Beef Stroganoff Over Buttered Noodles

You know the beef stroganoff alot of us grew up with?  The noodles with a big gloppy mess of sour cream sauce.  Hard to tell exactly what was in there.  Anyone else have this experience?  Maybe it was just me.

Anyway, this is so not like that!!  This beef stroganoff is seriously awesome!!  And it hardly has any sour cream in it at all (couple of tablespoons, that's it).  The Dijon mustard is the secret ingredient that just takes it over the top for me.  Takes awhile to make but it is so worth it!

This is a Tyler Florence recipe I got here.  He says to let everything simmer partially covered but I ended up keeping the lid on and I'm glad I did as I think the sauce would have cooked away otherwise.  Follow the instructions on keeping it over a very low flame though.  I think this was the trick that resulted in the amazingly fork tender beef. 

My husband devoured this and requested I double the sauce next time, keeping the beef amount the same.  He likes the idea of having extra to sop up with his bread.  Good idea.

Served with a side of sweet peas and French bread.



Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

I used to think there was only one way to do stuffed peppers - ground beef, tomato sauce, etc.  My husband and I both have memories of eating them like this when we were kids.  He would probably still eat them that way if it weren't for the fact I won't prepare them that way.  Didn't like ground beef in my pepper then and I don't like it now.  Which brings us to these stuffed peppers that my whole family loves (even my son, the veggie hater):

1c. vegetable broth

1 TBSP butter

1/2c. uncooked Arborio rice

4 red or green peppers, seeded and tops removed

2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 lb. veggie sausage

4 green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2c. mushrooms, chopped

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. Italian or Greek seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, diced

8 oz. garlic & herb feta cheese, crumbled

1.  Preheat oven to 350*

2.  In medium saucepan, bring broth and butter to a boil.  Add rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer  approximately 20 minutes, or until done.  Set aside.

3.  Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil and add the sausage.  Cook over medium heat until done.

4.  To the skillet, add green onions, garlic, mushrooms, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir about 5 minutes.

5.  Add the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes or so.

6. Add the cooked rice and stir until everything is well blended and heated through.

7.  Remove from heat and add feta.

8.  Spoon everything into peppers and bake 30-40 min. and serve immediately. 

Served with garlic angel hair pasta.