Whenever mushrooms are in abundance in my fridge, I have two go-to recipes – Two Mushroom Risotto and Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff.  Both use a good pile of the mushrooms up and are enjoyed by everyone.  In fact, one of my beloved’s favourite dishes is Beef Stroganoff, so it’s always one that is met with an even bigger smile than usual.

Pre-slow cooker days (the dim and dark past), this recipe was cooked just ahead of eating.  Nowadays, it’s a slow cooker favourite – put it on in the morning and leave it to bubble and brew along all day.  Using the slow cooker means that cheaper cuts of meat can be used too.

The stroganoff is best served with lots of yummy long pasta – spaghetti or fettucine.  It is also great with rice and an extra dollop of sour cream never goes astray.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2kg chuck or round steak, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

500g mushrooms, sliced

300ml sour cream

Method

Dust the beef in flour, shaking off any excess.  Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and cook one batch of beef.  Be careful not to overcrowd the pan and ‘stew’ the meat, rather than frying it.  Cook the rest of the beef in batches and place it all in the slow cooker.

Add all the remaining ingredients, except the sour cream.  Cover and cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8 hours.

In the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir through the sour cream and season to taste.  Serve with pasta noodles or rice.

Serves 6-8

The Klutzy Cook Notes

These quantities are for a large slow cooker – 4.5 or 5.5 litres.  I have also halved this quantity and done it in a smaller slow cooker and it works just as well.

Happy New Year! It’s been a while since I last posted but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. On the contrary there’s been plenty of culinary delights being prepared and so lot’s of new recipes to share.

The Christmas/New Year break whizzed past and it has been an exciting time for us. Not just because of all the seasonal festivities, but we’ve sold a business, bought a caravan (we’re off travelling in about 6 weeks) and are in the throes of buying a new car (we now need a REALLY big one to tow the van). Plus, with school holidays in full swing there has been lots of playing, crafting, movie watching, swimming and visiting going on. It has truly been a great start to the year.

Anyway, on to the Quick Beef Goulash recipe. This is a great speedy recipe that I’ve made many times and is always well received. It has all the traditional goulash flavours but can be made in minutes. Don’t forget the dollop of sour cream to top it off – yum!

Quick Beef Goulash

Recipe from Super Food Ideas

Quick Beef Goulash

Ingredients

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
500g rump steak, cut into strips
1 brown onion, thinly sliced
200g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tablespoon ground paprika
400g can condensed tomato soup
400g can diced tomatoes
Parsley, chopped, to serve
Sour cream, to serve

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in frying pan over high heat. Add half of the rump and cook quickly, stir frying, for 3 minutes or until well browned. Set aside and repeat with remaining meat.

Reduce heat to medium and heat remaining oil. Add onions and mushrooms. Cook until tender – about 5 minutes, and then add paprika. Cook stirring for 1 minute.

Add soup and tomatoes, stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Return beef and juices to the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes or until heated through. Season to taste.

Serve over steamed rice (I used brown rice), sprinkle with parsley and add a dollop of sour cream.

Beef Stroganoff is an old family favourite, so when I recently saw a recipe for Chicken Stroganoff, it was definitely a recipe that had to be tried.  It was also very timely as there were quite a few mushrooms from the markets to use up.  Unsurprisingly, it didn’t disappoint.

Whenever a recipe calls for cream (such as in this Stroganoff), my ‘healthy’ substitute is always light evaporated milk.  While for purists it may alter the dish, I find the end result is more than satisfactory and with quite a few less calories and fats to worry about.

Chicken Stroganoff

Adapted from Australian Good Food

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients

2 tablespoons plain flour
500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm chunks
1tablespoon olive oil
20g butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
250g button mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove crushed
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken stock
185ml light evaporated milk
½ cup light sour cream

Method

Heat oil in fry pan.  Dust chicken in flour and add to pan in batches.  Cook until golden and set aside.

Melt butter in same pan.  Add onion and cook gently until soft, approximately 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and garlic.  Cook until the mushrooms are golden and their liquid has evaporated.

Add wine to mushroom mixture and stir to deglaze the pan.  Simmer for 2 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half.  Add stock and simmer for a further 3 minutes.

