recipe review: slow cooker beef stroganoff

I grew up eating beef stroganoff, and I love it.  My mom used to make it year round, even though it is sort of a cold weather dish, and I never complained.  If you ask me, it's got a few basic ingredients that I keep on hand most of the time because they happen to be delicious!  

I decided to look around for a slow cooker recipe for beef stroganoff a while back (because slow cookers rock!) and I ended up combining a bunch of recipes into one because I couldn't find one that suited me.  I'm a purist, I don't think beef stroganoff should be made from a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I think the flavor should come from the beef and the mushrooms, not some sodium filled metal container.  

So here goes, my take on beef stroganoff in a slow cooker.  

Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff

8 servings

6 Points Plus 

(no noodles or rice included in that number, track separately)

1 1/2 pounds of trimmed stew beef, such as a round cut, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups of (hot) water

1 beef bouillon cube

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup finely minced onions

2 cloves finely minced garlic

2 cups or an 8 ounce package of sliced white button mushrooms

salt and pepper

8 ounces light sour cream

Start off by mixing the hot water with the cornstarch and bouillon cube.  You can do this over the stove, or just be lazy like me and microwave the water and mix it in the measuring cup.  It works fine either way.  

Combine the cut up beef, liquid mixture, onions, garlic, mushrooms, and Dijon mustard in the slow cooker.  Add salt and pepper, but don't worry about adding too much because you can adjust the flavor at the end.  Turn the slow cooker on low heat for six to eight hours.  

(After six hours the flavors will be developed, but the meat will still be in soft chunks.  After eight hours the flavors will be developed and the meat will begin to fall apart more, like a shredded beef.)

Check the mixture near the end of cooking, you may want to skim off and fat that is sitting on the top.  Depending on which meat I use, I find myself skimming a lot or not at all.  

Just before serving, add the 8 ounces (that's only 1/2 of an average container) of light sour cream.  Heat the mixture, adjust the salt and pepper to your liking, and serve!  

I serve mine over egg noodles, which adds an additional 5 points plus to the meal.  I know other people use rice or simply serve it with bread.  The choices is yours, but just remember that the 6 points plus is for 1/8 of the meat and sauce mixture, about a half cup or a hefty ladle full.  

Also, and I know a lot of people think it's gross, but I top mine with diced dill pickles.  It adds a nice and salty crunch as you dig in.  

It's a simple recipe and you can play around with it however you'd like.  You can use fat free half and half instead of the sour cream or substitute baby portobello mushrooms (sometimes called Baby Bellas) instead of white mushrooms.  Some people add worchestire sauce instead of the Dijon mustard, and others use flour instead of cornstarch.  I've tried it all different ways, but I've never found a style I didn't like.  I'm just sharing my favorite version, and also the simplest version I've found.  

recipe review: grilled beef taglaita, rucola, and parmigiano-reggiano with aged balsamico condimento

I face a lot of challenges when cooking, and one of the biggest ones is finding things that my boyfriend eats happily and I can enjoy without blowing all of my points.  I'm always on the lookout for recipes that fit this criteria!  

One of my favorite parts of being a Weight Watchers is that I can eat just about anything that I'd like.  One of my second favorite things about being a Weight Watcher is the online tool called the Recipe Builder.  Both of these statements are part of the recipe that I'm about to share with you.  

I've shared a recipe from the Mozza cookbook before, but it was extremely basic.  You can read it here.  

This is a new recipe, but don't let the fancy name fool you!  It's just a really amazing and marinated skirt steak.  Simple, easy, and probably one of the most delicious things I've eating in a long time.  

Is there a word stronger than delicious?  Scrumptious?  Amazing?  Delectable?  Yah, those.  

Grilled Beef Tagliata, rucola, and Parmigiano-reggiano with aged Balsamico Condimento

about 1 cup of salad and 3 ounces of meat per serving

serves 8

8 Points Plus

For the salad dressing:

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

1/2 extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Start the day before with your prep work, it's really simple!  For the salad dressing, combine the shallots, lemon juice, and vinegar in a bowl and allow them to sit and marry for about five minutes.  Whisk in the olive oil and season to taste.  This salad dressing lasts about three days according to the book, but I've used it for up to a week after making it and I love it!  

