Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

I absolutely love my crock pot. I really do. I would cry if anything happened to it. I would sell the cat to replace it. (Don’t tell my son. He’s pretty attached to the cat!)

Last week some friends of mine were moving during the wettest weekend we have had in several months. It was just plain cold and wet. I knew they wouldn’t have her kitchen organized enough to cook in, and I knew that wet rain doesn’t scream, “order pizza!” so I put this together for them in my crock pot Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning to deliciousness! It was all I could do not to eat a big bowl before delivering it to them after church that afternoon.

If you like this type of comfort food, pull out your crock pot and give this a try. It’s a great version of stroganoff!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into 1 inch cubes (you can purchase already cubed!)
• 1-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 8 ounce package sliced mushrooms
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, cut into cubes
• package of wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Brown meat over medium-high heat in a large heavy skillet that has been coated with 1 tablespoon oil. As the meat browns, sprinkle with black pepper and a little garlic powder. (Do not add salt!) Brown beef in batches, adding 1 tablespoon oil with each batch if needed. As each batch browns, transfer to crock pot. Add chopped onions.

Combine hot water and bouillon cube, stirring to dissolve. Pour into skillet, stirring to scrape up any brown bits from the meat. Stir in the worchestershire sauce, cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt at this point if needed. Pour sauce over the meat and onions in the crock pot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Drop room temperature cubes of cream cheese into the hot stroganoff and let sit for 15 minutes. (This is a good time to boil your noodles!) After 15 minutes, stir the softened and somewhat melted cream cheese into the meat mixture. (Remove the bay leaf when you find it!)

To serve, mix the butter into the hot, cooked and drained noodles. Stir in the parsley. Make a bed of noodles on serving dish and spoon stroganoff into the center. Top each serving with a tablespoon or two of sour cream. Garnish with extra parsley if desired.

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn