Ground Beef Stroganoff

This really wasn’t a stroganoff recipe to me, more of a goulash. But then I realized I really didn’t know the difference, so I looked it up and really this should be “Ground Beef Strogalash.”

It’s easy, cheap, and one of the kids ate it too! What more can you ask!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped yellow onions

1 cup sliced white button mushrooms

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 pound small elbow macaroni or wide egg noodles, cooked

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup sour cream

Grated white Cheddar cheese, optional

Directions:

- Season the beef with the salt, pepper, and Essence.

- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the meat and drain any excess oil.

- Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms have released their juices, about 2 minutes.

- Add the macaroni, beef broth and sour cream. 

- Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 5 to 6 minutes. 

- Serve with cheese on top.
 
Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the mixture onto 2 large plates. Sprinkle each portion with the cheese, if desired, and chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Recipe for Emeril’s Essence Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- I left out the onions, added more mushrooms.

- The sour cream in the fridge was moldy, so I used cream cheese instead.

- I had no intent of making a full batch of Emeril’s special seasoning, so instead I gave my meat a dash or two of all ingredients in the mix – well, actually just the ones I had in the pantry cupboard. :)

- I didn’t think the sauce was thick enough so I used flour to thicken. (If you never done that before, mix a few tablespoons of flour with twice as much COLD water then pour into hot mixture. Whisk as you pour so it doesn’t clump up. Cornstarch works the same way. Just be sure to mix with cold water first.)

- I have no idea why you would cook your meat in oil, I didn’t and still had to drain off excess.

ENJOY!!

**Adapted recipe from www.foodnetwork.com **