Braised Beef and Mushrooms

Braised Beef with Mushrooms

Serves 4 – 6

Estimated Calories per serving: 530

Fat grams: 10

Ingredients:

1 – 1 ½ pounds sirloin steak

Salt

Pepper

½ cup flour

1 Tablespoon canola oil

16 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup red wine

28 ounces chopped tomatoes

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Cut beef into 1 ½ inch steaks.  Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
2. In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat oil and add steaks.  Cook until browned, 3 – 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes.  Add onion and cook until soften, about 3 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute then add wine, tomatoes, thyme and any additional salt and pepper for flavor.  Bring to a boil and then add steaks.
5. *Allow to simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes (see note below).  Stir in vinegar and serve

*Note: Simmering longer will make the beef tender.

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Chicken Paprika

YouTube: https://youtu.be/e8ZyJpqvUMA

Serves 6

Estimated Values per serving:

Calories = 480                                              Fat = 4 grams

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

1 T. olive oil

6 skinless/boneless chicken breasts

¼ cup flour

4 cups onions – thinly sliced

4 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups fat free chicken broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup chopped tomato

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup fat free half and half

1 Tablespoon corn starch

1 package of yolk free noodles

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour.
2. Heat a sauté pan on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Sear chicken pieces until brown on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a tray.
3. Add onions to the pan and sauté, covered, for 15 minutes on medium heat until golden brown, stirring often.
4. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
5. Add the vinegar and wine and scrape any pieces from bottom of skillet. Add chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
6. Add the tomato paste, tomato, and paprika. Stir until well blended. Add the thyme and bay leaf.
7. Add the reserved chicken pieces and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Whisk half and half and corn starch in a small bowl and then add to pan.  Continue to simmer another 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
9. While simmering, cook egg noodles according to package directions.  Drain, rinse and transfer to a serving platter
10. Transfer chicken to the serving platter.
11. Pour sauce over chicken.

Then old standby…

Nick, my son, has been waking up really early all week and it has taken a toll on my enthusiasm of trying new a new delicious and light recipe to share tonight.  So I took the easy way out tonight and just defrosted some chicken breasts, sautéed them with tomato sauce and baked it in a casserole dish with a little low fat cheese sprinkled on top with a side of spaghetti.

I was feeling a little guilty but when I saw Nick and Dean, my husband, really enjoying a dinner staple from our home and realized that sometimes the easiest meals that have been made 100 times before are good enough.    It’s not necessary to have something new every night.  So if you are feeling run down, cook one of your family favorites, just keep it light. 

Here are a couple of tips to help you keep it light:

1. When sautéing a non-coated protein (meat, fish or chicken) – use cooking spray instead of oil or butter.  If the protein is sticking to the pan, then it is not ready to be turned over yet.  Wait until it begins to separate a little, then turn over.
2. If you are coating the protein with bread crumbs, flour or something else, use egg substitute or egg whites instead of whole eggs, this helps cut down on the fat.  Also, it is best to use a non-stick skillet for this type of cooking because your coating can stick to a regular stainless steel pan.
3. If you are making tomato sauce or any sauce where you are sautéing onions first, spray the pot with cooking spray, set the heat on medium to medium low, add your onions and then cover the pot so that the onion juices can stay in the pot and assist in the cooking process.  Otherwise, the onions can stick to the bottom.  If this does happen, just add a tablespoon of water and that will help release them from the bottom.

Rest up and Happy Cooking!