Day 9 "Skid Row Stroganoff**" or the secret is out.
Day 9 Simply easy “Skid Road Stroganoff”
This one I have to confess a certain reluctance to share because I have been making this one since I was 15 from my own mother’s copy of this very same cookbook. I used to joke with people who have eaten it that the secret dies with me... well, the secret is out. It’s Peg Bracken’s Skid Row Stroganoff from her “I Hate to Cook Book” found on page 9. So to my best friend that may be reading this: here is the world-famous secret I have been laboring so long to hide. Now, you might be wondering if I had access to the original book from my mother why didn’t I learn all of these recipes in the past? Plainly said, I was 15. I hated cooking then as much as I hate it now. Cooking was the last thing on my mind at 15 years old!
I do have to say that that this one recipe stuck with me all my life and I used it to impress people when I wanted to impress people (which is not frequent at all) and always knew where to go in a pinch when guests were on the way. I really hope you like this one as much as I do.
Now, I also have to say this was not one I had planned for Day 9 but got moved around in the schedule after I discovered one of my sons had taken some hamburger out of the freezer to thaw. I’m do not know what his plan was, but I thwarted it. No one was disappointed. My local grocery store had a sale on prepackaged salad greens and while I usually don’t buy those I wasn’t about to pass up a sale. Add a few more veggies to it and some dinner rolls (also on sale) and this was a very affordable meal. I really loved it.
But enough introduction, let’s make this meal! First, I should mention a lot of stroganoff recipes use some type of steak and you may have noticed that I mentioned hamburger. Well, that’s true, it does call for hamburger because this is “Skid Road” meaning, frankly, cheap. So without further ado, let’s give a bring round of applause to:
Skid Road Stroganoff**
Ingredients 4 Servings
8 ounces uncooked noodles
1 cup sour cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 lb ground beef
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 paprika
2 3 oz cans of mushrooms
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 beef bouillon cube
chopped parsley
Directions:
Ok so now you’re going to want to measure out the water according to the cooking directions for the noodles and drop in a bouillon cube for flavor. In another pan entirely (this is important because you can’t really make this in the same pot with the noodles), you’ll add the oil, and brown the hamburger, onion, and garlic until the meat is cooked and the onions tender. This is where you’ll also want to drain the fat a little, but you’ll have to leave some in the pan for the flour mixture. Now you are going to add the flour, mushrooms, salt, paprika to the beef and stir it together and let it cook for five minutes. You do not want to get distracted at this time though, so remember about five minutes. Next, you’re going to add the undiluted cream of mushroom and simmer it until it is heated through. Oh, do not forget the noodles or you are going to have a gooey mess! I would check the noodles when waiting for the soup to heat through. Now to the mixture (not the noodles), add the sour cream and stir it on low heat to make sure it does not curdle. To serve it you can serve it individually on each plate, by adding noodles then the mixture like a gravy. Or you can get a big serving platter and put all the noodles on that and then the mixture. Sprinkle with parsley and there you have it. Of course, you do have to set the table. You can’t just hand everyone a fork and let them eat from the platter. On second thought, why not? After all, it would mean fewer plates for you to wash in the end.
So there it is. A great meal in my opinion. I have even made this one while camping on a few occasions with my family, and it even helped land me my husband. It is true that the way to a man’s heart is through the Stroganoff. No, it’s there, I read it somewhere. Since that time, I have learned it is best if you also have a few other recipes in your arsenal. Man cannot live by Stroganoff alone. That's written somewhere, too, or something very like it.
I would like to apologize that even though we aren’t even halfway through this fun little journey, and the days are getting reported a little late or not exactly on the day that they were made. Things get busy in my household and sometimes writing has to wait, especially when it is time for dental appointments.
Stay tuned next time when we ask “If our Heroine is giving up secrets, what other skeletons might she be hiding? Do they cook?” and “Will she find herself in a padded room?”
Please let me know what you think of this! Did you try it? What changes did you come up with? Please comment, rate, share. Have fun and always Flamingo.
**Bracken, P. (1960). The I hate to cook book. (pg. 8). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
