Beef Stroganoff.

Okay, so the stressors of a blog were clearly too much, and I decided I needed a break.  Or, I wasn't able to get motivated. Either way, I am back and committed to doing this!

Last night for dinner I made a variation of beef stroganoff.  To tell you the truth, I don't really know what makes beef stroganoff-y, but I know it involves a beef sauce over noodles.  So this is my take on it.  The sauce for this is adapted from a recipe the McNeely's made here.  To make this lighter, you could make this with ground turkey, and use chicken broth in place of the beef broth.

Beef Stroganoff
Total time (prep and cook) approx 40mins.


1lb of ground beef


2 tsp of whole wheat flour (can use regular if you don't have whole wheat on hand)
1 tsp of butter 
1 small onion, diced
8 oz of mushrooms, preferably Shiitake or Cremini, sliced


2 teaspoons of flour (may need slightly more)
1/4 cup of dry red wine (you can substitute beef broth if you don't have any on hand)
2 cups of beef broth (low sodium is best)


10oz egg noodles or other shaped pasta (I used a type called Gigli which looks like this)


Start by boiling water for your pasta.  Cook pasta according to directions as you work on the rest of the meal.


Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a flat skillet.  Add your beef and saute until no longer pink.  Remove from pan and drain any fat off the pan, but leave the brown bits.


Heat your butter in that pan over medium-low heat.  Once melted, add your onions, saute for a few minutes until they start to soften.  Add your mushrooms and saute them until they start to turn brown.  Once they look delicious and smell delicious, add your flour slowly, stirring to incorporate.  Then add your wine (or the same amount of broth, if you are not planning on including the wine).  Once that starts to be incorporated, add the stock slowly, stirring as you go.  Bring the mixture to a boil for about 5-10 minutes, until the liquid starts to reduce and the sauce starts to thicken. (If after this time the sauce does not thicken, you can try adding flour a little at a time to help it).


Once it has reduced, drop the heat and cooked ground beef back in.  Let it simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors all hang out together.  After that, break out the bowls, ladle in 1/4 of the pasta and 1/4 of the sauce, and enjoy! 

You know it looks good....