Tag: beef

Ryan Cooks PW Recipe 2

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For my second Pioneer Woman recipe, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes: Beef Stroganoff.

  • Name of Recipe: Beef Stroganoff
  • Cookbook: Dinnertime
  • TV Episode: Kitchen Confessional: Dinner Through the Decades (Season 10, Episode 4)
  • Rating: 1.75 out of 5

As someone who did not grow up eating a lot of red meat, beef stroganoff was not something I can really remember having as a child or even a teenager. I fell in love with beef stroganoff a number of years ago when my best friend made it for dinner for us. He claims that the recipe is from his grandmother, but he leaves out certain ingredients such as mushrooms since he doesn’t like them. Needless to say, this has been the version I’ve been making for a few years.

Until I stumbled upon Ree’s recipe. Featured in her cookbook, Dinnertime! this recipe looks amazing and it is super simple.

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Recipe #13: Weeknight Bolognese

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Featured in How Easy Is That?

In the headnotes to the recipe, Ina says (and I’m paraphrasing) that everyone needs a quick, easy, and flavorful sauce recipe. And after trying her Weeknight Bolognese I think I’ve found it!

This recipe was super simple. It reminded me of the “old Ina” (which is the Ina I knew and loved before I started this blog) meaning that I always found her recipes to be easy. This sauce recipe came together in a little over 30 minutes but it tastes as though it cooked all day. It also seems adaptable enough to increase the amount made or to omit the beef to make a true marinara-style sauce.

The flavor in this recipe is the real hidden secret.

There are so many layers of flavor in this sauce. I never thought nutmeg in an Italian sauce would taste so good. That is just one of many different flavors. Since I did not have crushed red pepper flakes, I did a quick Google search to try to find something else. I substituted chili powder and I think it only intensified the flavor. Red pepper flakes aside, this recipes uses a lot of black pepper. Which seems to be a theme in Ina’s savory recipes.

Add in some heavy cream, oregano, basil leaves, and red wine and this sauce will surely be a winner for you as well!

I think this one needs to go on the Favorites Lists!

Excuse the messy bowl. This was taken right before I sat down for my second helping! Yes, I forgot to take one before eating my first serving…..forgive me. I’m trying to remember to take them and make them look halfway decent!

Recipe #9 – Ultimate Beef Stew

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From Modern Comfort Food, page 104.

With the release of Ina’s latest cookbook last Tuesday, I knew that this week’s cooking HAD to feature a recipe from it. So, I decided on a classic: Ultimate Beef Stew.

Let me first say, that I am not usually a fan of beef in any capacity except a hamburger. I’m not really sure why. I guess it’s a texture thing for me. Like, I don’t think I’ve had a steak in like 6 years and even then it was while I was in college and had chicken-fried steak once a month.

So why would I make a beef stew as the first recipe out of the new cookbook?

Well, we already had the beef in the freezer, so my wallet got to keep some of its money. Also, the photos of the recipe in the cookbook are so enticing that I just had to make it.

And let me tell you: I wasn’t disappointed!

While the recipe did take longer to prepare than I thought because of all of the chopping and prep work, it was worth it! The stew cooks in the oven for over two hours, which allows the meat to cook properly without getting dried out. Both the meat and vegetables were so tender when it was ready.

There were some things about this recipe that I didn’t like. First, it would take quite some time to prep alone. I would say before you even put it in the oven, you need a good hour to an hour and a half to cut everything and cook what’s needed on the stovetop. Also, like many of Ina’s recipes, the stew had a strong pepper taste throughout. And I only seasoned the amount she recommended when she recommended to do so. In fact, it was so peppery that my nose started to run!

Eating the leftovers the next day did take out some of the overabundant pepper taste, which was great for me.

Overall, this recipe was a hearty one-pot meal that surprisingly had fewer dishes than expected.