Return chicken to the pan.  Add the milk, bring to the boil and then reduce heat.  Allow mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

Remove from heat and stir through the sour cream.  Serve on a bed of rice and sprinkle parsley over the top.

If you have any comments or questions regarding this recipe, please leave them below.

Well it might seem an obvious statement but this fabulous risotto uses two different types of mushrooms – shitake and regular button mushrooms.  It is the shitake mushrooms that are the star of the dish as they add a wonderful depth of flavor, thanks to not only the mushrooms, but the juices from soaking them as well.

This risotto recipe is a regular for our family as we often get an abundance of button mushrooms from the Markets.  Using them in a risotto manages to lower the stock levels nicely and to be honest, most other ways I serve mushrooms usually gets greeted with screwed up noses (by the three little people).   Piling lots of parmesan on before serving also ensures quite a bit of it will get eaten.

The recipe is adapted from Rice & Risotto– a gorgeous book that covers rice recipes from all over the world, sweet and savoury.  It has wonderful pictures, easy to follow recipes and a great information section covering all the basic ingredients and techniques required to cook rice dishes.

Two Mushroom Risotto

Adapted from Rice & Risotto by Christine Ingram

Two Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

25g dried shitake mushrooms (a little more or less won’t hurt)
1 ½ cups warm water
1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Place the shitake mushrooms in a bowl and pour over the warm water.  Cover and allow to soak for at least 40 minutes.

Soaking Dried Shitake Mushrooms

Remove the mushrooms from the water and set aside.  Combine the soaking water and chicken stock in a large fry pan and heat to a simmering point ready for addition to the rice.

In a separate bowl toss the button mushrooms with the lemon juice.  In fry pan, heat the butter and add the button mushroom.  Fry them gently over a low heat until they begin to brown and give up their juices.  Stir through the parsley over the heat then transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in the saucepan and sauté the onion until soft.  Add the rice and stir constantly for a few minutes to ensure the grains are well coated in oil (Click to learn the basics of How to Make Risotto).

Stir in all the mushrooms and add the wine.  Cook while stirring until all the wine has been absorbed.  Add the stock one ladle at a time.  Stir regularly and ensure each addition of stock is absorbed before adding the next.

Cooking the Risotto

When all the stock has been absorbed, stir through the parmesan and season to taste.  Serve with extra parmesan shavings on top.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Dried Shitake Mushrooms can be purchased at some regular supermarkets (in Asian section) and Asian supermarkets.
• Any risotto rice can be used as a substitute for Arborio.

While I have only used shitake and button mushrooms, feel free to experiment with others.  Please leave any suggestions on what mushroom combinations to use below.

Pasta is always a favourite option for my family and this Tuna, Mushroom and Pinenut Pasta didn’t disappoint.

When cooking pasta dishes, it’s great how you can make a fantastic dish from a few simple pantry ingredients. Or you can choose a more complex dish incorporating a wider range of ingredients. Either way, when I say it’s pasta for dinner, there is no communal groan or whining, which is always nice.

There are a few variations of tuna pasta that I regularly make and this recipe has been added to the list. It’s a delicious combination of flavours in a creamy sauce (which you can easily make low fat).

Tuna, Mushroom and Pinenut Pasta

Tuna, Mushroom & Pinenut Pasta

Ingredients

½ cup pinenuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
300g mushrooms, thinly sliced
2/3 cup light evaporated milk
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
500g dried fettucine
425g can tuna in springwater, drained, flaked
¼ cup parsley, chopped

Method

Heat a small frying pan over low heat. Add the pine nuts and toast gently for a few minutes until lightly golden brown. Watch them carefully to ensure they don’t burn. Set aside to cool.

Toasting the Pinenuts

Cook pasta according to packet directions until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook stirring often, for 5-6 minutes or until they are tender.

Combine milk, cream cheese and mustard in a jug and add to the pan. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.

Once pasta is cooked, drain well and return to the saucepan. Add mushroom sauce and tuna to the pasta and toss over a low heat until heated through. Remove from the heat. Add pinenuts, parsley and season to taste. Toss to combine. Serve.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Pouring cream could be substituted for the evaporated milk.
• The cream cheese could be replaced with Greek style yoghurt.

If you have any questions or comments about this recipe, please feel free to leave them below.