Student “Stroganoff”

You can switch the canned beans or the soup around to vary the meal. If you want to make a vegetarian version, remove the ground beef and use extra beans or lentils. Leftovers microwave well for lunch the next day and it also freezes well. The added bonus is that it all gets cooked in one pot, so cleanup is a breeze.

Prep time: 5 minutes; Cook time: 40 minutes; Serves: 4 people

What you need:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 19 oz can white kidney beans, drained (or pinto or kidney beans, or chickpeas)
• 1 10 oz can cream of  mushroom soup
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp crushed garlic)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (you can add more if you want a little more zip)
• 1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire (yes, you can use another Worcestershire sauce, but the original one really is the best)
• 20 oz (2 soup cans) water
• 10 oz (1 soup can) uncooked macaroni
• salt, pepper to taste
• hot sauce to taste

What to do:

• On medium-high heat in a deep frying pan, add ground beef. Break up the ground beef. Cook until brown, approximately 5 minutes.

• Add the garlic and onions, stir,

• Cook until translucent
• Add the Worcestershire

• Add the Dijon Mustard and stir

• Add the can of drained beans

• Add the Cream of Mushroom soup, stir

• Add 1 soup can of macaroni, stir

• Add 2 soup cans of water, stir

• Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed and pasta is cooked (about 20 minutes)

• Season with salt, pepper, extra dijon and hot sauce

• Enjoy dinner tonight and leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I’ve also made a variation on this by substituting Bean and Bacon soup for the mushroom soup and adding 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, and 1 tbsp paprika instead of the mustard to make a fast chili bean beef and pasta.