Lentil Mushroom Stroganoff

Easy recipe for mushroom stroganoff with added lentils for protein & Greek yogurt. This lighter vegetarian option is just as delicious as the original!

Serves 4

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dry lentils

• 8 ounces Egg Noodles

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for tossing pasta

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 20 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or sub Brandy - just to keep everyone awake)

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (omit to make vegan, tasting recipe for extra salt as needed)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (use SOS Unflavored Yogurt as a 1:1 sub to make vegan)

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (or cilantro if you are out, like we were), plus extra for garnish

Directions:

#1 - Bring large pot of water & lentils to a gentle rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer on low. 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

#2 - Cook pasta according to packaging. Drain, toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

#3 - In a Dutch oven or wide skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until starting to soften. About 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic, and cook until just fragrant (about 30 seconds).

#4 - Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir occasionally, until the mushrooms soften and give up their liquid (about 5 minutes). #5 - Stir in the balsamic (or brandy) and Worcestershire (or not) & cook for additional 2 minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Then reduce to low heat. #6 - Add the lentils that you earlier placed to the side & cook for an additional 2 minutes. #7 - Remove completely from heat, let stand 1 minute, then stir in the Greek yogurt (or vegan yogurt), and parsley (or cilantro). #8 - Serve warm over noodles, garnished with additional green as desired. Jay loved placing ALL of this over a bed of spinach & threw around the idea of adding ground turkey to the mix next time. MAYBE! For now, we absolutely LOVED this & Ausyn (our picky 4 year old) gobbled it right up too!