New Recipe: Ground Beef Noodles

So, for awhile I had this modified beef stroganoff recipe that I was using, but the thing is that even though it sounds really good with the pasta and the beef and the sour cream and all, something about beef stroganoff just doesn't sit right with me. I think it's the combo of spices. So I was thrilled when I found this recipe that sounds a lot like beef stroganoff, but without the stuff I don't like.

Ground Beef Noodles: Makes 4 servings; 9 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 6 ounces whole wheat egg noodles, uncooked
• 1 lb ground beef, 93% lean
  
• 1 (6 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cups V-8 vegetable juice (or tomato juice) [I used the low-sodium kind]
  
• 2 teaspoons salt [I used onion powder instead of salt]
  
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt (optional) [I didn't use this, but I did add a dash of paprika]

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, saute the onions in butter until tender. [I don't have a Dutch oven and I didn't quite see how the noodles would all fit into the frying pan, so I used a pasta pot instead. Also, I added the mushrooms at this point instead of waiting until the end because I like cooked mushrooms.]
   
2. Add meat and brown lightly.
3. Place the noodles in a layer over meat.
4. Combine the tomato juice with the seasonings, and pour over noodles.
5. Bring to a boil, then cover.
6. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes (or until the noodles are tender). [I was nervous that the noodles wouldn't all get cooked, because in the pasta pot they weren't all quite submerged in the liquid, so I went back a couple times during the 30 minutes and poked at them with a spoon to make sure they were covered with liquid.]
   
7. Stir in the sour cream and mushrooms and bring to a boil.
8. Serve hot.

The verdict: Wow, delicious! And even easier to make than most recipes, because there is almost no prep work--just chopping the onion. This is everything that I like about beef stroganoff without the stuff I don't like. We will definitely be making this again.