Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff-ish

Thinking all the way back to Monday night, I am finally posting my version of the Skinny Taste Mushroom Stroganoff. That version did not have any beef and Gina at SkinnyTaste.com used different noodles. I only had these veggie penne at my house, so I got a bonus serving of veggies!

However, I also used more wine in my recipe than hers called for, so perhaps it was a wash?

Once my husband takes a bite, he usually tells me it's great and gobbles up a whole serving or two. The real question is, "Would you like me to make it again?" If the answer is "sure..." then I know I should only make it again if I have to. That has only happened once, by the way. Usually, the answer is "yes!"

I know I've hit the proverbial kitchen jackpot when I get a, "Can we have it again soon? Like tomorrow?" This was one of those recipes! WHOO HOO!

Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff-ish
Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef - the leaner the better!
• 1 box noodles - we used the veggie noodles
• 2 tbsp butter, divided so it's about 1/2 and 1 1/2 sections
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium vegetable broth (or beef if you're a carnivore)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce - don't use if you have a seafood allergy
• 2 tsp tomato paste divided
• 5 oz sliced Cremini or plain button mushrooms
• 8 oz sliced baby Bella mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 shot-glasses white wine or sherry
• 1/4-1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions:
First, you should start with the beef and the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles as directed. It's OK if you leave them a little undone because you're going to end up mixing them in the sauce later.

Put the smaller portion of butter in the pan and let it melt, but not burn. Break up the ground beef in small-ish pieces and let it brown, stirring/flipping occasionally. Feel free to keep this on low while you're making the sauce. It'll take about as much time to brown the meat as it will for the noodles to boil unless you have super beef.

Ground beef waiting to be added to the sauce!

Once the beef is done, drain off any excess grease. Add about a shot glass-ful of wine to the beef along with 1 tbsp tomato paste. I know this isn't very stroganoff-y, but I think it tasted really good. You can stir this well and then set it on low to keep warm. The creamy part will be coming up, so don't worry. Anyway, we have some friends who brew their own beer and make their own wine. Since I didn't have any white wine in the house (NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE), I uncorked a blush wine from our friends and used that. It was very tasty!

Ok, now for the amazing mushroom creamy part. I just drained the pasta and set it aside so that I could use my big stock pot for making the sauce. Melt the remaining butter (the bigger portion) in the big pot. When it is nice and melty, add in your onions until they are soft and translucent. This takes a little over 2 minutes. When they're ready to go, add in the flour and stir it all up. You don't want it to stick or burn.

NOTE: We didn't have broth at home, but I had veggie bouillon, so I made 2 cups of that in the microwave while the butter and onions were doing their job.

Simmering away!

 Add in the broth, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Stir this constantly until it's all mixed in well. After that, add your mushrooms and spices. Stir and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened and bubbly. Add the wine and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for another 4 minutes or so. Once it looks all amazing and creamy, stir in the beef and noodles so you have one big pot of amazing noodles, mushroom and beef.

So good and you'll get 4-6 servings of this lovely pasta dish!

Enjoy!