Hamburger Stroganoff Casserole

Because I had an 8 oz. carton of fresh mushrooms on hand, I decided to make a casserole that I saw being made a while ago on Channel 11's morning show Living with Amy--making only slight changes.  (For example, I did not put red wine into this casserole.) Since we like other versions of stroganoff, I figured we would like it like this, too.  And, the ver-dict is a............................. 'y-e-s!'

For contrast, I sprinkled a little grated Cheddar & Mozzarella cheese on top...

When serving, I added the 'c-r-u-n-c-h!' of seasoned croutons...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 or 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
•  2 to 3 tablespoons butter
• 8 oz. container of fresh mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 (10 ¾ ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (Can use reduced fat version.)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream (Can use 'light', but don't use fat-free.)
• 12 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked (don't over cook) 
• 2 (3 ounce) cans French fried onions, optional ( Instead of using these, I offered Mrs. Cubbison's Classic Seasoned Restaurant Style Croutons when serving, as seen below.)

Directions:  

 Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

1. In large kettle, cook egg noodles 'almost' as long as directions indicate, drain.
2. At the same time, in a large skillet or Dutch oven kettle, cook ground beef and onion until crumbly and no longer pink. Drain any grease. Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. Using small fry pan, combine butter and mushrooms and cook a few minutes until mushrooms start to get soft.  When mushrooms are about done, add the garlic for just the last minute or so. Add this combo to skillet with browned/drained hamburger/onion.
4. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.  Bring to a brief boil, reduce heat, and simmer a few minutes. 
5. Stir in soup, mustard and sour cream.
6. Stir in cooked noodles. If mixture seems too thick, add a little more beef broth or water. (I did not add more liquid.)
7. Spoon all into prepared baking dish.  Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes*. If you choose to top with french fried onions, do so at this point and bake for another 10 minutes.    (BUT!!!, even if you do not top with onions, bake another 10 minutes.)

* When casserole was about half done, I checked to make sure the tops of any noodles were not sticking 'out of the casserole' and drying out--  I just pushed them back down/in with the back of a spoon.  Then, I did that once more before the final 10 minutes in the oven.  (I chose not to cover the casserole during baking, because I wanted some of the liquid to 'bake out', and it did.)