Super Man and the Beef Goulash

View Full Album

My husband may not be superman but he certainly is a super man and I am so thankful for him; his cooking abilities and his willingness to share them with our family! He certainly is a finer thing!

Last week I was trying to create a menu and wanted input as to what he would like to eat. He was not forthcoming with the help so I put him down in charge of a meal on Thursday (daddy’s culinary creation) but didn’t tell him. Well, he actually reads my blog and with a chuckle, he made dinner Thursday night! Now it may not look all that impressive but I’ll tell you: it was one of the tastiest meals I’ve had all month and I think I enjoyed it more than Thanksgiving (mentioned below!)

Beef Goulash

• 3lbs chuck roast (cut into cubes)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 chopped onions
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups of stock
• 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2  large red peppers chopped
• 1 1/2 large green pepper chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream (more for dollop-ing before eating)
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

1. Preheat to 30 deg. Dry beef thoroughly then salt ad pepper to taste. Heat oil in ovenproof Dutch oven to medium high. Add meat and brown well 2-3 minutes per side. (Do this in two batches as to not overcrowd). Then transfer meat to a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Add 1tbsp oil to pan and onions and a pinch of salt. Reduce to medium heat and cook until softened and browned (6-8 minutes). Add garlic, paprika and flour and cook for an additional 2+/- minutes.
3. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of stock and stirring until incorporated and thickened. Gradually add remaining stock then stir in the tomato paste, bay leaves and a little salt. Add browned beef (and any juices) and increase heat to bring to a simmer. Cover pot and put in the coven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from the oven and stir in peppers. Cover and return to oven for another 40+/- minutes.
5. Add 1/2 cup sour cream and the parsley.
6. Serve on top of egg noodles, rice or steamed potatoes with an extra dollop of sour cream.

Thanksgiving by Daddy

Last Monday was Thanksgiving and I spent the day cleaning at my mother’s house. My mother has been living with my grandmother ever since my grandfather’s death in June and Gram’s subsequent cancer diagnosis. My mother had the opportunity to get away for a week with my father. Thankfully my sister’s husband was able to take the week off to watch their four older boys, enabling my sister to take her baby and move in with Gram for the week.

I thought I would lend a hand by giving mom’s place a thorough cleaning since she has been stretched so thin the past couple months trying to maintain two homes.

After a night of little sleep (what is going on, John?), I headed to my mothers early in the morning. I spent the entire day washing windows, dusting, vacuuming and was beat by the end of the day. I came home, wondering what I would be coming home to and…

DH had Thanksgiving Dinner almost entirely completed, the house looked very much like I had left it in the morning, the children were happy, fed, clean and the most amazing thin? DH wasn’t even flustered or frazzled from a day of cooking with little ones!

Snippets of that meal are here:Cauliflower Gratin, Stuffing, BBQ Turkey Breast, Bacon & Brussels Sprouts. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, home made cranberry sauce with a DQ ice cream cake for dessert (compliments of Nana).

View Full Album

This post links to This post links to  Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Gratituesday and Finer Things Friday