For the steak marinade:

2 pounds trimmed skirt steak

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves or needles

8 whole garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In your food processor, combine the vinegar, rosemary, and garlic.  Pulse until rosemary is finely chopped, then add in the olive oil and pulse until everything is combined well.  After you've made sure that the steak is trimmed and the "silver skin" has been removed, you can put the steak into a covered shallow dish or a plastic zippered bag with the marinade.  Allow this to sit overnight in the refrigerator (recipe says one hour minimum).  

For the assembly:

4 ounces freshly shaved parmigiano regiano

8 cups of fresh arugula

the salad dressing you made a few days ago

salt and pepper

aged balsamico condimento (this stuff is delicious and syrup-like)

Bring the steak out of the fridge and to room temperature.  Heat up an indoor grill pan or outdoor barbeque to high heat.  Remove the steaks from the marinade and throw the marinade away.  Salt and pepper the meat well and place it on the grill to sear it.  About 5-6 minutes per side should give you a medium-rare steak, but it all depends on the thickness as well.  Place the steaks on a cutting board to rest while you assemble the salad.  

For the salad, begin by shaving the parmigiano regiano if you haven't already.  You can use a mandoline if you have one, or just use a vegetable peeler if you're like me!  Toss the arugula with the salad dressing that you've made (about 8 tablespoons of it, which is about all of it) and assemble the salad dressing stacked with the parmigiano.  

Slice the steaks diagonally against the grain into 1/2 inch thick slices and use the knife to slide the steak slices onto the plate in a fan like arrangement next to the arugula salad.  Drizzle the steaks with the balsamico condimento and serve.  

Here's a snapshot from the cookbook:

By the way, this is an amazingly great recipe for cold leftovers!  If you'd like to have it later in the week as a salad, just make sure that you don't dress all of the arugula with the dressing.  Then, throw the arugula and steak into a travel container and when you're ready to eat it it, toss everything with the vinaigrette and enjoy!  

recipe review: banana nut oatmeal

There was once a period in my life that I ate oatmeal every single day: it was when my mom went back to work and my poor father was in charge of feeding his snotty daughter breakfast every day.  I love my father, but the man cannot cook anything that does't come out of the microwave or off of the grill.  You want a steak?  He's your man.  You want mom's cheese eggs or toad-in-a-hole?  Well, good luck with that.  

My father gave me some options for breakfast: cold cereal, packets of oatmeal, or Pop Tarts.  

Alas, my love for Pop Tarts came later.  

But then I grew away from oatmeal, far, far away from it.  I hated it.  Couldn't stand it.  

Then, recently, I've re-discovered my love of oatmeal, but it took a little help from some of my Twitter friends and some well placed oatmeal additions.  

@whitgetsfit mentioned adding banana to oatmeal, then nuts, and all of a sudden I was enjoying BANANA NUT OATMEAL!  Yummy!  So here is my simple take on it, only four ingredients (five if you want to sweeten it up!).  

'Nana Nut Oatmeal

4 servings

5 points plus each if you track individually

7 points plus if you put it into the recipe builder

You pick, but I know what I'm doing!

1 cup steel cut oats (I used the Fresh & Easy store brand)

4 cups of water

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Splenda (optional, to taste)

Bring the water to a boil in a medium sauce pan, then dump in the oats.  Drop the heat to low or medium low.  

Keep checking on it and stirring.  

It should take about 20 minutes to get really good and cooked.  

Dump in the two chopped bananas, chopped pecans, and the optional Splenda.  

Stir it up, check for seasoning, and enjoy!  

By the way, I place this into individual baggies and freeze them laying flat.  Then I can just grab one when I'm on the go and take it to work with me for breakfast.  As an added bonus, it keeps my lunch cold on the way to work!  Score!  

recipe review: mozza basic tomato sauce

I don't know if you're like me, but I like easy meals.  I also like healthy meals that I have control over.  This poses a problem in a lot of areas of cooking.  For example, spaghetti sauce.  

