When I was in high school, I worked at the local Red Lobster restaurant. At the time, entrees included a house salad and garlic bread. One of the regular guests (we weren’t allowed to call them customers, you know), Joe, would come in every week and order the same thing. Still, I would always ask him if he wanted a salad to start, and the answer was always the same: “salad is for rabbits, I’ll have the bread only.”
I think Meat and Tater Man may be a distant relative of this guy, because when you ask him what he wants for supper, his answer will always involve meat of some kind. Salad, in his world, is a garnish, not a side, and certainly NOT a main course. And while we’re on the topic, in case you’re curious, in his universe, potatoes are considered a second main, along with the meat, and not a side dish. As in, a meal = meat + potatoes + a side veg. Side dishes involve vegetables OTHER than potatoes. Got it? Good. It took me a while to get that. But I’ve been set straight.
The other night’s response to the dinner question was no different. “Something with ground beef”, he said, then after a somewhat thoughtful pause, he added “like Shepherd’s Pie or meatloaf”. I love this man dearly, but asking him what he’d like for supper is like asking a teenager to vacuum the house or clean toilets.
If you can picture it, it’s like I’ve just asked him to read a 20 page menu, only the menu is blank. You would think I’d asked him to explain the theory of relativity in simple terms. The eyes suddenly shift upwards and to the right, the head tilts a bit as it starts to think, there’s a bit of “hmm”ing and a few sighs, until the word “meat” or the phrase “something I can barbecue” comes out of his mouth. To which I then have to follow with words like, “uh, beef, fish, chicken, lamb, duck or pork?” Happens all the time, I swear. Am I the only one who lives through this? Or is there an alternate universe where this happens all the time?
I love it when my daughter asks to cook with me!
So here I am, a pound of ground in hand, faced with the only two recipes Meat and Tater Man can think of that involve this type of meat: Shepherd’s Pie, or Meatloaf. While I love both of these entrees dearly (and I do love them, so much that I no longer need a recipe for these and can make them with my eyes practically closed), they tend not to be a first choice unless I haven’t made them in a really long time. At this moment, I called upon the Cookbook Fairies to help me out. I headed to my cookbook library, and within a half hour, I landed on this wonderful recipe for Stroganoff from Sara Engram and Katie Luber’s phenomenal book, The Spice Kitchen. It was perfect…I had a container of mushrooms and a carton of sour cream, so this was the ideal way to put these babies to good use, and solve the dinner dilemma.
Final step – adding the sour cream to the meat mixture
This recipe is simple enough to handle on a weeknight, when you’re dealing with problems bigger than getting the family to figure out what’s for dinner. And, it tastes wonderful. I served it over egg noodles, because that’s what I prefer, but feel free to serve this with your favourite starch, including potatoes! I’ve also added paprika for a bit of colour (the original recipe didn’t call for it), so feel free to omit it if you wish. I use minced garlic from a jar, but you can mince your own fresh cloves also.
Once in a while, Meat and Tater Man will say “pasta” when I ask him what he wants for dinner. Nearly makes me fall out of my chair, every time.
Feel free to use ground turkey or pork in this Stroganoff recipe, if you prefer them over beef. This is quick, easy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup diced onion (any variety)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp marjoram
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- Parsley, for garnish
- Cooked egg noodles, rice or pasta for serving
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crumbly. Remove the ground beef and set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and 2 tsp salt and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of black pepper.
- Add the marjoram, paprika and flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Return the ground beef to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add the beef broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. If the sauce seems to thick, add a 1/4 cup of water and stir to combine.
- Decrease the heat to low, and add the sour cream, and cook until heated through. Taste the stroganoff, and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over hot cooked noodles, rice or pasta. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
mmmm, I make a version of this too. I’m going to try your recipe
Karen Sandoval recently posted…One Night In Santa Fe