Meatball Stroganoff for the Brain Dead

I am totally loving the cold weather.  It gives me permission to make some great comfort food dinners. What I love most about comfort food is that generally, it's SO easy to make and SO darn delicious!

This Brain Dead version of stroganoff uses frozen boxed meatballs as a shortcut. (And remember the mantra: there is no shame in shortcuts!)  There are many variations around the word of this now classic dish (read more here), but I like this super easy dumbed down version (a.k.a. Brain Dead).

The most work here is chopping a small onion and slicing 3 large mushrooms.  C'mon - you know you can do that!  This dish should take you 15 minute tops to make.  That's a pretty small investment of time for a satisfying and tasty meal, n'est-ce pas?

This serves 2 well.  You can double or triple the recipe easily.  It's a tasty, cheap and cheerful dinner for a large family or anyone on a budget.  Delicious... cheap... heck, I need not go on - it sells itself!  So let's get started!

Here's what you'll need:

                           14 ready made frozen meatballs

                           1 small onion, chopped

                           1/2 C sour cream

                           3 large mushrooms, sliced (~2 C)

                           1 C beef broth

                           2 T flour (divided)

                           2 T butter (divided)

                           3 C medium sized egg noodles

First, get your pot of water boiling for your noodles.

 

Melt 1 T butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat.

 

Add onions and mushrooms.

Cook for about 5 minutes...

 

...until the onions soften and the mushrooms brown.

Next, sprinkle 1 T of the flour over top and toss well. 

Add the beef broth and bring to boil.

Immediately reduce heat to low.

Mix the remaining 1T of flour into the sour cream.

Blend well and thoroughly until smooth. 

Add the sour cream blend into the onion mushroom mixture.

Stir through to blend. 

Toss in the meatballs... 

Combine the meatballs with the sauce, 

making sure they're well coated.

Add a few grindings of black pepper and about 1/8 t of salt. 

Cover to simmer while your noodles cook.

Add noodles to a large pot of boiling water.

Cook according to package directions.

Mine took about 6 minutes. 

Drain well and toss with remaining T of butter. 

Divide noodles between 2 bowls.

Top evenly with meatball mushroom sauce.

Sprinkle with dried parsley and paprika for some colour.

What a yummy, quick, comfort meal for a cold day!

Kraut and Sausage for the Brain Dead

I've been Brain Dead for weeks and as a result, have been oh so negligent with my postings.  Please be kind...

Hopefully, I'm back and will  post a little more regularly.  Heck, I'm even going to try to get Cameraman Dave back into action.

But now, let's get down to business!

This is a great fall meal.  And it's stupid easy to pull together.  You're basically throwing in ready to use ingredients to make your "home cooked supper".  And while I love - and often do - make from scratch meals and recipes, you know my motto: there is no shame in shortcuts!

So shortcut away and make an easy night of dinner by tossing a few things in a pan!

Here's what you'll need to generously feed 2:

                             2 cups packed sauerkraut*

                                       1 bottle of beer (about 12 ounces)

                             1 pkg Uncle Ben's Express converted rice

                             4 sausages, your choice

                             1/4 C olive oil (not shown)

                             1 t sweet paprika (not shown)

                             * (first rinse, squeeze out liquid before packing in cup)

Here is a close up of the sausages I used.

They are smoked so really, are pre-cooked.

Here is the rice pack I used. 

Add kraut to pan.

Add beer and olive oil.

Add entire contents of rice pack.

Mix it all up!

Place your sausages on top.

Now bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium low.

Cook for 15 minutes.

Uncover, crank off the heat and boil off excess liquid.

Add paprika and mix through.

Add a few grindings of fresh pepper and taste for salt.

Serve it up!

Cheap, cheerful, fast and filling!

Perfect meal idea for Brain Dead you :-)