Sure, I can buy Prego (my favorite) and throw together dinner in just a few minutes with some noodles and ground turkey or beef.  That's a great dinner, and one that my non-Weight Watching boyfriend will enjoy.  To him, this is not diet food.  For me, it's usually a 10 Points Plus dinner, and I usually add a salad or some soup in to round out the vegetables.  

But have you ever scoped out the back of the Prego jar?  Well I have, I'll share.  Prego is made by Campbells, a trusted American brand.  Luckily, they post everything!  So here you go: Ingredients in Prego Traditional Sauce

Tomato puree and diced tomatoes aren't bad, but the sugar and dehydrated onions and garlic slow me down.  I understand that the citric acid and natural flavorings aren't going to kill me, but some times I'd just like the real thing, not a flavoring.  

Just about the time that I was doubting my beloved Prego sauce, I received The Mozza Cookbook as a Christmas gift.  What a treat!  It's the answer to all things Italian!  What's that?  How do I make this?  Where in the world would I find one of those?  

I've sticky tabbed all over this book, and I've tested out a few recipes like their amazing Lemon Vinaigrette!  But now, I have to share their Basic Tomato Sauce.  Prego, meet your nemesis.  

Basic Tomato Sauce

makes 2 quarts, approximately 8 cups

8 servings
3 Points Plus

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced (about 2 cups)

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or slivered

1/2 medium carrot, peeled and shredded (about 1/2 cup)

3 tablespoons fresh thyme

2 28 ounce cans whole peeled plum tomatoes, and their juices (San Marzano is recommended)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper; cook, stirring often, until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until softened but not browned, 1-2 minutes. Add carrot and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrot is soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often to break up tomatoes, until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.  Set a food mill over a large bowl. Pass sauce through food mill for the best texture (or purée sauce in a food processor). Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. 

This sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool completely, cover, and chill (or store airtight and freeze for up to 6 months).

It's that simple!  Most of these ingredients you have at home, I simply had to go purchase two cans of tomatoes.  The sauce tasted extremely bright and fresh to me, no sugar or preservatives here!  The added bonus is that instead of 4 Points Plus per cup of sauce (Prego), it is only 3 Points Plus per cup of sauce.  It isn't a huge difference, but it is full of good stuff.  That's a good reason to use it more often.  I'm not going to get rid of my Prego, believe me, Mr. Full Fat loves it too much.  

I'll just switch it out every once in a while for my Mozza sauce!  

recipe review: cherry cheesecakes

I made these a few weekends ago for a potluck and they were a hit!  No one realized they had come from Weight Watchers, and they gobbled them up.  The only thing that was a bigger hit was my Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they're 3 Points Plus per cookie, and simply not as filling or satisfying as these mini cheesecakes.  

I highly recommend that you make these for your next family gathering, office party, or just for you and your friends!  

Cherry Cheesecakes

3 Points Plus

makes 12 servings

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (this is about 1/2 of a sleeve of graham crackers)

2 tbsp of light butter

2/3 cup low fat cream cheese

6 tbsp fat free cream cheese

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup lite pie filling, cherry

Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into bottom of each liner and press down gently; refrigerate until ready to use.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat both types of cream cheese until fluffy. Add lemon juice, egg whites, vanilla extract and sugar; beat until smooth.

Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into muffin liners; bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Top each cheesecake with 1 tablespoon cherry pie filling. Yields 1 cheesecake per serving.

You will have extra pie filling, so I put it into a plastic bag, removed the excess air and threw it in the freezer for the next time that I make this.  

I couldn't find light butter or fat free cream cheese, so I had to make due with "full fat" butter and all low fat cream cheese.  This added one Points Plus, bringing the total treat to four Points Plus but to be honest, it was still worth it!  I felt like I was eating something I definitely shouldn't have been, and the egg whites make the treat sort of light and fluffy!