Beef Stroganoff

This is my cousin’s award winning Beef Stroganoff recipe. She won the 4-H Georgia State Teen Fare Project with the recipe in 1970. She then won the 4-H competition on the national level. General Foods awarded my cousin a $600 scholarship which she used to pay for two years of college tuition and books. Can you believe it? I remember my mother and her mother getting together to help plan the food presentation. I got to tag along as we all met with an interior decorator at Rich’s department store in Atlanta. The decorator helped my cousin pick out one place setting of china, flatware, and linens to show off her recipe for the competition.

I was in eighth grade at the time and quickly added this recipe to my home economics notebook. I still have that Blue Horse spiral notebook and it’s full of great recipes. I’ve been making this Beef Stroganoff ever since, and it’s still good- one of those old recipes you can always depend on.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1½ pounds ground chuck
• 1 8 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
• 1 12 ounce package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

In a skillet sauté onions and garlic in butter until soft, about one or two minutes. Add ground chuck and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper, paprika, and flour. Cook about 2 minutes. Add soups and simmer uncovered about 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and cook about 5 minutes. Serve over egg noodles. Garnish with parsley.

Note: Add about 3 drops of yellow food coloring to the egg noodles while cooking.