Beef Stroganoff

 Feast & Famine, Recipes  No Responses »
Oct 112015
 

Chef Beef Stroganoff

Author Laura Karr shared a similar recipe in her book The Can Opener Gourmet. If you do much cooking with canned foods, you will really enjoy her book and it’s companion Pop It, Stir It, Fix It, Serve It: Can-Do Cooking.

Beef Stroganoff is Fred’s absolute favorite storage meal in the whole wide world. We serve it over rice, but you can serve it over cooked spaghetti or egg noodles instead. Also good on popovers, biscuits, mashed potatoes, or pretty much any cooked grain.

I always add a splash of wine to Beef Stroganoff because it masks the slightly gamey flavor of canned beef in gravy. You can leave it out if you like, or replace it with a teaspoon of vinegar or a splash of grape juice. Since this dish uses canned soup, it is not gluten free.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons butter or alternative of your choice
  • 8 ounce can mushrooms, drained
  • 2 (12-ounce) cans roast beef in gravy
  • 1 (10-ounce) can condensed mushroom soup
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons dry onion flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons dry white OR red wine OR sherry OR vermouth
  • About 1/2-cup sour cream OR homemade yogurt OR canned cream soured with lemon juice (see below)

Directions

First put the rice or noodles or grain on to cook. While your starch cooks prepare the stroganoff.

Melt the butter or other fat in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the drained mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms for about 5-minutes, or until lightly browned. This improves their texture. Add the roast beef in gravy, mushroom soup, dry onion and garlic powder. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes to heat everything completely and allow the flavors to mingle a bit. Stir in the wine. Simmer a couple of more minutes. Stir in the sour cream or alternative. Mix until creamy. Heat through and serve over rice or noodles.

To Sour Canned Cream: Shake a 7 or 8-ounce can of Nestle Table Cream briskly before opening it. Open the can; add 2-tablespoons of lemon juice or 2-packets of True Lemon (lemon juice crystals). Stir with a chopstick until the cream is thickened and sour. Stir about 1/2 of the can into the stroganoff. The remainder of the cream is good if you stir in a spoonful of brown sugar and spoon it over canned fruit. Yum!

To make a meal serve rice or noodles, Beef Stroganoff, peas and carrots and fruit cocktail.

Menu: Fiesta Lime Beef Stew

 Feast & Famine, Gluten Free & Dairy Free, Recipes  4 Responses »
Feb 222015
 

 

~MENU~

Fiesta Lime Beef Stew

Polenta

Garlic Spinach

Pineapple

Iced Tea, Lemonade or Fruit Drink

 

TEX MEXZesty flavors make this Tex-Mex Meal a family favorite. Fiesta Lime Beef in a spicy sauce is spooned over creamy Polenta. Garlic Spinach and cooling pineapple serve side dish duty. Nutritious, filling and family-friendly, this pantry meal proves that stored food meals can be just as appetizing as any family meal.

Polenta

Polenta is an upscale name for low-brow cornmeal mush. It’s cheap, filling, and tastes like home.

Bag 1
  • 1-1/2 cups cornmeal
  • 1/2 to 1-teaspoon salt (to taste)
Pantry
  • 2 tablespoons butter flavored shortening or dairy-free margarine
Water
  • 32-ounces (4 cups)
To Store

Combine the cornmeal and salt in a zipper bag or other resealable container. Stash in the meal box along with the water.

To Prepare

Combine the water and the contents of Bag 1 in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir until the mixture is lump-free. Add the shortening or margarine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible flame. Cook and stir for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the polenta is very thick.

Coat a 9-inch square or round pan with shortening or no-stick spray. Pour the hot polenta into the pan. Set it aside to cool. Cut into 12 squares or wedges and serve topped with Fiesta Lime Beef Stew.

Notes

Start the polenta first, before you start the stew. After the polenta is prepared and set aside to cool, fill the pot with water so it will be easier to wash later. Then start the Fiesta Lime Beef Stew. If you try to make the polenta and stew at the same time it gets tricky to manage them both and the polenta will burn when you’re not looking.

