Crockpot Mushroom and Green Bean Stroganoff

I seriously love the convenience of crockpots. And there is nothing more inviting than walking into the house and smelling some scrumptious. It makes your mouth water just anticipating what you are about to dine on!

Crockpot Mushroom and Green Bean Stroganoff

Olive oil
One package sliced mushrooms
2 T. tomato paste
2 c. vegetable stock
One onion, chopped
One green bell pepper, chopped
2 T. flour
1-1/2 T. Hungarian paprika (yes, it does make a difference!)
One bag frozen green beans
1/2 c. vegan sour cream

Saute the mushrooms, onion and bell pepper in the olive oil until softened. Whisk in the flour. Remove from heat. Add this mixture to the crockpot. Add paprika and green beans on top of mushroom mixture. Mix the tomato paste with the vegetable stock and pour this on top of everything. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. When done, stir in the vegan sour cream. Serve with wide noodles. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Gyros

Ah! So happy to be back blogging! I've been so busy lately, and have grown weary of throwing together anything and calling it supper! Ugh! Now that I've got more time to do more things, I'm getting back into the groove of cooking! Yay!

My family loves gyros. I've mentioned this before and included a seitan recipe here. That one was made with seitan and while delicious, is more time consuming. Imagine my surprise when flipping through a magazine I find this little gem.

Quick and Easy Gyros

One (or in my case, two) packages of vegan style Boca Burgers
One container vegan sour cream
2-3 cloves garlic
Whole grain tortillas
Roma tomatoes
Lettuce, shredded
Half a cucumber, peeled
Red onion

Chop and mix together the tomatoes, cucumber and red onion. Cook Boca burgers according to package directions (we made ours in a skillet). In a food processor, blend the garlic and sour cream together.
To assemble, cut a burger into two halves and place on top of tortilla. Stack on the veggie mix, lay on some lettuce, and smooth on some of the sour cream mixture. Fold in half, eat, enjoy!

This was so very simple to make and remarkably tasty, considering we were using a prepackaged burger instead of making one from scratch. I wanted something simple and quick, but tasty, and this worked out well. I served it with no-salt potato chips and my youngest went back for three of them!

You can certainly used the more typical pita bread to serve your gyros in, but I've always found they fall apart too easily, whereas flour tortillas seem much more manageable.

Green Bean and Mushroom Stroganoff

We all have our comfort foods, usually associated with our childhood, something Mom would make that made us feel loved and all warm and fuzzy inside. I have several. Most were served over wide egg noodles.

Green Bean and Mushroom Stroganoff

1 pound of green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 T. olive oil
One onion, chopped
One package of sliced mushrooms, rinsed, patted dry
1 T. paprika
2 T. flour
1 T. tomato paste
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 c. vegetablel broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Vegan sour cream

Steam the green beans and set aside. Or buy frozen cut green beans and skip this step.
Saute onion in olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices. Add paprika and flour and cook, stirring until flour is well mixed. Add tomato paste and wine and stir until smooth. Add the green beans and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Blend about one cup of broth with the sour cream and add back into the stroganoff.
Serve over noodles of choice and enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff or Beef Stroganov is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce with smetana or sour cream. From its origins in 19th-century Russia, it has become popular in much of Iran, Europe, North America, Australia, South Africa, Lebanon, Portugal and Brazil, with considerable variation from the original recipe.

The origin and history of Beef Stroganoff dates backs to 19th century. Elena Molokhovets' classic Russian cookbook (1861) gives the first known recipe for Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju "Beef à la Stroganov, with mustard" which involves lightly floured beef cubes (not strips) sautéed, sauced with prepared mustard and bouillon, and finished with a small amount of sour cream: no onions, no mushrooms. Some have suggested it had probably been in the family of Count Pavel Stroganoff's for some years and had become well known through his love of entertaining. Count Pavel Stroganoff was a celebrity, a dignitary at the court of Alexander III, a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and a known gourmet. Given it's history, it is doubtful that Beef Stroganoff was his or his chef's invention.

An 1890 competition is sometimes mentioned in the dish's history, but both the recipe and the name existed before then. A 1912 recipe adds onions and tomato paste, and serves it with crisp potato straws, which are considered the traditional side dish in Russia. The version given in the 1938 Larousse Gastronomique includes beef strips, and onions, with either mustard or tomato paste optional.

Me? I like mine cruelty-free, thank you! No beef, just yummy plant foods! Feel free to play with it, adding or subtracting ingredients as you please.