Romanian Gulash

Hey everyone!

Here is the newest recipe that I have tried out! It is super easy! It would probably also work well in a crock-pot. Since we don't have one, we use the stove-top and that works just fine.

This dish is very similar to beef tips, just Romanian style! :D

Ingredients:

2-3 onions, diced

2 pieces of garlic, crushed

4-5 Tbsp. oil

1 lb. beef (not ground)
1 med. sized can of tomatoes (I used diced, but you can use whichever kind you have already, or prefer)
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground chili peppers
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. flour (I used plain flour, not self-rising)
2 Tbsp. sourcream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the beef in 1 inch cubes, approximately
2. In a 3 liter pot, pour in the oil and slightly sautee the onion and garlic.
3. Add the meat to the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, add the paprika, salt, vinegar and tomatoes (in their juice).
5. Cover the meat with water. Stir.
6. Put a lid on the pot and let this simmer over low heat for about 2 hours.
7. When the meatis well boiled, mix the flour and sourcream together.
8. Add this mix to the pot. Stir well.
9. Let it simmer just a few more minutes, to let the sauce thicken.
10. Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste.
** This dish traditionally has a pleasantly spicy taste to it. But you can spice it to fit your personal tastes**

This is served over polenta (I'll find a recipe for that and post it sometime), noodles (bowtie, twisty-looking ones, etc.), and even rice. Pofta buna! :D

Stuffed Roast

Well, here is another recipe I just tried out this week! This one is a bit more complicated, but not very. It is actually called a meat roll, but in English, it makes more sense to call it stuffed roast. This is a super flavorful dish! Enjoy! :D

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Roast Beef, uncooked
2 c. mushrooms (you can use a can of mushrooms, cuts out a step :D)
2 c. lunch meat, ham, cut in squares
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
2 c. mozzarella, grated
1 sm-md onion, chopped
salt
pepper
parsley
soy sauce
bag for baking (like sometimes is used for turkeys)
several toothpicks

1. Cut the roast through the middle horizontally, but don't cut it all the way through. You want to make a type of pocket that will be folded over when the stuffing is put into it.
2. Pour the soy sauce over that and let it marinate several hours in the fridge.
3.Just before you're ready to stuff the meat and put it in the oven, mix the rest of the ingredients together. Add salt, pepper and parsley to taste.
4. Spread out the meat. Spread the stuffing mix on one half of the meat and pull the other half of the meat over on top of it. Secure with the toothpicks.
5. Place the meat in the baking bag. Pour just a tad of olive oil over the meat. Seal up the bag.
6. Bake for 1 hour at 350* (depending on your oven)
7. You can serve it with sour crout, pickles, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, etc.

Taste of Romania, Stuffed Peppers

We thought we would give those interested a chance to try some new things. Get a bit of a taste of Romania without ever leaving home. Every once in a while we'll add some recipes to our blog. They will be things that we've cooked and tried. The new dish that we tried just today was stuffed bell peppers. Try it! You just might like it! :D And, as we say here, "Pofta buna!" (Enjoy!)



Ingredients:

6-8 med. bell peppers, any color
1 sm. onion, diced
oil, for frying the onion
1 lb. ground meat (I used chicken, but you can use pork, beef, deer, whatever you have on hand)
1/2 cup rice
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
parsley, to taste
dill, to taste
1 sm. can tomato paste
water, to make the paste thinner
salt to taste for the sauce

1. Wash and clean the peppers of their seeds by cutting a hole in the top and scraping out the seeds and insides..
2. Saute the onion in the oil until the color becomes almost transparent.
3. Mix the meat, onion, rice, salt, pepper, parsley, dill and water well.
4. Fill the peppers with the meat mix.
5. Place the filled peppers in a 9x13 pan.
6. Mix the water and tomato paste together.
7. Pour over the stuffed peppers until the peppers have about 1/2 - 1 inch sticking out above the water.
8. Cover well with aluminum foil.
9. Bake 40-50 minutes at 300-350* F. (Or until meat is cooked through)
10. Serve hot with sour cream, bread, as a tomato soup with the peppers as a side, etc.

Serves: 3-4