Mushroom Steak

Here is another easy meal from Mom's recipe box. It might take a little too long to make on a weeknight, but it is delicious and filling. The ingredients are few and easy to come by. I bet this meal would be good using chicken instead of steak, but that is a test for another night.

For this dinner, I used egg noodles, but other types of noodles or rice could be nice. This recipe is a simpler variation of beef stroganoff, which is why I like egg noodles with it. Of the two recipes, I prefer the beef stroganoff, which uses fresh mushrooms. But when fresh mushrooms are not readily available, this recipe will do.

Mushroom Steak

• 1/4 cup flour
• dash of pepper to taste
• 1.5 pounds round steak
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 soup can of water
• cooked noodles or rice

Cut the steak into inch cubes. Combine flour and pepper, then pound into steak with a meat hammer or edge of a heavy saucer. In a large skillet, melt the butter, then brown the steak on all sides. Add the soup and water. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Patti's Meat Pie Pasties

MDS remembers his Mom making these Pasties when he was a kid. So, of course, I asked Patti for the recipe, which she gladly shared. Patti also provided some background information. The pasties are large hand pies and are often called "Cornish Pasties" because they were introduced in this country by the coal miners who emigrated here from Cornwall, England, to work in the mines of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Supposedly the wives would make the pasties in the early morning and the men would carry them tucked inside their shirts when they went to work in the cold weather. The pasty would keep the man warm, at least for a little while, and then the man's body heat would keep the pasty from freezing before lunchtime.

Patti's recipe differs from the traditional one in a couple of ways. The original calls for round steak cut into cubes, rather than ground. Patti thought that meat would be too tough, so she went with ground round. Patti's recipe leaves out rutabaga because the kids would not eat rutabaga. I can't help but wonder if they would even notice the rutabaga. Next time that I make these, I might try to sneak in some rutabaga.

Warning: Pasties are the type of food that retain heat, so Patti advises to have them out of the oven for about half an hour before dinner. You can really burn your mouth on these things if you don't let them cool for a while.

The recipe calls for pre-cooking the potato, but not the onion or carrot. Patti thinks that a step could be saved by using raw potato. But neither she nor I wanted to risk having the potatoes still crunchy in the finished product, so the hypothesis is untested. The carrot and onion get perfectly soft without pre-cooking. Patti remembers the family would love ketchup on pasties. MDS even vaguely remembers using ketchup. But maybe the ketchup is just for kids, because the pasties were delicious without ketchup.

Patti's Meat Pie Pasties

Crust:

• 2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 3/4 cup butter 
• 5 to 6 Tbsp ice water 

Filling:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef 
• 4 small carrots, finely diced 
• 1 medium onion, finely diced 
• 4 small potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped 
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1/4 tsp. pepper 

Make crust: Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in the butter. Add water as needed. Use a pastry cutter to blend until the dough forms. Divide dough into four equal balls and chill for at least one hour.

Make filling: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Place 1/4 of filling on one side of the circle, shaped into an oval mound. Fold over the other side of the dough to form a turnover. Seal the edges and press with the tines of a fork. Poke a few steam holes into each pasty with the fork. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If desired, brush with melted butter or egg wash. Allow about 30 minutes to cool. Enjoy!

John's Pasta Salad

A number of years ago, John first made this pasta salad for a family get-together, probably a Memorial Day or Labor Day party. Since that time, others in the family have made this recipe, each adding their own favorite add-ins. Laura likes to add garbanzo beans. The great thing about this recipe is that once you make the basic recipe, you can easily add in any combination of vegetables, cheese, meats, etc. As Laura says, it is a great recipe for using up any veggies that you have sitting around.

Now this recipe will feed a crowd, but could easily be reduced to feed fewer than a crowd. The key ratio for the sour cream to mayo is 1:1. John prefers to use more mayo and sour cream, but it is entirely up to your taste. Other than balancing the sour cream to mayo, the amount of other ingredients is entirely up to you. When I made this recipe, I used everything listed below.

John's Pasta Salad

• 1 16 ounce bag or box of pasta (elbow or rotini work best)
• 1-1/2 cup mayo
• 1-1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 packets dry Italian dressing
• 2-6 cups chopped veggies, such as cucumber, carrot, tomato, celery, etc.

Optional add-ins, to taste:

• Cheese, cubed 
• Diced ham or salami (or other meat)
• Black Olives, sliced
• Can of Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 
• Bottled Italian Dressing, to taste

Cook the pasta. Cool the pasta. Mix the mayo and sour cream with dry Italian. Add the mixture to the pasta. Add cheese, meat and veggies. Stir in. Depending on the veggies, more sour cream and mayo (using a 1:1 ration) may be mixed in. If it is too dry, add some bottled Italian dressing. Chill for several hours. Enjoy!