The Cat Is Away

And when that happens...

M is off visiting her mother this week, I couldn't go along because I'm saving my vacation days for other things. So while she's been gone I've been finishing up some of the trim work around the new flooring (it is in all the way through the kitchen into the dining room now) and trying some recipes that I can't try while she is here, due to her lactose intolerance mostly. One of those things is beef stroganoff.

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lbs beef, sliced thin. You can use just about anything...heck, you can even use hamburger if you get the lean stuff...but the better the beef the better the stroganoff.
1/2 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
8 oz mushrooms, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T flour
2 C beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 C sour cream
Egg noodles or rice

If you are using hamburger, cook and drain it. If not, skip to the next step.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet, add the olive oil. Stir in the beef (unless you are using hamburger), onion, mushroom and garlic. Cook until the beef is browned and the onion begins to turn translucent. (If you are using hamburger, add the cooked hamburger in now.)

Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the beef broth and the soup and again stir until smooth. Allow this mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

Now is a good time to cook the egg noodles or rice as per package directions.

Stir in the sour cream and cook for another 5 minutes until everything is heated up. Serve over noodles or rice.