It’s important to stir the polenta frequently while it cooks because it has a tendency to stick to the pan, especially towards the end of cooking. Years ago polenta was prepared in the top of a double boiler and allowed to simmer on the back of the stove for several hours, until it was thick and creamy. This cooking method is great if you have a wood burning cookstove, but if you’re making due with a 2-burner propane stove, then long cooking in a double boiler becomes impracticable. I usually make polenta in my heaviest cast iron pot, which seems to be the least likely to scorch if I get called away to investigate a fascinating new bug identified by a wandering child. If you have a good helper, put them to work stirring the polenta while you go on to the Fiesta Lime Beef Stew.

Fiesta Lime Beef Stew

Hot, tangy and bursting with lime, this stew may be a bit too spicy for small children. Teenagers and adults, however, love it! Serve over wedges of polenta made from cornmeal for a traditional presentation.

Canned Goods
  • 2 (12-ounce) cans roast beef in broth, undrained
  • 1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes with cilantro and lime, undrained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can corn, no salt added, well drained
Bag 1
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime flavor
  • 1 tablespoon dry minced onion
Lime WedgeTo Store

Gather the canned goods and place them in your meal box. Measure all of the ingredients for Bag 1 into a small zipper bag or other resealable container. Stash it in the meal box along with the cans.

To Prepare

Open all of the cans. Drain the juice from the roast beef into a 3-quart saucepan. Set the beef aside. Add the contents of Bag 1 and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Drain the corn, discarding the liquid. Add the remaining beef, tomatoes with cilantro and lime and the drained corn to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened. Serve over wedges of polenta.

Notes

The polenta is cut into squares or wedges and placed in the bottom of each plate or bowl. Scoop the stew over top and serve with a spoon.

Garlic Spinach

Canned GoodsCanned Spinach
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans spinach or other greens
Bag 1
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Pinch black pepper
Pantry
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
To Store

Place both cans in your meal box. Combine the contents of Bag 1 in a small zipper bag. Label and stash in the meal box along with the spinach

To Prepare

Open up both cans of greens and pour into a medium sized saucepan. Add the contents of Bag 1, the olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until quite hot.

Pineapple

Canned Goods
  • 20 ounce can crushed pineapple
To Store & Prepare

Stash the pineapple in your meal box. When ready to serve simply open the can and spoon it out. The pineapple provides a cooling component to the heat of the stew.

Beverage

  • 2-quarts to 1-gallon of water
  • Your Favorite Instant Drink Mix

Determine if you will need 2-quarts or a full gallon of water to feed your crew. Measure enough Lemonade Mix or Instant Iced Tea or even kool-aid and sugar, to make the amount you need. If you prefer something sugar free like Crystal Light, that’s fine too. Store it in a zipper bag. Label it and place it in your meal box along with everything else. Stored water has a flat flavor, so your meal will be more appealing if you flavor the water you serve.

I like to serve either Tang or Lemonade with this meal, because the citrus complements the rest of the flavors.

Menu: Coconut Curry Beef Stew

 Feast & Famine, Gluten Free & Dairy Free, Recipes  No Responses »
Feb 222015
 

 

~MENU~

Kerala Coconut Curry Beef Stew

Hot Fluffy Rice

Sunburst Apricots

Iced Tea, Lemonade or Fruit Drink

 

IndiaCreamy, spicy Kerala-style Beef Stew is served over bowls of hot, fluffy rice. Sunburst Apricots, with a hint of citrus, contrast brilliantly with the stew. This is one of those meals that always makes people wonder how something so sophisticated from come from canned goods. By the way, if you don’t want to bother with the apricots simply serve canned peaches instead.

I use Great Value canned roast beef (in broth) for this recipe. As far as I can tell, it is free of both gluten and dairy. Canned roast beef in gravy is not gluten-free. It uses wheat to thicken the gravy. Roast beef canned in broth is not thickened, thus, no wheat or other starches.

Kerala Coconut Curry Beef Stew

Traditionally this is prepared with goat or lamb, but these are a bit challenging to find in a can at the local supermarket. I’ve substituted canned roast beef, and the results are quite tasty. My husband is especially fond of this combination.

