Average Jane

Average Jane Makes Beef Stroganoff

Okay, so I'm a terrible food photographer in desperate need of a tripod, better lighting and a lot more patience. The meal was really delicious, though. Here's the recipe:

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound steak, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 cup sour cream
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in medium-sized skillet and sauté steak until lightly browned on all sides. Add onion, mushroom and garlic; cook until onion becomes translucent. Add tomato soup, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.

A note about the steak: I used sirloin and tenderized it using this method, which worked extraordinarily well. If you have cash to spare, it's awesome made with filet mignon or another more expensive cut.

As you can see from the photo, I like to serve this with peas. I don't know why - it's just the way we always did it when I was a kid.

Average Jane and the Giant Pizza

Last night, my husband had a recording session booked around dinnertime with a 5-member band. I decided to pick up an enormous pizza from our favorite pizzeria so we could all eat.

The pizza was as wide as our stove top. I actually had trouble getting the box through the kitchen door to bring it up to the studio. As you can imagine, the guys were very impressed and excited when they saw it.

When the session ended, here's what was left:

Notice that I also fed them our leftover Halloween candy, although they didn't quite finish it off.

Average Jane Likes Jarritos

Last night was Burrito Night at our house, so I decided to treat myself to a couple bottles of Jarritos soda at the grocery store. I'd had the Piña flavor at a restaurant a couple of times, but I hadn't tried Tamarind before. (As you can see from the photo, I also decided it had been too long since I bought beer. I limited myself to a 6-pack of Boulevard Wheat. The Fresca was for my husband.)

At 54-cents each, I wish I'd bought more different flavors of Jarritos to try. They make 10 different kinds, and I wouldn't be surprised if my local grocery store stocks them all. Mango sounds really good, as does Mandarino.

I almost never drink carbonated beverages, but Jarritos are smoother and have more subtle flavors than most American soft drinks. They're also made with real sugar instead of corn syrup, which I find to be a welcome change.

I drank the Tamarind one with dinner and it was quite tasty. I think I still prefer the pineapple, but it's nice to branch out.

Halloween Update: I broke down and bought Halloween candy and put out our light-up plastic Jack o'lantern. Total number of trick-or-treaters: 3. Now there's a big bowl of Junior Mints, Nestle Crunch bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups taunting me from beside the door. I should have stuck with my plan to shut off the lights and pretend I wasn't home...

Average Jane on Food

In the interest of getting to work on time today, I'm stealing another meme, this time from Julie.

1. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled (dry) or omelet.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea? No more coffee for me, but I occasionally drink decaf green tea, plain.

3. Favorite breakfast food: I care a great deal for French toast with a side of crispy bacon.

4. Peanut butter: Homemade. It's usually fairly smooth, but sometimes it gets a little chunky if the peanuts in the bottom of the blender don't manage to ride the wave.

5. What kind of dressing on your salad? Balsamic vinaigrette

6. Coke or Pepsi? I don't drink soda anymore, but I used to be a Coke diehard.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make? If I'm home alone, I make some rice and cover it with a warmed-up can of pork and beans. Or I just make a whole box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese and eat it with freshly-ground black pepper on top.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Some kind of combo pizza with "everything" (although I'll pick off the mushrooms).

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make? I love my baked ziti. It's a perennial fave.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories? The minestrone recipe my mother and grandmother both used to make. I cooked up a big pot of it over the weekend.

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories? Almost any canned vegetable. Ick.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone? So many of my recipes came from relatives that they almost all remind me of various people.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat? My rules: no fungus, no bottom-feeders and nothing with an exoskeleton.

14. What was your favorite food as a child? Hot-oil fondue. My grandmother had a fondue pot and I loved having it as a special treat.

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like? Tomatoes

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate? See canned vegetables, above.

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable: Fruit: strawberries. Vegetable: carrots

18. Favorite junk food: Oreo cookies

19. Favorite between meal snack: Crackers with peanut butter

20. Do you have any weird food habits? Not really.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? I'm not really a dieter, but when I'm scaling back on junk food, I make a point of adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet.

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like? See above.

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? Medium. Then I usually add some extra spice.

24. Can I get you a drink? Water, please.

25. Red or White Wine? Red. I've worked my way into liking a few whites, but red is still my favorite.

26. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake. I have an awesome recipe that I should share sometime soon.

27. The perfect nightcap? A splash of nice cognac.

Feel free to tag yourself if you feel like carrying this forward.

Average Jane's Domestic Life

Last night was the third night in a row that I've been home after work. With my crazy schedule, that's almost unheard of.

I've been cooking dinner every night, partly to use up all the chicken from the chicken and dumplings I made on Sunday, and partly to save money. I'd already been through all of the chicken dishes (chicken pot pie on Monday and chicken noodle soup on Tuesday), so last night's dinner was meatloaf. I'll post the recipe below.

I was at the grocery store getting ground beef and a vegetable. Here's my cell phone conversation with my husband:

Jane: Hey, do you like wax beans?
Husband (reflexively): No.
Jane: That's too bad. I've only ever had the canned ones and they have fresh ones here.
Husband: Wait a minute. What are wax beans?
Jane: They're like green beans, only yellow.
Husband (with some wariness): Okay, let's try them.

I ended up sauteeing them with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes in olive oil. I liked them a lot. Husband thought they were "tough," but he didn't even get home until they'd been cooling for a couple of hours, so there you go.

Here's my family meatloaf recipe. I think it's pretty tasty. Let me know if you try it.

Meatloaf a la Average Jane

1 pound hamburger
1/2 pound sausage
2 eggs
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/2 cup cracker crumbs or oatmeal
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
3 green pepper rings

Mix all ingredients except the green pepper rings (I use my hands to mix) and put in loaf pan. Press pepper rings onto the top of the loaf and crisscross with additional ketchup, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60-75 minutes. Check on it about halfway through and drain off any excess grease.

