Recipe for Beef Stroganoff

This recipe is an altered version of Paula Deen's Beef Stroganoff. Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds cubed round steak, cut into thin strips (or stew meat)

All-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 can vegetable broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2-3/4 Can water (mushroom can)
1 cup chianti wine

1/2 Packet Sazon seasonings

Rub for the meat: Compose a small dish with salt, pepper, garlic powder (4x as much salt than the rest of the spices)

DIRECTIONS:
-Season the steak strips with the rub, then dust with flour.
-In a large skillet on medium, medium/high (I used a ceramic pot) add butter and oil
-Add meat and brown on all sides
-Remove the meat from the pan
-Add the onion slices and mushrooms to the pan drippings and saute for a few minutes, until the onion is tender.
-Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour more
-Put the steak back into the pan with the onion and mushrooms
-Deglaze the pot with the Chianti until half the liquid evaporates
-Add the mushroom soup, broth, water 1/2 cup first (add more if needed later) and sazon seasoning
-Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered (or until meat is tender)
-Serve over cooked noodles.

Recipe for Steak Sandwiches

Chris was home for the first Hurricane Football game so I wanted to make something special and manly. I made what Chris calls a Melly Steak Sandwich :) I made cheese fries to go along. This recipe was super simple and tasty. It served 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 green bell pepper
1/3 medium onion
1/3 package onions (I buy whole & chop myself)
2 bakery subs
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 pound beef round steak/flip steak (it was sliced thin, I used 1/3 pound-kinda small)
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Heat oil in a skillet over medium to medium high heat
-Add peppers and onions and saute until the onions are almost translucent
-Add mushrooms and cook until browned
-Remove veggies and place in a bowl
-Using the same skilled, cook the steak a little less than your desired doneness (thin steak cooks fast)
-Assemble the sandwich using 2 slices of cheese on each & put in the oven for 5 minutes or until bread is toasty looking and cheese is melted.

Recipe for Chicken & Shrimp Paella

Last weekend some of the other Indians wives and I went to dinner to celebrate a birthday and had so much fun we decided to have dinner together more often and rotate cooks. One of the other wives and I were hanging out a few days ago and were checking out the menu from a Spanish restaurant nearby her apartment and drooled over the prospect of having paella. Naturally we scheduled our first dinner and put paella on the menu! Tonight was the night so we went to the West Side Market this aftenoon for some fresh chicken, shrimp and veggies and went home to cook. The paella was delicious and none remained after dinner so I've decided the recipe is post worthy. It served 6 ladies.

INGREDIENTS:
7 chicken thighs - bone in and skin on
1/3 pound cooked shrimp - medium sized
1 1/2 cups saffron rice
2 cups Swanson less sodium chicken stock
1/2 can of diced tomatoes-no salt added (14.5oz can)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
1/2 small red pepper
1/2 small orange pepper
1/2 small green pepper
8 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon
Vegetable oil (or olive oil for taste)

DIRECTIONS:
-Heat approx 2 tbsp oil large skillet over medium-high heat to get the skilled hot
-Add chicken skin side down and brown 4 minutes
-Flip chicken and brown 2 minutes on the bottom side
-Add onions and garlic to the skillet and cook 3 more minutes
-Add rice to the skillet and stir to get rice coated with oil and juices
-Let the rice brown a little (stir as necessary)
-Add the diced tomatoes and a good amount of liquid from the can
-Allow to cook for a minute or two and do not stir often
-Add chicken stock
-Turn heat to medium-low and simmer covered (add salt if desired now or add later)
-In the meantime, heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan over medium-low heat to saute the peppers
-Saute the peppers until cooked but firm
-Check on the paella after 15 minutes or so to make sure there's enough liquid to cook the rice (if not, add more chicken stock)
-When the rice is almost finished, stir in the cooked shrimp, frozen peas and sauted peppers and re-cover until the rice is finsihed-approx 5 minutes (if the rice is already finished, then remove the skillet from the heat and let the paella flavors mix and cook by the steam from within)
-Leave covered until ready to serve and before serving, squeeze half the lemon over the paella
-Place a few lemon wedges or slices over the paella and serve!

*Note: Will likely need salting-I added some salt when I cooked the rice but it needed more when served-do not oversalt while cooking. We salted as necessary ourselves when eating.

Recipe For Penne Alla Vodka

This recipe is an altered version of Rachel Ray's You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta recipe. Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cloves garlic minced
1 whole shallot minced
28oz crushed tomatoes
1 cup vodka (not the cheap stuff)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves
1 lb penne or your favorite pasta
*Optional - add grilled / rotisserie chicken

DIRECTIONS:
-Heat large saucepan over low-medium heat
-Add butter, oil, garlic, shallots & cook until you can smell the aroma, approx 3-5min (brown slightly)
-Add vodka to the pan and reduce the amount to half, approx 3-5 min
-Add chicken broth and crushed tomatoes
-Return the sauce to a bubble and then reduce it to a simmer
-Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
-Let simmer for 45 min for the sauce to thicken and blend
-Add the heavy cream starting with 1/2 cup first and add more depending on desired creaminess/color and bring back to a simmer.
-Remove from heat
-When serving, top with some fresh basil leaves.

*Note: I did not have the heavy cream on hand last time and used 2% milk instead. I brought it to room temperature first. While the sauce was not as creamy it was still thick and delish!