Adventures in Cooking!

I'm trying to take this whole "cooking" thing somewhat seriously since I'm tired of eating junky food all the time. So far I've made Steak Tips in Peppered Mushroom Gravy and Bacon Fettuccine Alfredo, both of which were delicious and remarkably easy. I was silly and forgot to get a picture of the fettuccine when it had finished cooking, but I have pictoral evidence that the steak tips occurred!

Steak Tips in Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots (I used spring onions instead)
1 (8 ounce) pacakge presliced baby bella mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 fresh thyme springs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain
2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cover.
3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

The recipe went really well, especially because I took time to prep everything I could before I began cooking. Chopped all that needed chopping, set all my ingredients out for when I needed them, etc etc. That prep helped alot when I was adding ingredients in one after the other, since I wouldn't have had time to chop in between stirring. Go me! I served our dinner in the nice pasta bowls my eldest sister got me for Christmas one year, and took a picture:



Didn't it turn out beautifully? My Charming Assistant (otherwise known as my boyfriend) and I agreed that it was delicious, and definitely a keeper.

I had to work over the weekend, so I told Charming Assistant that he should look through Cooking Light, pick a recipe that appealed to him, and if he went and bought the ingredients, I would cook dinner. Looking back, I should have guessed that he would choose the dish with bacon in it.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon

Ingredients
1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated fresh fettuccine
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.
2. While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings. Add garlic to drippings in pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Sprinkle flour over garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly; cook 2 minutes or until bubbly and slightly thick, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low. Gradually add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in salt and reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add hot pasta to pan; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with bacon, parsley, and pepper. Yield: 4 servings.

This dish also was a success, though I made a few foolish mistakes. First, I forgot to take a picture, so I can't make your mouth water at the sight of the finished product. Secondly, Charming Assistant misunderstood the "freshly grated Parmigiano" ingredient and purchased powdered Parmesan cheese from the grocery store. The dish still turned out well enough, but if we make it again I'll be insisting on the good stuff. But Cooking Light was very correct - you don't need to add a ton of bacon to a dish in order to get the flavor. Two pieces sprinkled in with the pasta, plus using the drippings as part of the sauce really infused the meal with delicious bacony essence.

I'm planning on cooking Roast Chicken with Balsamic Peppers tonight, I'll let you know how it goes! However, the next cooking post will probably be a few days from now. Not only do I want to post a few recipes at a time, but I don't want this to become just a cooking blog. Expect the next post to be on a wildly different topic.

Until next time!