Beef Stroganoff

I will be honest. I am not usually a huge fan of beef stroganoff. I am not generally a big fan of gravy. I think a lot of them taste like flour and salt paste. Yuck. If I am going to smother my food with calorie laden sauce then it better be AWESOME. Otherwise...just give me dessert instead. I am not going to waste calories on sauce/gravy.

However, I was at work and one of my patient's was talking about how they were making beef stroganoff for their spouse's birthday because it was his favorite meal. With lots & lots of mushrooms. She said it was all about the sauce. She makes it from scratch and NEVER uses flour. Uses just a touch of cornstarch and a splash of heavy cream. Mmmmm. Now my mouth was watering.

Driving on my way home from work, I was getting really hungry. (Okay, it is only about a 5 minute drive but my stomach knows it is dinner time!)  I had just purchased some thin trimmed steak originally meant for stir fry.....CHANGE OF PLANS! I am going to attempt making some Beef Stroganoff without a recipe. I figure if it tastes crappy...I will just rinse off the gravy and the dogs will be delighted with their dinner & we will hit the local Del Taco for a quick bite! Ha! Ha!

The dogs never got to taste the Beef Stroganoff. It turned out really good and I am really glad I tried making it. Got it to the table in 20 minutes!

Beef Stroganoff Recipe:

• 1 pound of thinly sliced beef (boneless), the type you buy for stir fry
• 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic (I used the one from the jar)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used them because I already had them on hand but you don't have to add them. (Shallots remind me of a cross between garlic and an onion)
• 1/2 tsp. smoked sea salt (I really like the flavor of smoked sea salt in some of my food but you can certainly just use regular salt). My husband loves different sea salts so we have a huge assortment of them at our house! 
• 1 heaping tsp. of Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base (this is the BEST stuff!) I absolutely love it for gravies or soup bases. They have quite a few different flavors available. You can get it at most supermarkets and specialty stores or online at Amazon. It isn't cheap but you don't use a lot and it lasts a LONG time.  My boss, Dr. Carroll-Chen got me hooked on this stuff! It sure makes cooking savory gluten free dishes much more flavorful. 
• 1-2 small cans of mushrooms (I didn't drain mine), I used two cans because I wanted lots of mushrooms! (You can use fresh mushrooms instead, just saute with meat)
• 3 tbs. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. of steak seasoning 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (if you have it, if not just add a tablespoon of butter to 1/4 cup milk)
• 3/4 cup milk (I used fat free because that is what was in my refrigerator)
• 2 cups of Instant Rice (I made instant rather than the long cooking kind because I was really hungry and didn't want to wait for the rice to cook very long!)

I cooked the rice according the the directions on the box. While it was cooking, I put the sliced beef in my old stand by cast iron skillet on medium heat along with the garlic and thinly sliced shallot. I cooked until the meat was barely pink then I added the smoked sea salt & steak seasoning. In a separate bowl, I combined the cornstarch & bouillon with water and mixed to make a paste. Then I added the heavy cream & added milk. Stirred with a whisk until no clumps. Poured into the cast iron skillet with the meat. Turned the skillet on low. Added the mushrooms including the fluid. Gave it all a gentle stir. Then I let the mixture warm up. The cornstarch will thicken into a gravy when it gets warm. Once the sauce becomes thickened then you can remove from heat. Time to serve it up over the rice. Yummy. (I served this along with a salad for a serving of veggies). Didn't want you guys to think that because I didn't photo the salad that I was just serving meat & starches! 

You could make this with fresh mushrooms and just saute with the meat. I didn't have any on hand and was trying to get a quick dinner to the table without having to run to the store for extra ingredients. This turned out fine with the canned mushrooms. Better than fine actually. It was really good. Of course...hunger is the best condiment! :)