Stroganoff.

My kitchen is a Kitchen of Improvisation. At one point or another, I never have the exact or enough ingredients so as always I tend to get creative and improvise with what I have. And usually these meal decisions are made last minute since the men folk do not like pre-planned meals.. at all... These last minute improv results can either be really good or really bad. And of course I'm not posting the bad ones...and if it turns out bad.. thank the stars for Pizza Delivery!  But usually 99.9% of the time things turn out really good.. and usually better than what the existing recipe called for. Last night was one of those moments.

Mister wanted Beef Stroganoff. We had beef yes, but in large 3 lb. frozen quantities in which even my most peppiest spirit could not endure the thought of having to hurriedly defrost out a pound and repack the remainder, it was pushing 7pm for crying out loud! I also did not have a Stroganoff seasoning packet nor sour cream. But what I did have was a pound of Turkey, Google and Ingenuity of Improvisation!

I decided that I would substitute the turkey for beef as I have often done in the past in many dishes, for health purposes. Though... how do I make stroganoff with out the seasoning packet... Google to the rescue! I looked up a scratch homemade recipe and off to work I went..  Here are my results:

Turkey Stroganoff

Defrost 1 lb. of Ground Turkey meat.  While the meat is defrosting, boil up some rice or noodles (pick your poison) Some people like noodles with stroganoff.. I do.. I like egg noodles with mine. :) but..

I was out of noodles.. so rice it was. I used two packets of two different kinds of rice since I only had two packets of both left. White and Brown... also begin chopping up a quarter of a red onion (or a regular onion.. red was all I had.) And isn't this lovely?

I love the vibrant colours of red onions. Anyway... once you've finished crying..er.. I mean chopping up the onions. Set aside. At this point, both the meat and the rice should be ready. First drain the rice and set aside. Just reuse the pot that you boiled the rice in to cook the meat in, because after all... why dirty up another dish and make more work for yourself later?! Am I not right?

The meat is ready for the skillet..er.. pot.. Toss the meat in and while the meat is sizzling, add in several dashes of oregano, black pepper and the chopped onion. Let cook until done. At this point, add a Family Size Can of Mushroom Soup and a good dash of milk to help aid in the creamy consistency. Let this mixture get good and bubbly.

So.. I was out of sour cream... so I bet you are wondering how in the world am I going to make this have that creamy tart taste of stroganoff? Well we being cheese connoisseurs of sorts, I have a serious stash of a variety of cheeses.

Goat's cheese being one of them. I like Goat's Cheese. It's rather tart but smooth and creamy. Much like sour cream. So... I again improvised... cut off a good sized slice of Goat Cheese and add into the bubbling soup mixture and stir well until the Goat's Cheese melts completely.

At this point, the Goat's Cheese will have thickened up the Stroganoff bringing it to completion. Let it brew for a few more minutes. And ring the dinner bell and get out of the way!

Turkey Stroganoff was excellent! Even if improvised! I'd nearly prefer this to the real mccoy. As the Mister seemed to agree as well.. and there was not a drop left in the HUGE pot of it that I made. So I bet you are wondering what accompanied the Stroganoff?

Why a big pot of mixed cut (French and Country cuts) green beans of course! We have to have our daily serving of veggies. And in my opinion, nothing goes well with warm thick comfort food than green beans... (oh my.. I think I'm turning into my Grams..who is a habitual green bean cooker..)

Hope you enjoyed another recipe from the Kitchen of Improvisation. Stay tuned.. I'm sure there will be many more on the whim recipes! :)  Now where is my Nobel Prize?