Vegetarianized Memories

While most people know I've got a heaping helping of the Germanic blood, I think most people aren't aware that I'm a bit Russian, too. In fact, my name is Russian. Although the grandmother that rocked the kitchen (my grandmother cooked better than yours,) was one of the Germanics, she was married to one of the Russians. This means she cooked a few Russian dishes to keep the grandpappy extra happy.

One of those dishes was Beef Stroganoff. (BS) I really, really liked that. This year marks my 20th as a vegetarian, and so it has been a long, long time since I've had the BS. I've been wanting the BS lately though, a lot. I don't even know why I remember how it tastes.

Today I came up with what is a reasonable facsimile that is 1. much lower in fat than the original dish 2. much higher in fiber 3. includes more vegetable goodness 4. suitable for vegetarians.

Ingredients:

20 pieces of prepared seitan
1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch strips
1 portabella mushroom (5 inches in diameter)
1 small, green zuchinni, thinly sliced
1 medium vadalia onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
4 tbsp canola oil
1 can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup - condensed, low fat
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tbsps ketchup
4 cups of whole wheat stroganoff noodles, cooked.

Method:

Sauté the onion in the canola oil until it starts to turn brown. Add the mushroom. When coated with the oil and warm, add the garlic and red pepper. Cook for five minutes. Add zuchinni and seitan. Sauté until the onion starts to get crispy - about 10 minutes.

Add the soup and stir until evenly distributed. Add the sour cream and ketchup. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to show signs of boiling. Remove from heat, mix with the noodles. Serve hot.

This recipe has lots and lots of protein, is quick and easy to serve, and just damned yummy.