Poorman's Beef Stroganoff

This is an invention of mine mostly because Al loves beef Stroganoff and used to get it at work. This is not in any way traditional but the taste profile is good, it is inexpensive and easy to make.  

Here in Florida I was not able to find a vital ingredient that I use at home. Knorr Homestyle Beef Stock. I substituted some British beef granules which worked very well. Basically you can be creative about how you make the brown gravy. You can use a jar or can of beef gravy or au jus mix. 

Ingredients:
1.5 pound of ground beef, cooked
1 medium onion cooked with the meat
2 cups of brown gravy
8 oz sour cream
1 tablespoon of Gravy Master
1 bag egg noodles

You will notice that I don't have mushrooms on my list. Fried mushrooms would be more traditional. I didn't have any so they won't show in my photos. 

Begin by frying the hamburger and the onions, drain off the fat. Remove the hamburger and onion and use the crispy bits on the bottom as part of your sauce. Make the gravy and whisk in the sour cream and the gravy master and add hamburger and onions back in.

Boil the noodles, drain and add to the sauce. 

Serve this Poorman's beef stroganoff and enjoy. A crispy salad works well with this meal. 

Ivy House Restaurant Williston, FL

The Ivy House Restaurant in Williston is in a very charming Victorian house.  

You just have to try the raspberry sweet tea or the raspberry lemonade. If you ask they will add some regular unsweetened tea to the raspberry to cut down on the sweetness. It is delicious, that is all I care to say.

The menu is southern-inspired. I love the fried green tomatoes. They are served with slightly spicy aioli and have the lightest, tastiest coating. Even though I know they are going to spoil my appetite, I have to have them.

The menu has lots of salads, sandwiches and full meals. The Krispy Chicken in a massive meal but just so darn good. I end up bringing more than half home but it tastes just as good warmed up. Al ordered the steak and it was cooked perfectly and served with a baked potato, small green salad, corn bread and yeasty roll. The Krispy chicken comes with veggies of the day, small salad, mac and cheese, yeasty roll and corn bread plus the delightfully crispy chicken which I assume uses Rice Krispies this the name Krispy Chicken.

On this last visit, we decided we needed to share the Praline Tulipe for dessert. It really is a dessert that needs to be shared. It is a praline cup with chocolate ganache, homemade praline ice cream, strawberries, whipped cream and sugared angel hair pasta sticking out of the top. It is very impressive, to say the least.

Our service was beyond good Even though our waitress had several tables of very demanding customers, she was a delight and we really enjoyed ourselves.

The prices here are very reasonable considering the size and quality of the meals. I am looking forward to trying dinner here but from what I gather it is not easy to get in since everyone knows how good the food is. 

 

Oven roasted cabbage steak

Cabbage is something that we normally eat with corned beef, in a boiled dinner, or as coleslaw. I never use it as a side dish, well never until I saw this recipe on Facebook for roasted cabbage steak. It caught my interest. So I went out and bought a cabbage and then tried to find the recipe on Facebook. Of course, I couldn't find it anywhere. So, I had to come up with my own version.

What you need:

1 cabbage

olive oil

salt and pepper

whatever spice appeals to you (I used a Parmesan and garlic spice)


Preheat oven to 400.


Slice the cabbage into rings like you would a pineapple. Make them at least an inch thick so that they can hold up to baking.




Place olive oil in the bottom of a sheet pan, I just brushed it on with my pastry brush. I then melted a tablespoon of Kerrygold Irish Butter with canola oil in it and brushed it one the top side of the cabbage. I added salt and pepper to the top.




I turned the cabbage over and after placing it on the cookie sheet, brushed the other side with the butter and added salt and pepper and the spice.




Place the cookie sheet in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes you need to flip the cabbage over. This is the hardest part, I broke up a few of the steaks but some flipped perfectly.


Cook the roasted cabbage steak for an additional 30 minutes.




I might like to cook my cabbage steaks even longer, the parts that got crunchy and golden brown were especially delicious.


I absolutely loved what roasting did to the taste of cabbage and I made my entire meal out of the cabbage, Al liked it as well. I highly recommend roasted cabbage steak. 


I am looking forward to making roasted cabbage steak again soon. I might even try it on the grill this summer with a veggie roasting tray.

FRaNK's Italian Restaurant Roanoke, Va.

If you happen to be staying in Roanoke and don’t feel like going out to dinner, Frank’s Italian Restaurant will deliver to your hotel. We were staying at the Holiday Inn on our first night after driving up from South Carolina and we decided that we preferred to eat in rather than try to find a place to eat.

