Green Pepper Beef Stroganoff

Today's dish was inspired by 4.5/5-star-after-1407-reviews "Beef Stroganoff III" from allrecipes.com (which just so happens to be my favourite recipe site). I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, so I improvised, adapted, overcame, and man did it turn out delicious! Even my husband, who is apprehensive about trying new recipes (and very difficult to impress!), tried this one and gave it two thumbs way up! And it's gluten-free if you use the right brands and opt for rice or gluten-free pasta.

Here's what you'll need:

Large skillet with lid

1 lb of ground beef (if using ground turkey or leaner than 85/15, just add one to two tablespoons of oil)

2 small-medium green bell peppers, seeds removed

1/2 of a large onion (yellow or white)

1 c milk

1 c water

1/3 c plain Greek yogurt (if gluten-free, be careful the brand - some have gluten)

1/3 c cream cheese

1/3 c sherry or white wine

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins is gluten-free)

1 Tbsp yellow mustard (French's is gluten-free)

1 Tbsp each of cornstarch and water (just mix them together until there are no lumps)

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

The Method:

Prepare (or have your husband buy for you) a cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer) to enjoy while cooking. Place it somewhere easy to access at all times. This is vital to the success of the dish.

Brown the ground beef (or turkey) in your skillet over medium heat. While that's going, thinly slice your green peppers and onions (I chopped mine only because I have a toddler who will be eating, and she has an easier time with chopped veggies than sliced ones). If you're not confident with the knife, you may want to do this before you begin browning the meat.

Once your beef is sufficiently browned, scoot it all over to one side of the skillet and toss in your onions, as well as your teaspoon of salt. Stir those around with the drippings from the beef for about 3-5 minutes, until they start to become tender. Bask in the wonderful oniony aroma.

As soon as your onions are tender, you're ready to throw in your green peppers. Scoot the onions over with the meat to make room, and then dump your bells in along with your Worcestershire (love that sizzle!). Let those simmer for a minute or two before you mix everything in the pan all together and toss a lid on. Let that cook for 5-7 minutes, and in the meantime get your rice or pasta going (according to their package instructions) so that it's ready once the stroganoff is.

When your rice/pasta is ready to be independent for a while, take the lid off the meat mixture and give it a good stir. If it looks like your veggies are becoming nice and tender, you can move on to the next step. If not, let them cook for a couple minutes longer while you enjoy a few sips of your coffee. 

Once the peppers are good and tender, add your water and milk, and dump in your wine while you're at it (I know, I know, "if it isn't good enough to drink, it isn't good enough to cook with". The cooking wine is all I had because I drank all the stuff that was good enough to drink. Please forgive me). Bring that to a boil and stir in your cornstarch mixture, mixing very well.

This step is not something I've ever added to my stroganoff before, but it really did add such wonderful flavour that I will never omit it ever again, thanks to the allrecipes inspiration post! 1 Tbsp of yellow mustard. Yup. Sounds weird, but it gives the dish a wonderful vinegary note that I love so very much! Squirt that into your pan along with the garlic powder and mix it up.

Now you're going to drop in your yogurt and your cream cheese. Stir these in until the cream cheese is completely melted and integrated. You can go ahead and give it a taste if you'd like, now. Does it need more salt? Add some! Is it great? Of course it is! 

Now just grind some black pepper over the top and admire your work. Oh, and turn off the stove. That helps not burn down houses and stuff.

That's it! It's rich, creamy, and has a vinegary zip that will have you coming back for more! Serve the stroganoff over your rice or pasta, and enjoy it nice and piping hot. I actually always burn myself on my first bite of stroganoff, every stinkin' time. Does anyone else do that? The same with lasagna and Hot Pockets. Ugh, my poor tongue. But the taste is so worth it, even if I can't taste anything else for a couple of hours after.

There are a million and one different variations you can make on this dish. You can use the sour cream they used in the original recipe instead of Greek yogurt (I'm currently obsessed with Greek yogurt and use it every chance I get, but I won't judge you if you decide to forgo it), you can add in some of your favourite ranch dressing, add some red wine instead of white or sherry. Actually, if I had mushrooms on hand, they would have been in the pan in a heartbeat, but I don't because I ate them all already. You should totally try it, though. I also added frozen peas to my daughter's dish to cool it off for her because she is impatient, and because, you know, veggies. 

Did you have a variation I didn't mention? Tell me what it was! Until then, happy cooking!

May you and your coffee both be strong,

Meggan