes and baking time was 10 minutes. EASY!  Message me if you have any comment or suggestions. I would love to hear from you.