Way back in my college days, when we wanted a break from mac & cheese, we’d make this delicious dish….not only was it frugal, fast and filling but used the type of ingredients poor college students with limited kitchen amenities could easily handle.  This recipe comes compliments of an old boyfriend…the tall, dark and handsome type, an engineer fresh out of college living with a house full of bachelors.  To discover that he could also cook for a crowd was mind-blowing to this college co-ed.  Although not a classic stroganoff, it easily feeds 8 hungry appetites, and has great flavor.

Now here’s where the story gets interesting!  This same culinary casanova got transferred across the country but left a pair of my ice skates with his best friend to return to me.  Two years later, when I finally located the skates and arranged to pick them up from said BFF, he charged me two years rent for carrying them around in the trunk of his GTO…and his price was a homemade dinner.   <chuckle>  So I made him my fav fried chicken with cornbread dinner and the rest is history.  We married two years later:)

So it’s true what they say…the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!

Poor Man’s Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 2 lb lean ground beef (I use organically raised)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms (these are baby bellas)
• 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 pint sour cream
• 1 large can small pitted black olives
• salt & pepper to taste
• 8 oz broad or medium egg noodles

Boil noodles according to instructions on the package, al dente.  Drain.

In dutch oven or very large skillet, brown the beef, add the onions, then the mushrooms. When beef is browned, onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked, about 10 minutes, drain off the excess fat, add the soup and drained olives.  Stir and heat through.  Add sour cream and correct seasonings.  Add cooked noodles and combine.

Pour into casserole dish and bake @ 350 degrees just for 30 minutes to heat through.

Serves a crowd, but can be frozen.