Monday, September 22, 2014

15 Minute Vegetarian Stroganoff


Following yet another Sunday of absurd food and alcohol (see Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Muffins) and a conversation with my sister who had just watched Fed Up, I decided it was time to take some action if I had any hopes of hitting my goal of being in the best shape of my life when I turn 30 in less than 9 months (which, given my eating habits during my near constant work travel, is quite the optimistic goal). Step one involves cooking more (and better) for myself (and all you faithful readers who have surely felt like your lives were missing something vital lately), while step two includes finding the time and energy to work out a lot more than I have been. So begins the quest to get back in shape (thanks, stupid ACLs).

Vegetarian Stroganoff
Adapted from Amuse Your Bouche
Servings: 3
Time: 15 minutes

I was almost certain the pan would overflow
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin
1 package Gardein beefless tips
1/4-1/2 cup vegatable stock
1 tbsp smoked paprika
Black pepper to test
Red chili flakes to taste
salt to taste
Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (Annie's has one)
3 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
Parsley (optional)
Noodles or rice


  1. Saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and beefless tips in olive oil over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until softened.
  2. Stir in the veggie stock, smoked paprika, black pepper, red chili flakes, salt and vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (normal has anchovies in it). Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  3. Mix in the sour cream and parsley when ready to serve. 
  4. Scoop on top of rice or noodles and enjoy.
  5. Spend more time writing the blog post than cooking the meal.
Properly cooked down goodness.
In order to begin my more frequent cooking quest, I was going to have to find something tasty and fast. This stroganoff seemed like just the ticket. In half the time it takes to watch a sitcom, I had a hearty, healthy meal ready to devour. The dish had a great hint of smokiness from the paprika and a little kick from the red chili flakes, but it had a few areas that needed improvement. I made the mistake of buying the mushrooms pre-sliced, which led to them being a little too thick and taking over a lot of bites. Additionally, the texture of the rice was less than ideal, and the dish would have greatly benefited from some slippery noodles. All-in-all, though, the dish was definitely worth the (lack of) effort and deserves a second test run with the new insight.

Check back tomorrow night as I attempt to hit a streak of three straight days of cooking with aloo gobi.

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