Recently my friend sent me a recipe and it had such an exquisitely simple list of ingredients and sounded so easy to make that I put what I didn’t have on hubby’s grocery list and I made it the next day. I only altered it slightly* and that was more out of necessity/ease than anything else. The pasta came in a larger sized package than was called for and we had more sour cream (but not enough to save) than was called for. Also, I used more onion and garlic because . . . well, it’s onion and garlic! I made it and it was DELICIOUS! It was good on the night I made it. The “sauce” was VERY watery so I decide that the next time I made it I was going to use less water. When I use “broth” I use Better Than Bouillon so I would be able get the same amount of flavor but use less water. But, as is often the case with pasta dishes it was even BETTER the next night. And the liquid had been soaked up and so I figured the next time I made it I wouldn’t use less water. AND . . . it was even BETTER on the next night.** Here is a super easy recipe my I-would-be-crazy-if-it-weren’t-for-her-during-this-shelter-in-place friend sent me.
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One Pan Easy Beef And Pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• salt and pepper***
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 4 cups water
• 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon/Roasted Beef****
• 12 oz. dry rotini
• 3/4 cup sour cream
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet (large enough to hold all the ingredients). Add the mushrooms to the pan and let them cook a bit, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Keep cooking until they are done to your liking. Then remove from the pan and set dish aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add the ground beef and continue to cook, breaking up the beef as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the paprika over the top and stir to combine.
Pour the water in and add the Better Than Bouillon/Roasted Beef, stirring until it is incorporated, then add the dry uncooked pasta. Bring to a light boil then turn the heat down and cover. Continue to cook, stirring often, cook until the pasta is al dente, about 12-18 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mushrooms and sour cream.
Serve.
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There are a lot of asterisks in this post!
*Ok, shoot, as I was typing up the recipe I realized I changed a few more things than I thought. The recipe called for cremini mushrooms, low sodium broth, and fresh parsley. I didn’t use those ingredients.
**The leftovers were very good, especially since the pasta had soaked up the sauce, but I also added a few teaspoons of ricotta cheese. I heated the leftovers in a pan and stirred in the ricotta.
***I do not use pepper. I just left it in the recipe for those that do.
****I never MAKE the broth. No matter what I am making I just add the water then add the Better Than Bouillon and figure it all can get mixed up that way. I don’t add the Better Than Bouillon to the water and MAKE it broth before adding it to the ingredients.
Again, this was sooooo good, I had decided to make it again this week. I did more adjusting and now my mouth is watering thinking about it. I love this recipe because it is super simple and the return is a super yummy dinner, but I will probably make it the way I did last night from now on. I will post that recipe later. And you can share with me how you made it. So easy, so many things you can do with it.
Don’t you LOVE easy and tasty recipes?
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