Beef Stroganoff

Once upon a time in a land far far away.... just kidding. But I really do have a story behind Beef Stroganoff. When my husband James asked me out for our first date, he invited me over to his house for dinner. I asked what he was cooking and he responded with "meat and noodles." It turned out to be Beef Stroganoff and it was very good. But oddly enough, that was the last time we had it, six years ago!

Yesterday I was trying to think of something good for supper and went on the Food Network website. One of the first things to catch my eye was Beef Stroganoff. I used Paula Deen's recipe and tweaked a few things to my liking. I'll put notes on what I did differently. Here it is:

Link to her recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/beef-stroganoff-recipe/index.html

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds cubed round steak, cut into thin strips (I used a ribeye steak)
House Seasoning, recipe follows (I just seasoned with Tony's, salt, garlic powder and onion powder)
All-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can beef broth (I used Beef Stock)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and black pepper
1 cup sour cream
Cooked egg noodles
Directions
Season the steak strips with House Seasoning, then dust with flour. In a large skillet, quickly brown them on both sides in the olive oil and butter. Remove the steak from the pan. Add the onion slices and mushrooms to the pan drippings. Saute for a few minutes, until the onion is tender. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Put the steak back into the pan with the onion and mushrooms. Add the mushroom soup and beef broth. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the sour cream the last few minutes, right before you serve. Serve over cooked noodles.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix the ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yields: 1 1/2 cups

Notes: I left the recipe for her house seasoning in just in case you want to use that, as the recipe calls for. I used Tony Chachere's seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. After reading the reviews of her recipe before cooking, I decided to use a ribeye steak (available at Wal-Mart in a package of one) for more tender meat. I also used beef stock instead of broth, following recommendation of one of the reviews. And finally, I added a splash of white wine for a little extra something!


The ingredients


One ribeye, cut into thin slices


Onions and mushrooms cooking


The finished meal

The verdict: Very tasty. The sauce had a great flavor, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't darker though. Stroganoff tends to be more of a light brown sauce and this one wasn't. That would easily have been fixed by adding a bit of browning liquid but I didn't feel like messing with that. It tasted great and will definitely be served again!