One of my favorite dishes, and one of the dishes I learned how to make from my Vava this past summer in New Bedford, Ma is Beef Stroganoff. I have always loved it but never really ordered it at many restaurants in my lifetime because I'm very picky about it, and of course no one can make it like my grandmother can! So when she showed me how to make it this summer and I realized how easy it was I just knew it would be something I was going to make on a regular basis from now on for my own family. Plus one of the only things I know both my two picky eaters will eat with no complaints! If only flank steak wasn't so darn expensive at Whole Foods I would make it more! Good thing it makes a huge pot and you can eat off of it for a couple days. As long as your family doesn't stand around the pot and scarf it all down! It's been known to happen here.
Another reason I've been making this more is because it is finally Autumn here, and I am VERY excited about this! I am ready to make tons of "fall foods"! It's time to make soups, and casseroles, and pies! I want to try so many new recipes this Autumn, and cook with things I've never tried before! I want to cook Spaghetti Squash, and Butternut Squash. I want to try making Lasagne Soup. I can't wait till Thanksgiving! Isn't that just horrible? I love Autumn and I love the holiday season, and one of the best thing about the holidays is the food. Just because my diet has changed does NOT mean that has to change! All that changes is the types of food I stay away from, and the change in the ingredients in what I love to eat. It's simple. Stay away from crap, and cook your food with better fresher ingredients!
This recipe is kind of like that. The ingredients have been altered to make it a healthier version. One of the things I think that should change to make this recipe healthier is the meat. I buy a nice sized cut of flank steak from Whole Foods and it is always a free range, grass fed beef that is incredibly lean. The other nice thing is that flank steak they get comes from a local farm and it gets a humane rating of 4 which basically means it comes from really happy cows! Happy cow means a tasty cow! More importantly a healthy cow means a healthier YOU! Nothing like what they call "flank steak" at our local grocery store! That stuff is a joke. It's fatty and brown and not appetizing at all! The cut I got for the batch I made this evening was incredibly lean. Much more than the last one. It made for very tender meat. Well, now that I have your mouth watering I'll get to the recipe. Hope you enjoy! Make sure to cook this on a lower heat so that it retains a lot of the juice. You can cook it longer to get a more tender meat with a lot of juices in the pot. If you cook it on too high of a heat you will boil that moisture out and it will be ruined.
Another reason I've been making this more is because it is finally Autumn here, and I am VERY excited about this! I am ready to make tons of "fall foods"! It's time to make soups, and casseroles, and pies! I want to try so many new recipes this Autumn, and cook with things I've never tried before! I want to cook Spaghetti Squash, and Butternut Squash. I want to try making Lasagne Soup. I can't wait till Thanksgiving! Isn't that just horrible? I love Autumn and I love the holiday season, and one of the best thing about the holidays is the food. Just because my diet has changed does NOT mean that has to change! All that changes is the types of food I stay away from, and the change in the ingredients in what I love to eat. It's simple. Stay away from crap, and cook your food with better fresher ingredients!
This recipe is kind of like that. The ingredients have been altered to make it a healthier version. One of the things I think that should change to make this recipe healthier is the meat. I buy a nice sized cut of flank steak from Whole Foods and it is always a free range, grass fed beef that is incredibly lean. The other nice thing is that flank steak they get comes from a local farm and it gets a humane rating of 4 which basically means it comes from really happy cows! Happy cow means a tasty cow! More importantly a healthy cow means a healthier YOU! Nothing like what they call "flank steak" at our local grocery store! That stuff is a joke. It's fatty and brown and not appetizing at all! The cut I got for the batch I made this evening was incredibly lean. Much more than the last one. It made for very tender meat. Well, now that I have your mouth watering I'll get to the recipe. Hope you enjoy! Make sure to cook this on a lower heat so that it retains a lot of the juice. You can cook it longer to get a more tender meat with a lot of juices in the pot. If you cook it on too high of a heat you will boil that moisture out and it will be ruined.
Beef Stroganoff
- 1.5 lb cut of lean flank steak, cut lengthwise in 1/2 then into thin sliced pieces
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or you can use coconut oil spray like I normally do)
- I med onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 container of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- 2 cans of beef consomme
- 2 tablespoons of organic ketchup
- 2 tablespoons of organic soy sauce
- pepper, to taste
- 8oz organic reduced fat sour cream
- Saute chopped onions and garlic in the olive oil or lots of coconut oil spray ( my grandmother likes to use a little butter with her olive oil for extra flavor but for a healthier option stick with the coconut oil )
- Add the sliced flank steak and cook on low-med heat until no more pink shows.
- Add mushrooms and saute them lightly with the beef
- Sprinkle the flour on top of the steak and mushroom mixture and stir till flour is absorbed.
- Immediately add the beef consomme, ketchup, and soy sauce and stir together.
- Cook this for 10-15 min. ( If you would like to cook it longer to make your meat is more tender do so on a low simmer so not to burn off too much of the juices)
- Add sour cream, and cook for another 5 min.
- Serve on top of rice, noodles, or even quinoa!