Heart Healthy Stroganoff - Delicious and Nutritious

Last week I stopped by one of my favorite local stores that carries outdated and overstocked items at bargain prices.  I was there to get repackaged bulk cat-food (only $7.99 for a 20 lb bag).  We have outdoor cats.  You know when your kids come to you with the neighbor's adorable free kittens and PLEAD with you saying--"I PROMISE we'll take care of them" but then the cats and the kids grow up and YOU are the one left responsible for them--well we have two of those.  Because they are outdoor cats the food dish has become the feeding trough for 6 or 8 other cats in the neighborhood, a muster of magpies, and one agressive and voracious raccoon!   Anyway back to the store...it's a bit dark and warehouse-like but I like it because every visit is like a treasure hunt.  You never know what you'll find there.  Last week I got gourmet extra-sharp white Irish cheddar cheese for $2.69/lb (usually 4X that much).  In addition to the packaged items there is nearly always a fruit or vegetable featured at ridiculously low prices (e.g. once I bought 15 two-pound cartons of big beautiful blueberries for 99 cents each).  This visit the special was mushrooms...big 24 ounce container for 99 cents.  I'm a sucker for a bargain--even if I have no idea what I'll do with the item at the time--so I bought two of them.  With nearly 50 ounces of mushrooms in the fridge for the last few days we've been having them in everything (e.g. omelettes, mixed vegetables etc.).

Mushrooms don't just taste good, they are a wonder-food!  They are not only low calorie and contain zero fat, but they contain a special carbohydrate that stokes your metabolic fire (helping you to lose weight).  They also maintain blood-sugar levels, boost your immune system, provide vitamin D,  contain many antioxidants, and the selenium in them helps prevent Bladder and Prostate Cancer.  I didn't want my mushrooms to go bad so yesterday I decided to use them as a meat replacement for stroganoff.

Stroganoff originated in Russia in the 19th century (first documented recipe was from Elena Molokhovets' classic Russian cookbook published in 1861) and has become popular all over the world.  There are many variations but the dish is essentially lots of meat sautéed in strips served with a sour-cream sauce.  Many would argue that all that meat and fat is what makes stroganoff so delicious.  Well...yeah...of course!  The problem is that all that meat and sour cream clogs your arteries, gives you heart disease, and makes you miss out on your great-grand-kids...not worth it no matter how good stroganoff is.  BUT, what if you could make a delicious-tasting stroganoff with 1/4 of the normal amount of meat and low-fat kefir or buttermilk rather than sour cream.  That became my mission yesterday.  I adapted an old stroganoff recipe I had replacing most of the meat with mushrooms (we still eat meat but for budgetting and health reasons we use it sparingly).  The dish is simple (has only 5 ingredients) and it turned out to have a wonderful texture (I sliced the mushrooms thickly so they provided a good "bite" like meat does) and a savory tang.  The result was delicious and it got a two-thumbs-up from my primary taste tester and resident foodie--our 16 year old daughter.

Here is the recipe for Delicious Heart-Healthy Stroganoff:

• 8 ounces Beef or Pork - cubed (optional - I had some bits of pork that needed to be used up)
• 16 ounces Mushrooms - sliced thickly
• 1 Bell Pepper - diced
• 20 ounces Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used my low-fat homemade variety but you can used two cans of Campbell's if you prefer)
• 1.5 cups Kefir or Buttermilk

Note: I would normally add onions to stroganoff but my home-made Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup has a lot of onion in it already.

Sauté the meat cubes in a tablespoon of olive oil until brown and crispy.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Remove the meat from the frying pan and replace with the mushrooms and peppers.  Cover and sauté until soft, add back the meat and stir in the condensed soup with 1/2 cup of kefir / buttermilk.  Cover and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.   Turn off the heat and stir-in the remaining cup of kefir / buttermilk.  Add salt if needed.  

Serve over brown rice or noodles with some colorful cooked vegetables on the side.  Delicious and good for you too!