Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

Today's post is a scrumptious recipe for Beef Stroganoff! Be advised...this is not very healthy!

If you remember, I mentioned in my "March goals" post just a few days ago that I wanted to make a Beef Stroganoff recipe. Well, I ended up not making the Paula Dean recipe and instead, I made my mother-in-law's recipe! When TJ and I got married, my mom put together a cookbook for us that contained a few recipes each from my mom, my grandmother, my mother-in-law, cousins, etc. It was a wonderful gift and I still refer to it all the time (and try to add things to it rather than always looking up the recipe online).

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, one of the recipes inside this cookbook was my mother-in-law's Beef Stroganoff. TJ and I have been married for 9 years, and I had never made it! Honestly I should be ashamed. There are quite a few things in there I've never made. Perhaps that should be a new goal...

Sorry! Got a little off track there! This beef stroganoff was easy and also tasty. TJ's reaction, though, was better than anything else. He said it is one of his favorites. I didn't take any pictures along the way, but you have the final outcome above!

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef

1 white onion

2 8-oz. cans of tomato sauce

6 oz. of sour cream

4 oz. cream cheese, room temp

8 oz. wide noodles

Shredded cheddar cheese

Chop your onion and brown with the ground beef. Add some pepper while cooking. Drain, then add the tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly and allow this to simmer.

In a separate pot, boil your wide noodles.

After the meat mixture has simmered and noodles are almost done, add the cream cheese and sour cream to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly. Drain noodles once they are complete.

Layer meat mixture and noodles in a 9x13 glass pan. Top with shredded cheddar. Bake at 350* for approximately 25 minutes. 

Serve with vegetables.

Cook's Notes: Next time, I may sub Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. I would also like to try this with mushrooms but I will likely let Mr. Teej decide. Either way, we'll be having this again!

Definitely let me know if you try this, and what you think!
Happy Hump Day, everyone! 

Recipe: Tex-Mex Meatloaf

Today I bring you a recipe for "Tex-Mex Meatloaf," which is just a twist on traditional meatloaf. I will say this - it had been years since I made this, mostly because I'd forgotten about it. I served with black beans, but also wished I'd had some yellow rice or cornbread as another side.

Let's get started! You will need:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 can of corn, drained

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup of oats (or a handful, up to you)

1.5 cups of salsa

2 eggs

1/4 tablespoon of salt

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients together as if you were making regular meatloaf, reserving 1/2 cup of salsa. Put in pan or baking dish and put the remaining salsa on top (as you might w/ketchup on regular meatloaf). Top with a light amount of shredded cheese (optional). Bake for 50-60 minutes.

I wanted to share are a few notes...
This meatloaf, made "as-is" above, has a little less "kick" than TJ and I prefer. We just felt like it was missing something. Here are some ideas I have for next time:
-using "hotter" salsa
-adding a can of chopped green chiles
-adding enchilada sauce to the top
-adding a small amount of chili powder to the meat mixture

If you try it, I hope you love it!
What's in your recipe box? Do you have a recipe for Tex-Mex meatloaf that you can share?

Light and refreshing: Summer Fruit Salad

 Doesn't that look delicious?!
If not for this fruit salad, I'd still be going through life thinking of fruit salad as grapes, crushed pineapple with tons of juice, bananas, and marshmallows...you know, the fruit salad you'd find at a hot, summer family reunion. Thus, I'd tell you that NO, I did not like fruit salad!
BUT!
This one is so fresh, colorful and tasty, I feel the need to tell you about it! I wanted to share it because I know many of you are into health and fitness and trying to eat well (most of the time...there's always a time for a delicious chocolate cake or something)!

You will need the following:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Pineapple
  (There were no fresh pineapples & this was probably easier anyway)

Wanna know a secret?

When shopping for these ingredients...I realized I had NO IDEA what I was looking for in a mango. I was too embarrassed to ask so I just walked around till I found it! ha

Also, if you aren't sure how to peel a kiwi (I wasn't), this is an excellent demo:

Now, this is super simple -- just wash and chop up all your fruits (except blueberries) to the size you most prefer, mix together, and chill. SO EASY! 

It's worth noting...I only used one kiwi, but I think next time I will use two. I will also use a little less mango. You can vary the amount of the fruits based on your personal preferences!

You can eat the fruit as is, or you can make yourself a little parfait, like I did.

I used two big tablespoons of Chobani on top of the fruit, and 1/8 of a cup of the granola. Based on the ingredients I entered on MyFitnessPal, I estimate this little cup (above) was ~160 calories.

In the spirit of honesty, I cannot take full credit for this recipe. The first time I had this fruit salad was following a BarreAmped class, when one of our clients (Brigitte Nguyen) brought this in for us as a quick, healthy snack. She added a delicious homemade coconut granola, but I have yet to make that.

If you make this yummy fruit salad, I hope you love it!
I have a feeling it will become a summer staple in my house!