Beef or Pork Stroganoff

I suppose I should call this recipe Grab-Bag Stroganoff since I took components from Carol's "Gluten Free Quick and Easy" recipe as well as 2 recipes from the Dynes Family Cookbook (thank you Angela and Scott AND Rachel and Tom).  It's been years since I've had stroganoff.  I'd never made it before, and I always rule it out as an option at restaurants knowing gluten will be a main ingredient.

And you may notice my rather large portion in the picture- I'd been thinking about the recipe all day and couldn't wait to finally satisfy my craving!  So, yes, I'm stuffed right now and glad to use the "I need to blog my recipe" excuse to just sit on the couch and not move.  Final note:  I will say, thanks to gluten free pasta, I'm stuffed but not miserable :)
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INGREDIENTS:
THE STROGANOFF:

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. sirloin, cut into strips or cubes OR ground pork
• 2 TBSP olive oil (Optional- see my **Quick note** near the end of my Directions)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4-6 small pearl onions, peeled and quartered OR 1 shallot, peeled and chopped OR 1 1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/2 TBSP pre-minced garlic
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup OR 1 cup of my Cream-of-Anything soup if going gluten free
• 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 6-8 oz. mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup sour cream (more or less depending on your preference)

THE STROGANOFF PARTNER:

• 8-12 oz. your choice pasta (I used 4 oz. tri-color spirals and 4 oz. gluten free brown rice spirals) OR you could cook rice- I'd suggest my White Rice Healthifed recipe

OPTIONAL SIDES (I was originally planning to try out Angela and Scott's Ukranian veggie recipes, but forgot there was an incident with the spice rack a few months ago... let's just say I blame Avery... my jar of dillweed was broken.... and I'd forgotten to replace it, SO perhaps next time I make this recipe I'll follow through on those plans)

• Sauteed Spinach Salad for a topper OR garnish with dried parsley and paprika
• Roasted Veggies (I used red onion, broccoli, zucchini, and added a separate portion of seasoned mushrooms for Keith this time around)

DIRECTIONS:

SUMMARY:  Chop the veggies - Get the pasta or rice cooking - Cook the cream soup, if using - Get the stroganoff cooking - Cook the sides

STEP ONE- PREP THE VEGGIES: Chop, dice, mince whatever you're planning on using.  If roasting some veggies for a side, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

STEP TWO- THE PASTA OR RICE AND CREAM SOUP:
Place the pot(s) of water over the stove if cooking pasta(s) and add pasta once water begins boiling OR get the rice cooking in a cooker or on the stove.  Cook the cream-of-anything soup, if using.

STEP THREE- THE STROGANOFF:
Heat the olive oil in a large wok for a bout 1 minute.  Add the sirloin or pork and season with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Stir frequently and stab frequently if using the ground pork in order to break it up.  Once the meat begins to brown 5-6 minutes), add the onions and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the sherry and cook for another minute or two stirring frequently.  Add the cream-of-whatever-you're using soup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and mushrooms, if using.  Again, since I avoid mushrooms, I just added some on my pan of roasted veggies for Keith to add into his stroganoff later.
Simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream just before serving.

**Quick note** My stroganoff was pretty greasy.  When it finished simmering, I poured it in a strainer to get rid of the excess grease before returning it to the wok and adding the sour cream.  It didn't ruin the tastiness at all in our opinions, BUT perhaps don't add the 2 TBSP of olive oil to cook the meat if you think you'll take issue with grease**

STEP FOUR- FINISHING THE SIDES, IF USING:
Once the pasta's cookin' and the strog's simmerin'- throw the roasted veggies in the oven to cook for 12 minutes.  Saute the spinach salad to use as a topper.

STEP FIVE- PLATING:
Surely, you can see from the pic- pasta, stroganoff, then topped with spinach salad (or you could just garnish with parsley and paprika)- throw some roasted veggies on the side.

THE KID STEP:
Yes, my original intention was to spoon out some of the stroganoff in a tortilla or on a toasted wheat bun, add some melted cheese and serve the girls a Russia-meets-Mexico-quesadilla or a Russian Sloppy Joe, but I got lazy and just heated up some Morning Star burgers and frozen veggies and served with some of the plain pasta.  I'll be sure to get their opinion next go round...