Low Fat Lobster Bisque, Quick Beef Stroganoff and Full Metal Jacket Mac n Cheese

So as I was preparing for my sister and law and her grandson coming over for lunch today, I was rooting around my fridge and realized that I had cooked lobster left over from V-Day!  That’s when I remembered I was going to make lobster bisque!  I am not a huge fan of sherry, and I wanted to reduce the fat (most recipes call for heavy cream!).  I thought it turned out really good, but Tony didn’t care for it too much.  The best part?  The stats!  I had 1/2 cup before lunch.

188 calories, 3.5 fat, 20 carbs, 1.5 fiber and 10 grams protein: per cup!

 Lobster Bique

• 6 ounces chopped cooked lobster
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine (I used Chadonnay because its what I had on hand)
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
• 4 ounces tomato pasta
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cups fat free half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon butter (probably could have left it out!)

1. In a saute pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and stir for a couple minutes.
2. Deglaze the pan with white wine.
3. Add wortcestershire, Tabasco, Italian seasoning and saute for another minute.
4. Add the paprika, hot water and chicken bouillon and combine well.
5. Stir in tomato paste. 
6. Simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Whisk in fat free half and half and butter and bring to a boil.
8. Add the chopped lobster and simmer until lobster is cooked through.

So I knew my SIL’s  grandson probably wouldn’t eat the Quick Beef Stroganoff the grown-ups were going to eat so I made him Classic, Full Metal Jacket (i.e. no cheating on the amount of cheese, etc.!).   Well, for Hannah too!

Here’s it all combined before going into the oven – lots of cheesy goodness!

Classic Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 pound elbow noodles (I did corkscrew this time)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 5 tablespoons butter (no skimping here!)
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons powdered mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 5 cups milk (any kind works well – mine was 2%)
• 8 ounces (2 cups) jack cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces (2 cups) cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• Italian style bread crumbs for topping

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming.  Add flour, mustard, cayenne and whisk well to combine.
3. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and it starts to darken, about 1 minute.
4. Gradually whisk in milk, bring to a boil, whisking ocnstantly until it starts to thicken.  Reduce heat to medium, until it gets the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.  Off heat, whisk in the cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt. 
5. Combine the cooked noodles with the cheese sauce and put in 9/13 pan.
6. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

If I was serving this right away, I would sprinkle with bread crumbs and broil until the top is golden and bubbly.  Since I was doing this ahead of time, while I was doing to beef stroganoff, I baked it for 15 minutes at 350 before serving, and then three minutes under the broiler on high.

Oh, and then there was the bread dough left over from last night.  By popular demand, I made one loaf cheddar cheese and one loaf parmesan cheese.

The only thing I would do differently is since I refrigerated the dough, I let the dough come to room temperature for only 40 minutes, so the middle of the Parm loaf was a bit doughy, so either I should let it rest more or just cook for 5 more minutes.

Tony has been having a jones for Beef Stroganoff – apparently this was a frequent item on his childhood menu growing up.

Saute the mushrooms until the get dark brown and soft – I love the smell and flavor of mushrooms, just not the texture, so I picked the shroom off of my plate and Tony ate them!

Quick Beef Stoganoff

• 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 pound beef tenderloin, sliced
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white whine
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 8 ounces egg noodles, cooked in salted water

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oli in dutch oven for about 2 minutes, add mushrooms and cook over high for about 4 minutes until they are browned and softened.  Remove to another bowl.
2. Add 1/2 oil to dutch oven and add the beef tenderloin and cook, until medium rare, 3 minutes.  Remove and add to mushroom bowl.
3. Add beef broth to pot, scraping up any browned bits and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add broth to mushroom/beef bowl.
4. Add butter, when butter starts to foam, add tomato paste and brown sugar, cooking until well combined 2 minutes.  Stir in flour.  Gradually whisk in chicken broth and wine; increase heat to medium-high heat and bring to boil, whisking occassionally.  Add juice from mushroom and beef bowl and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.
5. Take 1/2 cup of stock out of pot and mix together with the sour cream.  If you were to add the sour cream to the stock in the pot, the sour cream would curdle.  Once combined, add back to stock and cook for 2 minutes. 
6. Put steak, mushrooms back in pot and stir until the steak and mushrooms are heated up. 
7. I ended up mixing the noodles into the pot and mixed well.

And I picture for my MIL and FIL, this little boys great-grandma and great grandpa!

So it was a nice visit, the food turned out good and I actually cleaned the kitchen as I went along!  Still haven’t done grocery shopping, maybe I’ll put that off until tomorrow?   I am pretty sure I can come up with something for dinner with what I have on hand.  Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!  See you later.