Stroganoff-Inspired Ground Beefy Noodles

Add beef bouillon to boiling water and set aside. (I just boil the water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.)

In a large pot over medium heat, saute onions and mushrooms in butter. When they are golden brown, add minced garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add ground beef and brown well.

Add Worcestershire and balsamic vinegar to ground beef and saute for another minute or two. (I add these directly to the ground beef because I feel when you do it at this stage, it gives the beef more flavor.)

Add flour and saute for another minute or two, stirring constantly to cook out the raw flour taste. Add the beef stock (dissolved bouillon in water from earlier) and simmer for a couple of minutes until thickened.

Add pepper. Turn heat down low.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Add pasta. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain and add noodles to the beef pot. Mix well until pasta is coated. Add sour cream and stir.

Serve with another dollop of sour cream and enjoy.

Notes:
1. If you feel the sauce is not thickening, you can sprinkle another tablespoon of flour and cook for another couple of minutes. The best description I can give is that it should be almost the consistency of chili—you want it to stick to the noodles.
2. If you are only feeding 1 or 2 people, you can freeze the ground beef sauce for a quick meal another day. Just make fresh pasta, warm up the sauce and you’re good to go.
3. Don’t worry about freezing this because it has sour cream in it. The amount of sour cream is small and it’s incorporated with other ingredients so it won’t separate when re-heating. Just thaw in the fridge and heat normally.