Phat Food Friday: BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

When the weather gets chilly...I want to put on my snuggly sweaters and drink a cup of Earl Grey with a good book. I also LOVE the smell of a warm crock pot dinner wafting thru the air! The two just seem to go hand in hand. I found this recipe on Facebook last week and since I love Beef Stroganoff, I had to try it. My family loved it so much, they requested it again this week! With all recipes, I like to follow it to the letter. After I try it once, I go ahead and alter it to my taste. Here is the BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff!

 

 

 

Get out your Crock Pot and gather your ingredients....

 

1. 2 cans condensed Golden cream of mushroom soup (10 and 3/4 oz. each)
2. 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
3. 1/2 cup of water
4. 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
5. a dash of Paprika
6. 1 yellow onion, chopped (~ 1 cup)
7. 2 pounds cubed stew meat
8. 8 oz. 1/3 less fat "Cream" Cheese, also labeled as Neufchatel Cheese (Regular cream cheese can be substituted)
9. ~Optional~ 8 oz. fresh mushrooms (two 4oz cans of drained sliced mushrooms are a good substitute)
10. 12 oz. bag of Egg Noodles

We will start with the first 5 ingredients listed.

The last 3 ingredients we do not need until the 20 minutes before serving.

Go ahead and put the cream cheese and mushrooms back in the fridge, and set aside the noodles till later.

 

 

Here we go!

 

 

I think fresh unfrozen meats yield the best crock pot dishes.

 

 

The mushrooms are optional...but I think they make the dish more hearty & love them!

 

 

In your cold crock pot, stir the first 5 ingredients.

 

 

Chop your cup of yellow onions...don't cry too much.

I know you will miss cooking over a hot stove tonight...NOT!

 

 

Add the onion to your pot.

 

 

Stir well.

 

 

Add the cubed stew meat to your pot.

 

 

Stir well.

 

 

Set your crock pot to low for 8-10 hours. I set mine longer because my hubbie comes home from work pretty late.

 

 

 

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We interrupt this fab tutorial to bring you the following real time blog announcement....

 

I LOVE this girl! THIS is why I like to use my crock pot sooooo much....

wouldn't' you rather watch ducks than cook!? I would!

Especially on this unseasonably unexpected golden afternoon....

 

 

Let's go see  the ducks!

 

 

 The ducks were not sure if they wanted to get too close...or not.

 

 

 

We now return you from this "double dose of cuteness" break to your regularly scheduled blog post : )

 

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20 minutes before serving...

 

 

Take a large sturdy spoon and break up the cubed stew meat. It should be tender and break up easily. Stir the mixture well to coat the meat in the sauce. 

 

 

Rinse your mushrooms...

 

 

... and chop them into uniform slices.

 

 

 

Stir them into the crock pot...

 

 

and cover.

 

 

Cube your block of Neufchatel Cheese.

 

 

Stir that into the crock pot...

 

 

 and cover.

 

 

 Let the cheese melt and the mushrooms cook to tender in your crock pot while you boil

a pot of water and cook, following the directions on the package of egg noodles.

It should take less than 10 minutes to boil the whole bag.

Drain the noodles.

 

 

Mix the BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff well.

 

 

...and serve over the noodles.

 

This is such a great dish. I think it is even better as leftovers!

I mix the extra noodles into what is left in the pot and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Place leftover Beef Stroganoff Mixture on a glass plate in a ring around the outside edge.

Spray with water.

Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring once and you are all set for an easy lunch!

 

 

Mmmmm! I think she loves it!

 

 

I stumbled across the recipe in my Facebook newsfeed a few weeks ago.

It comes from the Facebook page: It's a Lifestyle...Not a Fad

The group Admin, Barb Miller, shared with me what the group is all about...

"This will be a place where you are no longer alone in your battle with weight loss. We're here to motivate, encourage & support each other as well as share stories, frustrations, and triumphs!

My goal is to support and motivate our members! That's what we are here for. I want people to be able to come here and talk about what is bothering them, vent if needed and get advice from others who are going through the same thing."

 

Thanks for sharing with us Barb!

That sounds good to me.

 I am always searching for healthy, tasty recipes for my family.

I know I will visit this page often!

 

The original recipe can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ItsaLifestyleNotaFad/permalink/245150432300064/

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you give this classic comfort food a try!

DIY: Reversible Pirate & the Princess Pouch!

It's almost time!

 

  

 

My daughter has always insisted that I dress up with her on Halloween...and how can I resist?

It is so much fun.

 

 

Our whole family loves to attend the Renn Faire too...so, its easy to reuse the same clothing for different looks. Sometimes though, you just need a little something extra to spruce up that old get up, eh?!

 

 

 Today I want to share with you a fun little DIY: Reversible Pirate & the Princess Pouch!

You can add it to your costume for that final touch.

My daughter has used them for her costumes as a: Princess, Pirate, Gypsy, Witches/Sorcerers' spell bag, even an Elven Archer!

See mom?! You NEEEEEEED one! 

 

 

Moms and dads should not feel left out! I carry mine when we go to the faire...dads can use them with their Jedi garb too! Then, when the force is keeping you apart, you can still call each other! Hahaha. The possibilities are endless. My favorite part is the fact that the pouch is reversible. Use a fun print on one side and a neutral solid for the inside to get the most use out of it!

  So, lets spice up your little one's Pirate or Princess costume this month with without breaking the bank!

