Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mom's Beef Stroganoff

To some people, comfort food is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. As a matter of fact, that WAS a staple in my home in the 50s and 60s. Then, my mom started watching cooking shows. This was pre-Food Network and it was only people like the spy Julia Child (just kidding, Julia) and Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourment. Now, Julia made French food and that was just a little much, but Graham Kerr was deliciously witty, cute and he drank wine while he cooked. A very efficient combination. It served to get all of America soused by dinner time as we watched him cook his tasty tidbits.

I don't really know if Graham introduced my mom to Beef Stroganoff or not. I only remember that it was about that time that she began to prepare it rather regularly and it became one of my all time faves. Since it is a fairly simple recipe, I included it in my weekly or semi-weekly menus for my family and now...it's a Reagan Family Recipe!

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. round steak
1 clove garlic, sliced in half
1 can fat-free chicken broth (yes, chicken broth)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
1-8 oz. pkg mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup flour
2 T. oil (may need more, but start with this)
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
8 oz. reduced fat sour cream
Cooked noodles

A little bit about the ingredients--round steak is an inexpensive cut and so ideal for this recipe, but if you want to fancy it up, you can use top sirloin. You can even use hamburger. I've never tried it with ground chicken or turkey, but what the hey! It's worth a try. Most beef stroganoff recipes use beef broth, not chicken. I like the mildness of the chicken broth, though. You can use either one. By using a fat-free broth and reduced fat sour cream, you really lower the calorie count for this recipe and it doesn't make a difference at all in taste.

1. Rub cut sides of garlic over the the bottom and sides of a skillet with tall sides and then over the steak. Discard the garlic. Slice steak very thin, against the grain of the meat.

2. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high until just hot and add onions.

3. Add flour, salt and pepper to a large zipper locked bag and then put the steak in it and close it up. Shake the steak to coat it and pour it all into the skillet. Watch out! If the oil is too hot, the flour will burn. Cook steak until it is no longer pink.

4. Add chicken broth and stir with metal spatula, scraping up the pieces on the bottom of the skillet. Once all has been scraped up, add mushrooms and stir together. Turn, the skillet down to low, put the lid on the skillet and cook about 20 minutes.

5. Use this time to cook your pasta. Any flat kind will do, but I usually use the fat, curly ones.

6. About 2 minutes before the steak, onion and mushroom mixture is done, add the sour cream. Do not let this boil. This is just to heat the sour cream. so don't put the lid back on and watch it carefully.

Serve over noodles. Enjoy!

No comments: