One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff

I had some oral surgery lately and had to eat 'soft' food for a week or so afterwards.  The dentist's office suggested mashed potatoes or smoothies.  That's fine, but I need a real meal daily! So, I'm posting a series of delicious, nutritious 'soft' foods which were easy to chew on 'my good side' and posed no threat to my healing. These are not scaled-down dishes but real meals, that just happen to be soft. Enjoy them with or without dentistry!

1 red pepper, diced

1 onion diced

8 oz button mushrooms, thickly sliced 

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp mixed fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano, minced

1 Tbsp Smokey Pimenton Spanish paprika

1 quart chicken stock

1/2 lb pasta

5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp Dijon mustard 

2 Tbsp corn starch whisked into 2 Tbsp water

1/2 cup sour cream

Sauté the mushrooms, pepper and onion in a dash of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. 

Cook until the mushrooms brown up and the veggies soften. Add the beef, crushed pepper, garlic, herbs and paprika and cook until the beef is well browned.  Add a dash more olive oil if necessary.

Add the stock, pasta, spinach, Worcestershire and mustard to the pot and stir well.  

Cook at a gentle boil, stirring often, for about 6-8 minutes or until the pasta is just al dente. 

While still boiling, add the cornstarch slurry stirring often until the sauce thickens. Stir in the sour cream and serve.

Serves 4-6.