“Cooking from scratch is the single most important thing we can do to improve our health and general well-being”

We took a walk in the woods this afternoon. Slowly (very slowly) the weather is warming and it’s beginning to look a lot like Springtime (did you sing that in your head to the tune of the Christmas song like me?).  I’ve been longingly looking at my summer dresses hung in storage but as they say, “patience is a virtue” – It’ll be a while still before they get to play centre stage in my closet. 

The weather on B.C’s PNW Coast is finicky to say the least at this time of year.  The month of April is the true transition from Winter to Spring with sudden rainfall dotted with breaks of sunshine and cool winds.  May likes to tease us with warm Summer-like weather; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve put away my warmer layers in May only to have to pull them out again in “June-uary”.  June tends to cool down again and rain, rain, rain…The perks of living in a Temperate Rainforest I guess.  

For dinner I made homemade egg noodles and a simple Beef Stroganoff.  I started dinner prep around 4pm making the noodles (more on how to make homemade pasta HERE). Then I marinated the beef for 1 hour with sea salt, garlic and onion powder and a 1/2 tsp of worchestershire sauce.  I chopped the rest of the ingredients and set everything aside then found a movie to watch after supper:  The Hobbit.  I’ve never watched it even though I loved all of the Lord of The Rings films. 

So let’s get cooking:  (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 pound beef sirloin sliced thinly
5 – 6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 an onion sliced
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
heaping Tablespoon of butter
1 1/2 cups of beef broth
Sea salt to taste
Garlic and Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or more to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
2 cups hot cooked egg noodles – If you’re making fresh pasta like I did, follow the link above and cook noodles for 2 minutes in boiling salted water.

Directions

Slice the beef into 1-inch strips, salt generously and marinade with worchestershire sauce, onion and garlic powder. Leave in fridge until ready to cook.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, then the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the onions are soft. Remove the vegetables from the skillet to a bowl and set aside.

Add a little extra butter to the pan if needed then add the Beef to the skillet and cook until browned on all sides.

Stir 1/2 a cup of the beef broth into the skillet with the meat and bring to a low boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Whisk the remaining broth with the flour and stir this into the beef mixture in the skillet. Add the cooked mushrooms, onion and garlic back to the skillet and bring it all to a boil, stirring until the sauce is thickened. If you need to add extra broth because it’s too thick, do this now but keeping the heat low will be your best friend.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the sour cream until just heated through and remove from heat right away.

Serve the Beef Stroganoff over the cooked noodles.

NOTE: To reheat the next day; place in a pot and drizzle with milk and butter, a sprinkle of salt (if needed) and a little parmesan. Stir until heated and serve.

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Love,

Jennifer