Canned Goods
  • 2 (12-ounce) cans roast beef in broth, undrained
  • 1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk
  • 1 (15-ounce) can sliced carrots, drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can sliced potatoes, drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) jar baby onions, drained
Bag 1
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons dry parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground red pepper
Beef StewTo Store

Place all of the cans in your meal box. Measure the ingredients for Bag 1 into a small zipper bag or other resealable container. Stash it in the box with the cans.

To Prepare

Open all of the cans. Do drain the carrots, potatoes and onions. If possible rinse the potatoes and carrots in fresh water. If that’s not possible, then don’t worry about it. Drain the juice from both cans of beef into a 3-quart saucepan. Add the contents of Bag 1. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the beef, coconut milk, carrots, potatoes and onions. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently. When the mixture boils, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Notes

While the stew is simmering you may prepare the instant rice. They should both be ready to eat at about the same time. If you are cooking regular white rice instead of instant, then prepare the rice first, before starting on the beef stew. It will be ready about the same time as the stew this way.

When I first prepared this meal my family was skeptical. I described it as coconut beef stew and, to be honest, they were faintly alarmed. To them beef stew was something prepared by Dinty Moore and served with wedges of cornbread. The idea of dumping a bunch of coconut into it and serving it over rice was less than appetizing. I begged from them a bit of grace and the results have been one of my family’s favorite storage meals. This is not simply beef stew with a bunch of coconut added. It’s a sophisticated and creamy combination of flavors that tastes like good restaurant food, not weird beef stew with coconut added. As my husband says, you can’t really taste the coconut, just the creaminess.

In my opinion, the baby onions really make this dish, so if I were going to leave something out, it wouldn’t be the onions.

If you like spicy foods then use 1/2-teaspoon of red pepper flakes. If you prefer mild fare, or are serving this to small children then use 1/8 to 1/4-teaspoon red pepper flakes.

Hot Fluffy Rice

Bag 1

4 cups instant white rice

Water

32-ounces (4 cups) water

To Store

Measure the rice and place it in a zipper bag or plastic tub with a good lid. Place it in the meal box along with the bottled water.

To Prepare

In a 2-quart saucepan with a good lid, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice. Return the water to a boil. Cover the pot. Turn off the flame. If possible wrap the hot pot in a towel or blanket. Allow it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes (or longer if necessary). Use as desired. Makes about 8 cups of cooked rice.

Sunshine Apricots

Sweet, tangy and bursting with flavor, Sunshine Apricots are the perfect foil to creamy and spicy Kerala Beef Stew.

Dry Goods
  • 1 (6 or 8 ounce) package dried apricots
  • 1 tablespoon powdered Tang or Lemonade or 1 or 2 packets True Lemon or True Orange (or 1 of each)
Water
  • 16-ounces (2 cups) water
To Store

Place the apricot package into your meal box. Measure the Tang or Lemonade mix into a small bag. Label and seal. Add this, along with the water, to your meal box.

To Prepare

Place the apricots in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the water and the contents of the small bag. If possible, do this early in the day and allow the apricots to soak for several hours. If you can’t do this, don’t worry. But the cooking time will be a little longer.

Bring the apricots and their flavored water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and allow them to simmer until tender. If the apricots are well soaked this will be about 5 minutes. If they are dry then it may take up to 20 minutes. You can save fuel by simmering for 5 to 10 minutes, then covering the pot and wrapping it in a towel or blanket to keep it hot. Allow them to soak in the hot water for 30 minutes to an hour.

Notes

Any leftover cooking liquid can be added to the iced tea or fruit drink that you’re serving with dinner. If you don’t want to bother with Sunshine Apricots then you can replace them with a simple can of peaches, packed in fruit juice. If desired, cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces before serving, or just serve them straight from the can. The juice from the can is especially nice added to Iced Tea.

Beverage

  • 2-quarts to 1-gallon of water
  • Your Favorite Instant Drink Mix

Determine if you will need 2-quarts or a full gallon of water to feed your crew. Measure enough Lemonade Mix or Instant Iced Tea or even kool-aid and sugar, to make the amount you need. If you prefer something sugar free like Crystal Light, that’s fine too. Store it in a zipper bag. Label it and place it in your meal box along with everything else. Stored water has a flat flavor, so your meal will be more appealing if you flavor the water you serve.

If you store wine-in-a-box, then consider serving wine to the adults with this meal.

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