Word History & Origin: name of a beef dish cooked in sauce containing sour cream, 1932, from Fr., from name of 19c. Rus. diplomat Count Paul Stroganov. (Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper)

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: a dish of tender beef strips, mushrooms, and onions cooked in a sour-cream sauce and served with noodles or rice; also called stroganov, beef stroganoff, boeuf stroganoff

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That definition sounds lovely, but look, sometimes I’m in a hurry and I’m sure this next recipe will offend the serious foodies (I’m sure they aren’t reading this blog anyway) and the Count will no doubt be rolling over in his grave, but I’m gonna share it with you anyway. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

1. Start boiling a BIG pot of water for your pasta. TIME SAVING TIP: Fill the pot half full and salt the water, turn heat to high. Fill an electric kettle with water and turn on. When the kettle water is boiling, add it to the pot on the stove. Maybe it’s just my stove top but even on the high power burner it takes forever to boil a big pot of water – this trick really saves me a lot of time.
2. Get the ground beef cooking. If you use a non stick pan and heat it slowly, you can render some of the fat out of the meat and omit adding any fat to the pan. If you don’t have a non stick, just add a little cooking oil to the pan and start browning the meat.
3. While the meat is doing it’s thing, start chopping the onions and mushrooms. Sometimes I thinly slice them, sometimes I quarter them… It depends on the pasta I am using. With a rotini or penne, I like to leave the veggies in chunks, but with a fettuccini I think thin slices work better because they stick to the pasta better.
4. When the meat is browned, remove from heat and set aside. Cook the onions and mushrooms in the same pan so you don’t need to add more fat. Mushrooms soak up the fat right away and you’ll find yourself adding more and more oil, so instead, just start with a pan with some fat left in it from the meat and then add a little dash of chicken stock if the pan gets too dry and the veggies start sticking.
5. When the water is boiling, toss in the pasta and cook as per package instructions MINUS 1 minute.
6. Whisk the two cans of mushroom soup in a bowl with some milk to remove big clumps.
7. Add the meat back into the pan with he veggies, then add the soup mix. Season to taste.
8. Drain pasta and put back into the big pot. Pour hot saucy meat and veggies over the pasta and stir to coat. Let cook one or two minutes until the pasta is done.
9. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh chopped herbs – and a dollop of   sour cream or thick Greek yogurt if you feel like indulging!