If you want a quick, delicious, and reasonably inexpensive meal, try this simple hamburger/ground beef stroganoff with spaetzle noodles. The stroganoff is pure comfort food--warm, full of earthy mushrooms, and with plenty of sauce to dress the noodles. Even better, the stroganoff--noodles and all--cooks in one pan for easy cleanup. I use lean ground beef and low-fat in my version of the stroganoff, which means that the fat is kept under control. You can use lean ground turkey, but the taste won't be as strong or rich as with the beef. The recipe makes a large pan, so you can enjoy some leftovers. Try the stroganoff with a green vegetable and salad on the side. Enjoy!
Beef Stroganoff with Spaetzle -- Serve 4+
1- 1 1/4 pounds of lean ground beef (93 percent)
1/2 cup of chopped onion
8 ounces of sliced button mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon of paprika (sweet)
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of ketchup (yes, ketchup)
3 1/2 cups of water
2 teaspoon of reduced sodium beef "Better Than Bullion"
8-9 ounces of dried packaged spaetzle noodles (about 1/2 of a 17-18-ounce
package -- I use the Aldi or Lidl brand)
3/4 - 1 cup of low-fat sour cream
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef and onion and saute them for 10-15 minutes or until the meat has browned and the onion has softened. Stir in the mushrooms and cook them with the meat/onion mixture for another 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley flakes, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup and stir to combine everything. Stir in the water and "Better Than Bullion." Bring the mixture to a boil and add the noodles. Stir everything well, partially cover the pan, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the stroganoff cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring it every so often, until the noodles have softened and about 2/3 of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream. Yum, yum.