This lovely REVERSIBLE pouch will add that finishing touch to your little one's ensemble! Not sure what fabric to use? Choose your favorite 2 prints or solids and get two new looks in one simple project. Your Princess can dangle this lovely new purse from her wrist, or in between her fingers. Your precious Pirate can stash away his treasures from this pouch that hangs from his belt. You could even super size this for mom or dad! Store all of your necessities (cell phone/keys/wallet/etc) while strolling the streets for candy or a day at the faire.

Gather your standard sewing supplies and choose your fabric.

 I will give the measurements for the kid size pouch during the tut. (The measurements for the Super Size Pouch for adults is at the end of this tut...all directions are the same.)

You need two fat eights in different prints/colors.......or scraps to cut out the following pieces.

Here is what you need to cut out ...

·         one piece of  16" x 6" for the "outside" panels

·         one pieces of  16" x 6" for the "inside" panels

·         one piece of ribbon 22" for the drawstring/handle 1/2" - 3/4" works best.

The finished pouch will be ~ 7" tall and 5" wide with a drawstring handle of ~10" long when folded over and tied.

 

 

Arrrg! Let's get stARRRRted!

 Place your 2 pieces Right Sides Together (RST).

 

Sew the 2 short ends together using a 1/2" seam allowance.

 

 

Open up your loop of fabric and press the seams to one side.

If you want finished edges for the drawstring casing,

Serge the raw edges on both sides, trimming away just a bit of fabric.

I did not do that in these photos, but have with other pouches. You could also use a pinking shears or an overcast stitch if desired.

 

 

With the fabric loop folded as shown above, press a crease in each one of the bottom edges.

 

 

From the center seam that you stitched to join the 2 fabrics together (middle blue arrow.), measure down 1.5"  (2" for the Super size pouch) and mark with a pin these points are marked in the photo above with blue arrows.

Using a 5/8" seam allowance sew from your pin to the bottom folded edge of each side, along the dashed red lines in the photo above.

Remove your marker pins.

 

 

Fold the edges back 5/8" as shown and press open the seams you just stitched together.

 

Fold the pouch in 1/2 lengthwise.

Do this by matching the two bottom corners of the pouch that are the same color.

Mark 1.5" in and 1.5" up from the corner. This should give you a 45 degree angle.

Connect the two points and mark with chalk.

 

Trim the corners off by cutting along the chalk line.

 

 

Unfold your pouch and it should look like the photo above.

 

Fold your pouch down, along the first center seam you stitched so that the edges are all even and the folds at the bottom of each pouch are as shown above.

Pin all layers together as show above.

 

Using the edge that you trimmed off on a 45 degree angle, sew a 5/8" seam allowance (from the trimmed edge) to join all layers together as shown above along the dashed red line.

BE SURE TO SEW TO THE VERY EDGES, BACK STITCHING WELL.

This not only joins all layers for easy reversing, but it closes the bottom of the bags so tiny items do not fall through a hole.

Trim off the corners of the other pouch at a 45 degree angle to reduce the bulk as shown above along the blue arrows.

Remove your pins!

 

 Open the side slits that were not sewn together earlier and pull the right side of your fabric out through one of the holes.

 

Your pouch is now right side out!

Carefully, roll the top seam so that the edges are nice and straight along the top. Ideally, you will not see the other fabric peeking out too much from the reverse side.

 

Using the 5/8" crease that you neatly pressed earlier along the seam allowance, tuck the raw edges in.

 

 

Press. Be sure that the seams are nice and neat here so that you do not see the other fabric on the reverse. Check inside and out!

 

Pin the edges. When you begin and end your stitching in the next step, you want these edges to stay nice and neatly lined up.

If you have a bit of bunching, it is not a big deal...

the pouch will be cinched shut most of the time.

Note the position of the pins above. These pins also mark the OPENING for the ribbon casing. You need these to stay even, but do not sew that area shut.

 



 

Remembering to back stitch at the beginning and the end of each edge, sew near the very edge of the pouch (far right lines of white stitching in photo above). This stitch secures the top edge where the 2 different fabric patterns/colors meet.

Next, sew just above the stitching that is the side seam of the pouch (far left lines of white stitching above). You can see that point pictured above. It is just between the butterfly tag and the far left lines of white stitching.

 

Press if desired.

 

Loosely tie a pin to one end of your ribbon. Thread the ribbon through both sides of the casing. Tie a knot in the end of your ribbon and you are all set!

 

You are ready to hit the streets with your fab new Reversible Pirate or the Princess Pouch!

 

You can even amp this up a bit...use satin on one side and a velvety fine whale corduroy on the other!

Add satin cording and a fine tassel for your drawstring M'a Lady!

 

You could even add a band of trim to the very top edge!

 

Super Size Adult Pirate & the Princess Pouch

Use these measurements for the larger pouch...all directions above are the same.

You need two fat eights in different prints/colors.......or scraps to cut out the following pieces.

 

Here is what you need to cut out ...

·         one piece of of 21" x 9" for the "outside" panels

·         one piece of 21" x 9" for the "inside" panels

·         one piece of ribbon 35" for the drawstring/handle 1/2" - 3/4" works best.

 

The finished pouch will be ~ 10" tall and 8" wide with a drawstring handle of ~17" long when folded over and tied.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for being a "Sweetie" and stopping by!

 

~ Happy Halloween! ~