When I was a kid, this was one of the meals my mom had on heavy rotation. She always used ground beef, which I understand now was something she did to keep to our strict family budget. I didn’t know until I was an adult that stroganoff was supposed to use steak!
1 lb ground beef
1 small to medium sweet onion, sliced
8 oz brown mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 T butter, if needed
2 T flour
1/2 c sour cream
1 1/2 beef broth
1 t brown mustard
1 t smoked paprika – this really makes the dish! (and smoked paprika isn’t at all the same thing as basic paprika)
Brown the ground beef – make sure to season it well with salt and pepper – and remove to a bowl, leaving the drippings in the pan. Cook the onions (don’t brown them) in the beef drippings, or add some butter if you used lean meat. Add the mushrooms and cook them down, then throw in the garlic.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir it in, letting it cook about 30 seconds. This removes the raw taste.
Slowly add the beef broth and stir, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce is thickened. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and then add the meat back.
Serve over egg noodles.