Mushroom Madness

I still have mushrooms to use up!!  Holy toledo, I think they have begun to multiply inside of my refrigerator.  It's lunch time and I've planned dinner, and already made an apple juice run to the store.  As I put away the juice I notice how my fridge is sans easy-lunch-food.  Darn.  *insert emaciated-looking family, staring with large eyes, clueless as to what food to eat*  Out came the mushrooms, sour cream, and a package of pasta.  Mushroom Stroganoff time!


I began with my largest, widest skillet.  Butter, olive oil, shallots (or onions), and garlic went in until translucent. I then added fresh thyme from the yard, salt and pepper, dried mustard, and Worchestershire sauce for about a minute.

Next went in all of the mushrooms, chopped coarsely, until they gave off their water, about 10 minutes.  

Lastly went in the stock....the stock, right.  So in a stock-less house, what's a gal to do?  I pulled out two beef bones & placed them right in with the mushrooms and added some water.  I covered the pan so it could simmer on med-low for about 10 minutes.  Out came the bones, I removed any salvageable meat (a box of stock can't do that!), then although I would usually use wine or sherry I used what I had today ~ half of a beer.  

This needed to simmer for an additional 10 minutes as the sauce reduced.  While that bubbled slowly I cooked the pasta, drained it, and rinsed in cold water so it wouldn't stick together.


Right before serving I added in the sour cream, and tasted for salt and pepper, then tossed the cooked pasta into the sauce and let it bubble slightly for a couple of minutes.  I try and do this whenever possible, I think the pasta really draws in the flavors of the sauce.

In the end it was a very fun and filling lunch, with only about 40 minutes gone.  Not for every day perhaps, but worth the wait nonetheless!