I never thought I’d be one of those people who likes to have dinner on the table by 5:00.  When Eric and I first got married, our “normal” dinner time ranged from 6:00 to as late as 10:00 on occasion.

But with kiddos who need to be in the bathtub by 7:00 and in their pj’s by 7:30, eating dinner after dark just doesn’t work.

So yesterday afternoon, when 4:00 rolled around and I realized I hadn’t a clue what I was fixing for dinner, I had a *slight* panic attack.  A 1-1/2 lb package of ground beef was defrosting in the fridge and my first thought was spaghetti.  Usually I love spaghetti.  It’s sort of a comfort food.  But lately I’ve been feeling nauseous due to baby pressure on my squished stomach, and spaghetti did NOT sound yummy.

So my brain switched to ground-beef-defrosting-default #2: beef stroganoff.  That sounded yummy.

My ‘quick & easy’ beef stroganoff isn’t technically the real thing, as I was using ground beef and didn’t have any mushrooms on hand.  But it’s close enough for me (and everyone else in the family!)

{Measurements are very rough, so feel free to play around with the recipe}

Quick & Easy Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

4 oz. white mushrooms, sliced (if you have them!)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)

salt and pepper to taste

2 T. flour

1 c. beef broth

1/3 c. red wine

1/4 c. cream cheese (sour cream works just as well… and I’ve also tried feta cheese before–it tasted great!)

1/3 c. half-and-half (milk or cream would also work)

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic; drain grease.  Add mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle flour over beef mixture and mix well.  Add beef broth and red wine; bring to boil.  Lower heat to simmer.  Stir in cream cheese and half-and-half; heat through.  Serve over pasta or rice.

-Abby