Stroganoff...ish

I had 1lb of ground beef in my fridge, but nothing tomato-ey of any kind (so any sort of spaghetti sauce was out), nor beans, or cheese, or any good Tex-Mex-y additions.  I was about to settle on making meatloaf, but then, I remembered that I had mushrooms....and half of a container of sour cream.  AND my new pasta press was just begging to make some more noodles.

While I'm sure it would be way better with sliced sirloin, my Hamburger Helper style beef stroganoff turned into a pretty decent weekday dinner.

Also, I think it's really hard to make Stroganoff look appetizing.  But...here's the picture anyway:

Beef Stroganoff

I used this recipe for Beef Stroganoff as a starting point, because it was one of the simplest I'd seen, but after browsing through a few other recipes as well, here's what I used and did:

Beef Stroganoff (Hamburger Helper Style)

• Ground Beef - about 1lb
• Montreal Steak Seasoning
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Onion, diced (about 1/3 of a medium yellow onion)
• Garlic, chopped (2 cloves)
• Mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2lb)
• Rosemary
• Butter
• Salt and Pepper
• Sour Cream (about 1 cup)
• Dijon Mustard (a couple of teaspoons - to taste, really)
• Pasta Noodles - I used fresh-made Fusilli, but it's usually those big flat egg noodles, right?

1. I browned the ground beef and seasoned it while in the skillet with Montreal Steak Seasoning, salt and pepper, and little Worcestershire sauce, then set it aside when done.
2. I sautéed the onions and garlic in a little butter, then added that to the beef.
3. I sautéed the mushrooms in a little butter, and added some dried rosemary, salt and pepper.
4. I stirred all of this together with the sour cream, and a couple of spoonfuls of Dijon mustard.
5. I did thin mine down with just a little water because my sour cream was very thick.

It wasn't anything fancy but it certainly was easy and tasted good.

Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta

Check out my new toy.

Pasta Press Attachment for the Mixer.

Better than Play-doh.

Oh my goodness I'm so excited it's not even funny.  Only because I made Rigatoni, though.  If I'd made Fusilli it would be pretty hilarious.

Homemade Rigatoni

Creamy Chipotle Chicken Pasta

So this recipe made use of some leftover deeeelicious Chipotle chicken that Mark had grilled for us.

I just sautéed some onion, garlic, and sweet peppers, made a quick béchamel sauce, mixed it all together with the shredded chicken and pasta, and added a few bleu cheese crumbles on top.

Chipotle Marinade for the Chicken: (from "The Barbecue Bible"):
[This is great on chicken - Mark marinated and grilled tenders, which we most recently ate with rice, and it makes for amazing tacos as well.]

• 6 Canned chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce with 2T of their juices
• 5 Cloves Garlic
• 1 strip orange zest (2")
• 1 cup fresh sour orange juice (or 3/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lime juice)
• 1 T tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Combine in a saucepan and bring to a boil
2. Allow to reduce by half (5-8 minutes)
3. Blend in a food processor to a smooth paste

Béchamel/White sauce:

• Butter
• Flour
• Milk
• Salt and Pepper

1. Melt a few tablespoons of Butter in a saucepan over medium heat
2. Add in a spoonful of flour, and whisk until it's a golden-brown, smooth paste
3. Add milk (or cream) and whisk till smooth
4. Let thicken if needed, or add more liquid if it gets too thick
5. Salt and Pepper to taste