Mr. Blu's Beef or Bison Stronganov

Since the weather is colder- many people are looking for interesting Beef dishes outside of the BBQ grill. the Russian dish- Beef Stroganov is a great one for cold weather... ( click on the title above to learn more about the history and variations of Stroganov)
Mr. Blu's Beef or Bison Stronganov
This is my version of the classic dish

1 lb of beef ( or Bison) sliced into long thin strips of about 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long, and cut the meat across the grain, or it will be tough. ( Sirloin is great- round steak is fine too, the better the beef, the better the dish..)
butter as needed
I can or package of Beef Stock ( no salt no MSG) ( Pacifica has a salt free beef broth-, so does Swansons. Check with your local healthfood or Rouses' market..)
1 or 2 onions ( 2 if small ) yellow onions or 1 sweet vidalia onion. chopped
1 cup sour cream
1/4 c heavy cream
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 TBS tomato paste or 2 TBS of Extremely thin minced dried tomatoes..
Flat fettucine noodles or the pasta of your choice.. cooked "al dente "
(Intstead of pasta you can use it as fillings for crepes or Puff pastry shells )
1/4 cup each of chopped Fresh flat leaf parsley- and Fresh thyme leaves
The green ingredients are very important and should be stirred in just before serving- or sprinkled on the top.

Directions:
Cook the pasta, and set aside
Cut the meat ( or have a butcher do this if you are unsure) and lightly pepper the meat strips with Black and Red pepper.

In a pre heated ( medium high) cast Iron Skillet;
Sauteé butter, 1 onion finely chopped, 3 cloves of garlic
Lightly flour the beef and sear it in cast iron skillet to lightly brown it. adding it to the onions and garlic,
then add the 2 cups of mushrooms, (I prefer a high mushroom content and baby portebellos if available and affordable)
Then add Beef stock
Add 1 bay leaf
add 2 tbs of tomatoe paste or sauce and a tsp of dijon mustard depending on your taste- it brings out the flavor of the beef.. Some people add a dash of worschestire sauce, but I watch my salt so I do not..
Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream, stirring mixture...
Now add Sour cream.
I like to add this mixture to the Al Dente Pasta and allow the pasta to absorb a bit of the sauce .
Add the Fresh flat leaf parsley- and Fresh thyme leaves to
either stirred in just before serving- or sprinkled on the top.
Enjoy!!!!