We ordered a Caprese salad which is sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, olive oil and fresh basil and toasted bread. For our main course we decided to Create Our Own. You choose a type of pasta and then the sauce you want on it. It comes with salad and bread on request.

Al had the penne with meat sauce and I had fettuccine with garlic and oil. The meals were excellent, My only disappointment was that we requested the salad and bread and did not receive the salad. I assume that they thought that since we had ordered the Caprese we didn’t want the salad but I was pretty specific when we ordered. We would have eaten the salads one of the other days we were there. I didn’t call to complain, it just didn’t seem worth the effort but it did make what could have been a perfect meal somewhat less than perfect.

They have a full menu of Italian delights from pizza and calzones to lasagna and spicy chicken wings. The food was good and the portions were generous and delivery was within the time frame promised. If you like us just don’t feel like dining out, this is a very doable option. 

Little Joey's Pizza and Restaurant Ocala, Florida

Italian in one cuisine which is readily available in Ocala. Located on busy Route 200, Little Joey’s doesn’t jump out at you from its location in a strip mall. It is in the same plaza as Big Lot which makes it easier to locate. You will want to locate it. 

We were introduced to Little Joey’s by our sister-in-law Colleen on an earlier visit to Ocala. The fact that we are staying here longer this time gave us the opportunity to return several times.

On our first visit this stay, I order the Chicken Contanina which contains chicken sausage, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and balsamic vinegar.  It was a generous portion, my leftover was big enough for another meal and absolutely delicious. Meals are served with a green salad, side salad and bread and butter.

Al had rigatoni with meat sauce. It was one of the meatiest meat sauces I have ever seen and very tasty too. We were very pleased with our meal here. Pleased enough to come back two more times. 

One time we had a lunch special which was pork tenderloin. It was cooked like a cutlet and was fabulous. So fabulous that I ordered an extra one to take home for another meal. Our third visit was on a Friday and we tried the eggplant Parmesan. It was good eggplant, not great but none of it went to waste!!

Little Joey’s is certainly one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Ocala. The prices are very reasonable, more so than most of the other local restaurants close to us and the quality of the food and the size of the portions is outstanding. They are known for their pizza, I ordered a white pizza with ham, garlic  and pineapple and it smells so good, good crust too. 

This is one local restaurant that has expanded and there are outlets in some nearby towns as well. If you are going to be in Ocala and especially if you are on the southwest side, I highly recommend Little Joey's, you won't regret that decision. 

Choosing the best slow cooker

Whether you are replacing your old slow cooker or buying your first, there are several things to consider. When choosing the best slow cooker, you need to decide on size, features and how important brand recognition is to you. Start by doing your research. You'll also want to find the best bargain for the brand you choose.

Research

Assuming that you don't need your slow cooker for tonight's supper, doing some research will help you to make a good choice. Naturally, if yours just died and you have a meal planned, you may want to rush out to the nearest store and get a replacement.
 
If you have the time, hit the Internet and look at some product reviews. You want a machine that will perform well and last a reasonable amount of time.

Consumer Reports is a great site for finding the best unbiased reviews; it does however require that you register for a fee. There are also a number of free review sites to choose from, including Thoroughly Reviewed which lists the best slow cookers of 2015.

Size

Slow cookers come in different sizes and are typically either round or oval. The size of your family and the amount food you want to prepare will determine the size that will work best for you. The size of your kitchen and storage will also be determining factors. If you plan to use your slow cooker a lot, you probably need to have space on your counter top for it to stay. In a small kitchen this can be an issue.

After you do your research and decide on the brand that you prefer, it's time to make sure that they have one in the size and shape and even color that you want.

Features

A slow cooker is often the workhorse of the kitchen. While it can make great stews, soups and casseroles, if it has the right features, it can do a variety of other tasks for you as well.

If you're looking for just a simple slow cooker, it will be much less expensive and feature two, three or four settings for temperature. It won't do anything more, but it will make great slow-cooked dishes.

For a little more money you can get one that is programmable with an automatic start, and that will switch over to warm mode when it is done cooking. More advanced models have actual temperature settings allow you to cook at a specific temperature instead of low, high or warm.

One feature that is very handy is a liner that is removable so that you can clean it easily. If your slow cooker is easy to clean, you are much more likely to use it. Another feature that makes traveling with your slow cooker easier is a locking lid.

From breakfast to dessert, your slow cooker can help you easily produce the meals and snacks that your family loves even if you won't be at home all day. Your slow cooker can make all the difference between coming home to a great meal and having leftover pizza. Getting one that meets your needs and fits your space only takes a little research, and before long you'll be preparing healthy, hearty meals for your family even while you're away doing other things.