Yum Peaceful Cooking: Poor Mans Stroganoff

Monday, September 28, 2009

Poor Mans Stroganoff

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Do you remember back in the day....when you're whooole life was ahead of you? You were young, (you're husband was young!!). You were thinking of starting a family and had dreams of grandeur. You had no money, no experience....it was all so new and exciting. And you were in loooove Photobucket

(ok...if you're not a gal or you're still young (and I won't hold it against you much....just humor yourself and keep reading anyway)

And you couldn't cook worth shit. But you're husband said you were the best cook ever. (boy...the things men will say to get a little hanky panky! Photobucket)

Imagine being in your early twenties again (no no....don't get depressed, it's all about those memories). Its a cool night and you're home before the love of your life is and you want to make something good for dinner. Something new but not too difficult. (something that doesn't require pulsing in a blender, making a roux, braising or any of those other terms and "skills" that have yet to be understood or mastered).

Imagine the days when ground beef was a main ingredient and a staple. Hamburgers, hot dogs, mac n cheese in a blue box were all items eaten on a weekly basis for lack of experience and know how. (Do you know what kind of look I'd get if I tried to serve mac n cheese and hot dogs for dinner tonight?? Photobucket )

It was probably a night very similar to that, that had me skimming the pages of my then new Better Crocker Cookbook, thumbing and scouring the "hamburger" section trying to find such a recipe. It had to meet a lot of requirements....

1. It couldn't be too involved or overly complicated.
2. It had to have ingredients that I knew he'd like (or hoped he would)
3. It had to have ingredients that I had in my pantry

And there it was. On page 35: Hamburger Stroganoff!!!

Little did I know back then that it would remain a family favorite over the years. Here I am, 21 years later (oh God...I got OLD!!! shhhhh...don't tell anyone. Least of all ME!! Photobucket )
and I'm still making what I like to refer to as Poor Man's Stroganoff

This is such a simple meal. It's creamy. It's filling. And its inexpensive.

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1 lb hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup margarine or butter (thank God they said "or" cuz I'm sure all I had was margarine back then LOL)
2 TB flour
1 tsp salt (I use a lot LESS)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped, or 1 tsp garlic salt (there it is again, the ever important "or")
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms stems and pieces, drained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup dairy sour cream or unflavored yogurt (I use sour cream)
2 or 3 cups hot cooked noodles or rice (back then, egg noodles were always used)

Cook and stir hamburger and onion in butter in 10-inch skillet until hamburger is light brown. Stir in flour, salt, garlic, pepper and mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Stir in soup. Heat to a boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat through.

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Serve over hot noodles and if desired, sprinkle with snipped parsley.

Thats it. Serves 4.

Let me give you a little tip though. All these years, once I add that flour, it sticks to the bottom of the pan. I'd try to scrape it up...or stir more but it always always happens.

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So what I do now is add a bit of water or broth to the pan just prior to adding the soup....thus de-glazing the pan and not losing a single bit of flavorful goodness.

Do you have a recipe that you've been making since "the good ole days" that is reminiscent of the times?


15 comments:

  1. i can soo relate to this as the good old days mentioned here are my present days :):)

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  2. My wife has made this for me ever since we met... Still love it, and it is a great dish on a cold winter's afternoon

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  3. LMAO!!! I'm still poor apparently because I make this all the time. Late 20's...very late 20's...do I get away with it? We call it hamburger straganoff.

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  4. Ah, do I remember the good ol' days, Betty helped me fumble thru several first times (years) too!

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  5. I say BRAVO! I would never have attempted this in my early 20s... Hand me the cold cuts... LOL It really does look delicious!

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  6. Heh, I've actually been making a recipe kind of like this since I was a kid! Looks great. Man, I haven't made stroganoff in ages...

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  7. This sounds great. I have to make your recipe!

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  8. I love stroganoff and haven't made for a while...will try your recipe...poor man's one ;-)

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  9. I love Beef Stroganoff. For years, I bought the package mix, and loved it. I make a quickie version, but it requires filet mignon. Yeah, I know... I buy it at Costco and freeze it once in a while. I was seriously wondering how hamburger would be. This is the ultimate in comfort food-- though Sloppy Joe's still trigger childhood memories. I make Rachael Ray's version, which is my all time favorite.

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  10. Superchef - haha...by looking at your blog, you have a much better start then I did

    Grill - Your wife sounds like a good woman and knows what to cook to keep her man LOL

    Michele - ya, you get away with it LOL. I'm still making this dish...so what does that tell ya?

    DD - I'm glad you confirmed the "years" part of that statement LMAO (is there a side of Betty that I don't know about????)

    Shane - cold cuts and top roman. Well, when I first moved out on my own I was eating an awful lot of cup-o-soup

    Bob - sooo, whats this version that you've been making? huh? huh? do tell!

    Carolyn - hey...its nice to see you over here :) You need to get your blog rolling girl!!

    Erica - let me know what you think of it :)

    Juliana - My daughter grew up on poor mans (hamburger) stroganoff and one time went to a friends for dinner. they served the "real" stroganoff but she said she liked mine better LOL.

    Feast -(some day I'm gonna have to get your real name LOL) I've never tried the packaged one...and I bet this would make a great casserole. Wow...i haven't made sloppy joes in ages (so long ago that I think I bought it in a can LOL)

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  11. Ok this is so funny if you just reversed the roles. Ever since I married my wife, I was the cook in our new family. I've learned so much but now she has started cooking over the past few years too. One dish she has perfected is stroganoff and I am so proud of her. It makes me want to....umm...never mind, but she rocks:)

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  12. What a cute post! This looks so comforting and so yummy!

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  13. I love poor man's beef stroganoff, and will continue to make it when I am rich, whenever that happens.

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  14. Chris - LMAO!!!

    Reeni - Thanks :)

    Fresh Local - thank you so much for stopping by :). LOL @ "whenever that happens" I totally hear ya on that one. I'm still waiting and hoping to someday be rich? But I'm sure this recipe will always be part of the menu rotation.

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