17 kids, two moms and some beef stroganoff ;)

This day could have gone down hill fast. It began with check ups and booster shots for the three youngest of my children. Why does my husband never take them for shots?? We had this discussion for the umpteenth time at the kitchen island this morning as I prepared to leave for the pediatrician. ( Hey I know umpteenth is not a real word, leave me alone, three kids with holes in them remember?  I get some leeway today  ;)  Let me take a moment to tell you that I am married to the most amazing man, scratch that , the most amazing human being I have ever met. He is the dad I always wanted, the husband I dreamed of (but never thought existed) and the best friend I have ever had.  These fantastimagical qualities aside (that is my sons word, therefore it is real, and off limits to criticism, so says my mommy heart) my husband avoids being present anytime our children have any kind of painful shot or procedure like plague. When our sons were circumcised he fled as though chased by flames. He has only taken one child for one shot in our 19.5 years as parents. ONE. So I loaded up my kids and my ever present short end of the shots stick and headed out the door.  This time, however, I was armed with some powerful anti shot pain ju ju.  We had plans to spend the day with another large family that we love.  The anticipation of that fun seemed to act as an anesthetic, because not one of those children cried or complained at all about their shots! Score one for mom! And yes in my head I am sticking my tongue out at my non shot watching husband, because I is an adult ;)

We left the pediatrician, gathered the rest of the kids from home and down the road we drove. Between us this friend and I have 17 children. Both of our husbands were working so it was just the moms and kids today. I am not sure what that picture looks like in peoples heads, but I can assure you in real life it is quite wonderful. Everyone has someone their age to play with. They all get along and interact with kindness and joy.  All 17 of our kids have been homeschooled. There is something unique about all of the homeschool children (including my own) that I have met. Because they are not separated physically into grades and classrooms they don't have any qualms about interacting with those not their age. It doesn't occur to them that its not cool for a 12 year old to hang out with a 9 year old. I love watching that :)  We had a delicious lunch of homemade pizza and headed to their neighborhood pool (which we filled quite nicely lol).  My friend and I dangled our feet in the water and relaxed while we watched them all play and swim. Yes you can relax with 17 kids :) For us it's normal.  The day refreshed my soul and I am grateful for this friendship.

I wasn't sure I would get a chance to write again until Sunday as I will be working on a wedding cake for a few days, but I was quite relaxed and uplifted by todays fellowship so I decided to go ahead and get this post in.  

Today's recipe is Beef Stroganoff.  I am an unapologetic carnivore. I LOVE meat. Honestly I don't feel well when I don't eat meat. Plant based protein is lovely but won't hold me for long. There is nothing terribly fancy about Beef Strognaoff but it is amazingly good when made WITHOUT cream of mushroom soup.  Can we please just take a minute to talk about how much utter crap is in canned soups. Most contain msg among a long list of other questionable ingredients and a WHOPPING 870 mg of sodium per serving!!  Please use real ingredients whenever humanly possible. And yes I am saying that the gelatin like mass that oozes from a ridged can is not real food. Ok, let me tuck my soap box away and get back to the recipe ;)

Here is what we start with

You will need 

2 lbs of roast shaved (we will talk about why I didn't specify a cut in a moment)

4 tblsp butter

2 tblsp olive oil 

one medium onion chopped

8 ounces beef stock 

1 tsp spicy mustard

2 cans mushrooms well drained (use fresh if you can, but canned will work in this recipe, it was what I had on hand for dinner prep)

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup red wine

2tblsp corn starch 

enough water to make a slurry with the corn starch

salt and pepper to taste

Let's start with the meat. I buy whatever roast is on sale as long as it's not terribly marbled. Marbling is great for a lot of applications but not for this one. This week bottom round roast was on sale, so bottom round roast it was. If your meat department offers cutting services (and most do) take your roast  to the butcher counter and ask them to trim and shave the roast. They will take the fat patch off of the bottom and then take it to a deli slicer dedicated to the meat department and cut it with that rather than a knife. I always ask for it as thin as they can manage it. 

To begin, heat your butter and olive oil in a large cast iron skillet ( you can use any large skillet, I just love cast iron :) 

Add to that your chopped onion and cook until soft.

Next comes your mushrooms. You will want to make sure you brown them nicely to avoid the canned mushroom taste. If you are using fresh (obviously a better choice) be prepared for a little extra cooking time as they let go of a lot of liquid which delays browning. 

Time to add your meat! Take your shaved meat, a few strips at a time and cut with scissors into smaller pieces.  I use scissors for a lot of things in the kitchen because I just find it easier than knives. This may be because I went for years and years with no good knives lol  Old habits die hard. I also use gloves for a lot of raw meat prep simply because it makes life a little easier and less ickly ;)

Cook your meat thoroughly 

Now add your beef stock.  My family likes a heavy meat stroganoff but if you prefer more "gravy" you can double (or triple) your liquids (stock, and wine). 

Next your wine.  Lets talk just a moment about wine. I admit I don't drink wine but I cook with it frequently. Never, ever, ever use "cooking wine". It is disgusting.  I cook with drinkable wine. Whatever drinkable wine is on sale to be exact (large family considerations). I just ask the sommelier at my grocery store which wine offered on sale that week will have a good flavor for cooking. Avoid the twist tops and cardboard boxes please ;)  If you don't feel you will ever use a whole bottle most stores now offer small bottles or even pre filled individual serving glasses. This week I bought an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. It smelled quite lovely and added a wonderful flavor to my stroganoff. The bottle will last me for a while and was on sale for under $10.

Add your mustard and sour cream and simmer for about 30 minutes or longer if you have the time. This simmering coupled with the shaving is why you can use relatively tough cuts of meat and still have a nice tender end result. It also serves to cook off the intense wine flavor leaving a beautiful flavor.

Make a slurry of corn starch and water and add to your stroganoff to thicken it. 

Simmer for a few more minutes, add salt and pepper to taste and VIOLA!!! 

Ladle  over some egg noodles, or sautéed broccoli for those going low carb and enjoy!!

Of course we made fresh garlic parmesan knot rolls to go with ours :)  We are bread lovers and they are divine!  Oh! maybe the garlic knots recipe tomorrow !!  Good night all :)