Homemade Ground Beef Stroganoff

**Normally each Wednesday I have been writing about Eric's decision to undergo gastric sleeve surgery.  (You can check the above link to read all about it.)  Excuses, excuses, excuses, but I didn't quite get the post about the Nutrition Class finished, and I wanted to post my recipe with Andrea at Momfessionals.com's linkup.  I promise to be back tomorrow to talk about the nutrition class and give you the full rundown on my feelings regarding the new way of eating that Eric will be undergoing in the near future.  And now for my recipe!

Homemade Beef Stroganoff

This is one of our go to meals, especially in the winter.  It's got a creamy quality that hits the spot on a cold night.  I got the recipe from a friend who said it might have been an old Betty Crocker recipe...but I have no verification of that!

One word of warning.  If you make Hamburger Helper Stroganoff, don't EVER make this meal unless you plan to never return to the HH box!  I was cruising along with my box meals, feeding my family quickly with preservatives and unpronounceable ingredients, when a friend shared this recipe for homemade stroganoff.  Once my husband tried it, he refused to eat the box stuff ever again.

Good for my family.  Ease and convenience gone for me.  It's all good.  The recipe is good!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (I use 80/20 fat)
1 red onion
1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic
2 Tbsp. flour
1 small can Cream of Mushroom soup (I think 10 oz)
3 large spoonfuls of sour cream (probably a 1/2 cup or so)
rice or noodles

Bear with me and my non food blogging pictures.  I tried to capture each step.  I like it when food bloggers photograph each step so I have an idea if I'm on the right track when I make the recipe.

Brown the ground beef.  Drain the excess fat.

While the beef is browning, dice the onion.

After draining the excess fat, add 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) of butter and the onion to the pan.  Cook and stir until butter is melted and onions are soft.

Add 1 tsp. of salt to the pan.  I usually add slightly less just because I don't like to overly salt my food.

Add 1/4 tsp. pepper to the pan.  I really like pepper, so I usually add a bit more.  I realized in the middle of this recipe that my ground pepper was missing.  I think we took it to my mom's at Thanksgiving time when we were in charge of the prime rib.  No matter.  I just ground a bunch of pepper into the pan until it looked sufficiently "peppery."  (I am so good at explaining recipes...NOT!)

If you are still hanging in there with me, the next step is to add 2 Tbsp. of flour.  

Then add a teaspoon of garlic.  You can certainly dice fresh garlic.  I don't.  I always have a jar of diced garlic on hand because it's an ingredient we use frequently.  I throw a good spoonful of the stuff on in the pan.

*Note - I throw the four previous ingredients in and DON'T mix until they are all ready to go.  The flour tends to stick to the bottom of the pan, and I don't want it to burn while I'm trying to spoon garlic into the mix.

Once all the ingredients are in there, stir constantly for 10 minutes.  Sometimes I cheat and cut it down to 5.

 Be sure to dye and wash your hair prior to making this meal so you can look lovely at the stove with a towel on your head.

Also make sure that your kitchen is a mess so you have nowhere to work!  It just makes the whole process extra fun!

After stirring for 5-10 minutes, scraping the bits off the bottom, remove the pan from the heat and stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I'm a snob and only use Campbell's.  I can get it at Wal Mart for 75 cents.

Mix the soup in well and let simmer for 10 minutes.  I set the timer for this one and give it a mid-simmer stir at the 5 minute mark.  

I think people traditionally eat stroganoff over egg noodles, but we never have.  Before I even start cooking, I start a few cups of rice cooking in the rice cooker.  That way the rice is done at nearly the same time as the stroganoff.  If it isn't quite done, the simmer step can be extended.  Just stir every once in a while.

When you are ready to eat, scoop out three large spoonfuls of sour cream.

Three big dollops.

Mix it in and let heat until warm.

Plate the rice on super fancy china.

Bring the pan to the table and scoop mixture onto rice.

Mix it all in and enjoy the good stuff.

Our family eats it up!

And be sure to take the towel off your head!  Makes eating dinner much easier.

Directions in one place:

Brown a pound of ground beef.  Add 1/4 cup of butter to pan with one onion diced.  Stir until onions are soft.  Add 2 T. flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. garlic, 1/4 tsp. pepper. Still continuously for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add can of cream of mushroom soup.  Mix.  Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add three large scoops of sour cream.  Stir and heat until warm.  Serve over rice or noodles.

I hope you enjoy!