Thursday, March 13, 2014

Easy Peasy Hamburger Stroganoff and BLIZZARD!!!!

I am always looking for easy and good-tasting.

Blame it on raising six kids while working two jobs.

Blame it on travel soccer, softball, track & field, and cross-country running. Blame it on lack of time, lack of care, or the high price of cereal mixed with Catholic mother-guilt, but I've had lots of fun over the years putting together quick, easy food.

I LOVE IT.

For big holidays I'm a great go-too person, for parties/showers/weddings, I'm all in!!! Ante up the menu and we'll have fun!

But for everyday, give me easy, delicious and something that makes folks smile. This recipe is ALL THAT...

♥♥♥♥♥

Jeter came out of his crate to watch, always hoping I'll drop something...


Note his smile????

I think he gets that from me!!!  :)

Okay, here's the pic of what you need minus the ketchup which I forgot to grab out... and the parsley.  I may or may not have been STARVING and IN A HURRY because it was late and Dave was out splitting wood and did I mention I was starving???

(Author note, the first gusts of bad snow and wind are just now hitting my WNY home, 8:13 Wednesday morning... If I lose power tonight, know that I'm with you tomorrow in SPIRIT!!!! And cozying up by the fire!!!)



I found the original recipe on Food.com and I tweaked it a little, but the recipe is theirs and makes me grateful for push-of-a-button recipe finding!  Here's the link: HAMBURGER STROGANOFF

I'll recap here to emphasize my fun in cooking this my way:

1 1/2 lb ground round
2 tablespoons dried, chopped onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon black pepper

Salt... (I mean really, salt is essential, isn't it? But I just shook it in because I love salt and pepper. I'm such a humble bumble!)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced, cooked mushrooms
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup sour cream
parsley 


In medium size frying pan, brown ground round (doesn't that sound great, like a writer wrote it??? "Brown Ground Round".... I could have said beef, but this was much more fun!)  

Chop into smallish pieces with spatula as meat cooks... drain. Add onion, garlic, flour, pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce.


 Heat for two-three minutes. Add soup, mushrooms and ketchup.  Cook over low heat for 12 minutes or so... Gives you just enough time to cook the pound of pasta (your choice!) on the burner next door!

Add in sour cream, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 2-3 minutes, garnish with parsley while you grab plates and forks.




FORK-ONLY MEALS ROCK.

I LOVE THEM THIS MUCH!!!! (spreads arms wide!!!)





So if you compare the recipes, they're using similar elements, but different. And it was A-Stinkin'-Mazing!

And you know I won't kid you about good food! That would be wrong, so wrong.

Hey, if you didn't see this on Facebook, here's video of our deer herd... hungry and venturing close to the house in search of food.  Interesting fact: Did you know that it is illegal to feed whitetail deer in NYS? They have the sign right above the DEER FOOD display....

Oh, the irony!!!  :)



And here's what happened when Grandma arrived at the farm for supper.... Now, just so youse know, Grandma has done nothing to instigate this fear, even on her worst days!!!! 




Adding blizzard pics in FOR FUN!!!!!

This was Tuesday's window shot:




What's so fun about a stinkin' blizzard, you ask????

WRITING FODDER!!!

:)



Early blizzard video.... not exactly "blizzard" conditions yet, visibility still about 200 feet.


12 comments:

  1. Homemade hamburger helper! :-) might have to try this since I have sour cream I'll need to use upin a little while
    Susanna

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    1. you need one of those pampered chef ground meat thingies- mix and chop? think that's what Mindy called it - love mine makes cooking fun (ok fun when I remember to use it LOL which I do remember now but took a while to remember I had it)
      this is weird but I never had stroganoff until I was out of school and working and that was a ground beef version - a friend had 'disovered' hamburger helper(ok I was already familiar but it was always the cheeseburger one since that's the one my dad would eat) but she'd add onion and sometimes mushrooms to the Hamburger Helper beef romanoff and stroganoff (box of each) so I was used to it having ground beef - imagine my surprise when I saw the real deal at a restaurant once! no I didn't get it but noticed it and was like wow it's not ground beef! so to me it's normal with ground beef just like pie meringues with sugar droplets are normal for me:-)
      I think I'll have just enough sour cream (needed some for tex-mex salsa chicken tacos) but missing the ground round and canned soup...sigh..always something it seems!

      Susanna

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  2. Those white-tail deer are beautiful! We have a few around here, but they're hard to spot. They're the shy ones, and will bolt at any noise.

    The mule deer are another story. You can stand and watch them all day - as long as they don't see you move. But even then they just wander away rather than bolt.

    And this recipe is going on next week's menu. My family will love it :)

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    1. It's been so much fun watching the deer. Of course today, they're all tucked in the woods and brush, noses down, hiding. Too cold and windy and the snow cover has hidden all the corn they were finding beneath the old snow cover. :(

      Warmer tomorrow, though! And Saturday, so we'll get them back out here, munching. They're mighty skinny this year!

      Jan, let me know if you like the stroganoff as much as we did. It will re-visit us regularly!

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  3. Loved the deer videos. In the first one, at the beginning, it looks like they're playing a game of red rover. :-) Nasty grandma to scare them away like that. She was probably making wolf faces or something. LOL

    We had the same storm or a version of. Honestly I'm soooo done with winter!!! It's -32 with the wind chill up here today after yesterdays' snow dump. We're beating records left and right. Gah!!!!

    And Jeeter has a beautiful smile. You tell him I said so and give me a kiss on his curly head for me. I soooo need a dog!!!! I've taken to walking the dog trails so I can get furry hugs and pets in. I think the dog owners are starting to avoid me!

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  4. Oops -- that should have been give him a kiss on his curly head...:-)

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    1. Ha! I knew what you meant! And now you're the Canadian Dog Stalker!!! EEEEEK!!!!!

      I'm so glad you liked the videos! Beth took them from the attic and they came out great. There was a longer, more static one with the deer eating... munching.... eating..... Over 30 came to the front lot and there was at least a dozen more just beyond the hedgerow... So our population isn't dwindling any. They're a beautiful sight!

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  5. This is a great recipe. I learned how to make it from the Betty Crocker cookbook. It's the first dinner I learned to make when I was 12 and I continue to make it for my non-beef eating husband with ground turkey in it over rice. Great work Ruthy!

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    1. You know, Piper, I saw one like this in a Betty Crocker cookbook, too and I remembered making it when Dave and I were first married.

      Isn't it funny how we lose track of things over the years? Wait, you're young, let me RETRACT THAT SILLY STATEMENT!!! :)

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  6. Oh, YUM!! You're making me so hungry. I had toast and jelly for dinner.

    Yes, I have a deadline tomorrow and am doing one last read through. :) I'll have to watch the videos later. But I'm loving this recipe!! Forget Hamburger Helper. This looks even better!

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    1. Missy, I've done that so many times... Just wanting that extra hour of work time and food becomes non-essential. FOR A SHORT WHILE, LOL!!!!

      You go, girl!

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