P.S. Thanks for all of the comments yesterday! If you're interested in the process by which I'll be selecting winners, I'm making a numbered list of names in the order in which the comments were received. Then I'll use my favorite random number generator to select three numbers in the range. If you're among the winners, I'll e-mail you today and get your address.

Average Jane's Favorite Imported Treats

Last weekend I was shopping with my sister, niece and aunt in Lawrence, Kansas. There's a shop there called Brits that specializes in imported British stuff - mainly food, but also DVDs and a few gift items. While we were there, I purchased a jar of blackcurrant preserves because NOBODY in the U.S. makes them. I also got a bag of miniature Violet Crumble bars (which are actually Australian), and split them with my sister. Damn, those are delicious!

I didn't pick up my other British fave, Twinings Decaffeinated Green Tea, because I can get it cheaper at World Market. A trip to World Market also gives me the opportunity to buy Kasugai muscat grape-flavored gummy candy from Japan, and Pepparkakor Swedish Gingersnaps, which come in a huge, beautiful tin.

Here's my reader question for the day: what's your favorite imported food treat? If you're outside of the U.S., what's a food item where you live that you love so much, you'd recommend I try to get some?

Average Jane's Green Bean Casserole

I can't resist a challenge from BlogHer, so here's a variation on green bean casserole that steers away from all the cliches. You won't find cream of mushroom soup, canned green beans or fried onions here. This recipe calls for fresh, steamed green beans in a creamy bechamel sauce, topped with slivered almonds that end up being toasted during the baking process. It's not quite as quick as the traditional recipe, but it's arguably more delicious.

Fancy Green Bean Casserole

5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound of fresh green beans, steamed
1 small package slivered almonds

Snap off the ends and pull the strings from the green beans, then steam until tender-crisp and set aside. To make sauce, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour, mixing until smooth. Continue stirring for about 7 minutes until the mixture becomes a light golden color. Increase heat to medium-high and whisk in milk slowly until thickened. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering until the flour has softened and loses any grittiness, 10 to 20 minutes, then season with salt and nutmeg. Combine sauce and beans and place in a greased casserole dish. Top with slivered almonds and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

Average Jane's Lemon Pie Recipe

Hey, how about another recipe? This is an old family recipe that I know my great-grandmother used to make; it might be older than that. My grandmother made it a lot because it was my grandfather's favorite dessert. It's easier to make than you might think.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

1 pre-baked pie crust*
4 eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar for filling
1/2 cup sugar for meringue
Juice and grated rind of two lemons
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

Beat the 4 egg whites until they form soft peaks, add 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until meringue is shiny and forms stiff peaks. Rub both lemons with a fine grater until most of the yellow rind has been removed. Juice lemons and remove any seeds. Combine egg yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and rind and water and heat to a simmer. Mix corn starch with a small amount of water and add to filling mixture. Cook until thickened to the consistency of gravy. Remove from heat and fold in about half the egg whites, leaving enough for meringue. Place filling in pie crust and top with remaining egg whites, making sure to seal the edges to the crust to prevent weeping. Bake at 350 until the tips of the meringue are browned (about 15 minutes or so).

*I like the Jiffy pie crust mix because it's cheap and foolproof.

Note: The recipe card I have for this skimps on a lot of the preparation details, so I've filled in the blanks as best I can. If something doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll correct it.

Update 9/28/07: Goofy Girl's questions have led me to update the directions. Hope they're a little clearer now!

Average Jane Shares A Recipe

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, so here's one of my favorites from childhood.

Stuffed Peppers

3-4 medium-sized bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup Minute® Rice, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut off the tops and stems of the bell peppers and scoop out seeds and pulp. Mince the pepper from around the stem and set aside. Briefly blanch peppers in a pot of boiling water (1-2 minutes) and drain. Mix ground beef, tomato paste, onion, garlic powder, minced bell pepper, Minute Rice, salt and pepper. Pack mixture into pepper shells and place in an oven-proof dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and brown for 10-15 minutes.

Average Jane Makes Banana Bread

This is another recipe from my Great-Aunt Edith. I still have the recipe card written in her handwriting, although I have to rely on memory for some of the more smudged measurements:

I made a batch yesterday and I'm eating a piece as I write this. It's a pretty basic recipe, but foolproof and delicious. Remember it the next time you let a couple of bananas get too ripe.

Aunt Edith's Banana Bread
Stays moist a week

1/2 cup shortening or butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 very ripe bananas
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour (no more)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Mash in bananas. Combine flour, baking soda and salt (cut back or eliminate salt if using salted butter instead of shortening) and mix into wet ingredients. Stir in walnuts. Bake in a well-greased loaf pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60-70 minutes or until top is very brown and any cracks in the top are fairly dry inside.

The original recipe had you prepare the loaf pan by greasing it, lining it with waxed paper and greasing the waxed paper. Then when the loaf was done, you removed it from the pan and peeled off the paper. At some point I just stopped doing that and began to grease the pan directly and the results have been fine. I don't really know why that seemed like a necessary step back in the day, but I merely mention it as a curiosity.

* * * * * * * *

On the cat front, we brought Velvet home yesterday and she's been as mellow and friendly as can be. Velcro seems to be equally mellow and accepting her just fine. Xena has turned into a hostile, hissing ball of stress, to the point that she wore herself out from her own drama and slept all evening when she'd ordinarily have been playing.

That's especially unfortunate because it's obvious that Velvet likes to play. I'm sure Xena will get used to her and our plan to make them playmates will eventually come to fruition. The little ingrate...

Photos of Velvet to come tomorrow. Enjoy your Monday!