Hamburger Stroganoff

In my humble opinion, any recipe with sour cream, or cream cheese, is a winner. I don’t care if it’s a main dish or dessert – adding either creamy goodness makes it better.

Especially if you’re a Foodie Newbie, like me. They’re like secret weapons for us.

I realize that after the holidays you may be resolving to lighten up, exercise and watch your calories. If you are, don’t put this on your Recommended Reading.

Or, you can just save it for one of those days when you absolutely must have something Stick-To-Your-Ribs Yummy. This will fill the bill.

And it’s easy. Super easy. I don’t even really measure anything. Just dump stuff in. I’ll give you approximate amounts, but I’m sure you can find an actual recipe for Hamburger Stroganoff online somewhere.

First, chop up an onion. Either a small one, or half of a large one.

 

About a cup of onion. I used what I had on hand, which was just under a cup.

 

Any oil will work, but I used Olive Oil. Note the Extra Light in Flavor. It has a lighter flavor than regular Olive Oil.

 

About a tablespoon in a medium to large skillet.

 

While your frying pan is heating up, fill up a pot with water to boil some noodles. Unless you’re making rice. In which case, you have to measure the water.

Either one is tasty with the stroganoff, though.

Saute the onions until tender and translucent.

Or just until the crunchiness is gone.

Dump in a pound of ground beef.

Break up the chunks and mix the onion into the meat.

When the hamburger is brown, drain off any fat. I like to add a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce. I think it makes it richer in flavor, but it also adds a salty taste.

 

Your water should be boiling at this point, so add your salt.

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but Rachel Ray says to add salt only to hot water. If the water is cold, the salt just drops to the bottom of the pot. Makes sense to me, so that’s what I do now.

When the water is boiling, dump in some noodles.

How much? Good question! I do a handleful per person – but then, I like pasta. Cooked pasta is about double the amount of uncooked, so I go from there.

Once you add noodles to the water, it’ll take a few minutes to get the water back to a boil. Once it comes back to a boil, then start your timer per package directions.

After you drain your meat, add a can of Cream of Mushroom soup. You could also add mushrooms, if you like them. I don’t like them, so I leave them out.

I know, why use Mushroom soup if I don’t like mushrooms? I dunno. I don’t like tomatoes either, but love catsup. And salsa. And tomato paste.

Stir the soup through and let it cook about 10 minutes – about the same amount of time it’ll take for your noodles.

 

When your meat mixture is cooked, turn the heat off and add a cup (or so) of sour cream.

Yum . . .

Yum . . .

Yum!!!

My Favorite Appliance–a Slow Cooker!

If you’re a foodie newbie, I highly recommend you ask Santa for a slow cooker.

Or don’t wait and just go get one. Fast!

You can thank me later.

This is the one appliance that has never let me down. Not once.

Knock-knock.

I have even gone so far as to dub myself the Crockpot Queen, which is pretty easy in my house because Hubs either grills or fries and culinary-school-Son uses every other tool in the kitchen.

Except the crockpot.

They don’t know what they’re missing. But I won’t tell them, if you won’t.

I won’t tell them that you dump all the ingredients in at once, turn one little dial and walk away.

I won’t tell them that cheap cuts of meat come out tender and juicy.

Or that the juices that puddle in the pot taste like someone who actually knows what they’re doing in the kitchen made them.

Truth be told, I only have a handful of recipes I use. But they’ve never failed me. Never!

I’m happy to share, but here’s a fabulous site with plenty of recipes to get you started.

After a couple of times, you’ll find you can just experiment too. That’s what I really love about this thing. Just dump, turn the knob, and let it do it’s thing.

Pot roast is one of my favorites. And it’s so easy.

I’ve used both beef roasts and pork. Both turn out good.

Here’s the ‘recipe’.

Put the meat in the slow cooker.

Tear open an envelope of this wonderful goodness.

Pour in a little bit of this.

Put the lid on, turn the knob, and you’ll have the best roast in about 6 hours, depending on the cooker.

If you want a whole meal, cut up some potatoes and throw them in there too. Or any other veggies you want.

Now, if you read about slow cookers, all the books will tell you that you need a good amount of liquid. But I’ve made this roast a bunch of times and have never added water. Maybe a little wine, if I have some.

I guess if you added some water, you’d have even more juice. But I always seem to have plenty.

So much so, that on the days when I actually feel my cooking mojo working, I make a gravy from the juice.

I can’t tell you the feeling of accomplishment I get when I make a gravy from scratch!

Why, it almost makes me think I can cook!