Ringo's Race!

Most of you know that this is race week for me. My first 10K on Thursday, Thanksgiving morning. Well Ringo was feeling a little left out because he's never run a race before, so we had to change that. Today Ringo ran his first 5k! What a trooper! It was to benefit animal shelters in Southern Orange County. (Ringo really supports this cause since he knows about these shelters first hand). There were costume contests and Ringo really wanted to show his holiday spirit so he wore his brand new scarf I made for the occasion. He loved the scarf and all the complements he got on it. He really was sad when we took it off once we got home.



Ringo did all 5K with only a few brief stops for some water. He was cheered on the whole time by the volunteers who made up cheers especially for him. After the race there were pictures with Santa and playtime with some other dogs. Ringo really loves other dogs. Here he is giving them hugs for finishing the race.




Since we were gone all day I utilized my crockpot to prepare dinner for the night. I had dubbed this week stroganoff week to experiment with various forms of the dish, since the chicken stroganoff went over so well. This version is a tomato based version.

The review? I'm not quite sure I would classify this as stroganoff. I mean, sure, it has stroganoff seasonings in it - but it looked more like spaghetti with meat sauce to me. Of course, I'm partly to blame. In an effort to use up the massive amounts of pasta we always seem to have on hand, I didn't buy egg noodles, using linguini instead. On the other hand, stroganoff or no, this meal was critically acclaimed in my household. Jon kept saying how great it tasted and its so easy, I can see it becoming a regular staple in this house. And since it's not creamy like the real stroganoff I can even consider it semi healthy!

Tomato Stroganoff

1 lb sirloin steak, cut into chunks
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato sauce
1/2 can tomato paste
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1 pkt beef stroganoff seasoning
1 cup noodles, cooked
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1) Combine steak, tomatoes, sauce, paste, mushrooms, and seasoning in crock pot.
2) Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
3) Add noodles in last 20 minutes of cooking.
4) Stir in sour cream before serving.