I have to wonder why anyone would use a mix to make Stroganoff when it is so wasy to make form scratch. I admit, I've never tried the mix, but I do make it from scratch quite often and it is fast, easy and excellent.

THis is very close to how I make it:

Beef Stroganoff
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

TIMING Tidbit: Slice and place meat in freezer 15 minutes. Sauce and meat are prepared 10 minutes before you are ready to serve.

Prep Time: 20 min Inactive Prep Time: hr min Cook Time: 10 min Level:
Easy Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin fillet
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef consomme, available on soup aisle
2 teaspoons prepared Dijon style mustard
1/4 cup sour cream, eyeball it
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan in a slow stream
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cornichons
1 pound extra wide egg noodles, cooked to package directions
Chopped parsley leaves, garnish
Thickly sliced pumpernickel bread, optional
Directions
Slice meat into 1/2-thick by 2 -nch long very thin strips and season with salt and pepper. Set in freezer.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook with flour 1 minute. Whisk in consomme. Thicken 1 minute. Stir in mustard and sour cream, thicken 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season sauce with salt and pepper.

Heat a second skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter, then add the meat and onion and cook over high heat until brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Then add the chopped cornichons and stir to combine.

Arrange meat on a bed of egg noodles and top with Stroganoff sauce and parsley. Serve with thickly sliced pumpernickel bread.

I've never had a recipe for stroganoff, well I do remember checking the Betty Crocker cookbook a long time ago. I just use onions, mushrooms(fresh or canned), beef broth or beef base, salt, pepper, flour, and sour cream at the end. I just use whatever kind of steak I find in the freezer. What kind of flavor are you looking for? It's one of those quick meals as long as you are not out of egg noodles.

Caliloo, there are many reasons why some people choose to use seasoning mixes, pre-packaged dinners and other convenience foods.

Some people don't know how to cook, some people don't like to cook. Some people have physical disabilities that makes it difficult for them to accomplish a variety of kitchen tasks, some people live alone or with only a spouse, and buying a container of a spice, a bottle of wine, a tub of sour cream or other rarely used ingredients just to make one dinner means wasting the rest of the purchase. Some people use convenience foods on vacations, camping or staying in a beach house or some such, so that they don't have to haul a car load of seasonings, ingredients and kitchen utensils with them.

Some people work long days, and the difference in time between browning some beef and dumping in some pre-packaged seasonings to simmer rather than shopping on the way home for ingredients not in the pantry, pre-freezing meat to make it easy to slice, slicing it, chopping cornichons & parsley and slicing onions, measuring ingredients and using (and washing) the extra skillet as well as all the other utensils called for in making the "easy" scratch recipe, is the half an hour or 45 minutes that they might prefer to spend having a relaxing glass of wine with their spouse or marveling over the artwork their children brought home from school.

People of all levels of ability and enthusiasm post their cooking questions in this forum. I will venture to suggest that someone who asks a question about a convenience food item might be made to feel condescended to or sneered at by being told that another poster wonders why anyone would use the convenience food since it is so easy to make the dish from scratch. I'm sure you didn't mean to either insult or sneer, because I'm familiar with your other posts and you seem like quite a nice person.

Rachelellen: Thank you. Cbad

Okay, I have some mix confessions.

When I was a teenager my favorite meal was stroganoff made with the Lawry's mix. The first meal I made for myself when I moved out on my own was beef stroganoff made with the mix and I dare say I probably ate the whole thing LOL.

I think the packaged mixes have a place in most kitchens - I use the au jus package mix (either Lawry's or McCormick, I'm not picky) when we have French dip sandwiches, one of our favorite easy meals. I also use the Knorr bernaise mix and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mixes routinely. And let's not forget the onion dip made with sour cream and the dried onion soup mix.

cbadcali - in your original post you said that they'd changed the cooking directions on the package. Is it possible that you can cook it using the old directions? Perhaps the difference is in the preparation method rather than the mix itself. Just a thought.

And Rachelellen - thank you for your thoughts. You made some valid points.

Becky

I agree with everything that Rachelellen had to say. But it is also possible that someone who is inexperienced might not realize how easy it is to make Strognaoff and might actually appreciate learning something new.

Ann

Well pardon me for suggesting ANYONE could manage a simple recipe! Holy carp - I really didn't expect to be dragged on the carpet for providing a SIMPLE alternative to the preservative carp filled box!

I apologize for offending you and feel free to continue to chose the chemical alternative over something that might have nutritional value.

Alexa

I don't think it's about you personally, Alexa because this is something that does come up often enough and Rachelellen's post was addressing the topic in general and not you.
I use convenience foods of all kinds for lots of the reasons Rachel stated although I am a good cook and can make anything, really. Sometimes I would rather read a book and have a Bertolli packaged meal for dinner than spend the time on cooking.
Even things that are very easy for me, require a stocked kitchen, an unloaded dishwasher and an inattentive husband, dogs and Dad.
But I do think presenting the homemade version of recipes is also helpful to at least encourage those who have never tried the homemade.

Oh people...I am so sorry if this stirred up a hornet's nest. I really had no intention of ticking anyone off. First of all I am not an inexperienced cook, but sometimes I don't feel like starting from scratch. I often use mixes for some of the basics and then add to them. I appreciate all the recipes given. I appreciate the "confessions" and I appreciate all that responded. Darn Lawry's...if they hadn't changed the recipe, the directions and everything else, I would have never asked my stupid question and started this fiasco. Sorry people, I will just go back to lurking. Cbad

cbadcali:
Sometime they change things because of marketing.
Like Spatini Spaghetti Sauce mix. They stopped making it.
May not be for the better ???

Alexa:
You have to be careful how you say things, LOL. I know !
At times everyone is right but it is taken the wrong way.
You may not only be " dragged on the carpet " You may face a Firing Squad at dawn. LOL

This reminded me of another ditty.
Everyone was disappointed that Lipton stopped making ,
Spattini Spaghetti Sauce mix.
I think all it's ingredient's were Powdered.
I almost faced the firing Squad when I mentioned I used Powdered Garlic and Spices.

So all you have to do is maneuver a few words around and
everything will be fine.
What's " Wasy " is it something like " Easy ".

Rachel:
You seem like a nice person also.
Do you know what " pianissimo " means in Italian ?
LOU

Yes Lou, I do. I played violin for years.

cbadcali, you didn't stir anything, I'm afraid I did that. Please don't go off and lurk, I believe I can speak for everyone in that the more the merrier. In forums, where often the written word can be more easily misunderstood than the spoken (no facial expressions, body language etc to ease the way), such things happen.

Alexa, I am sorry if you took what I wrote personally, I had no intention to "drag you on the carpet", which is why I made a point of saying that I was sure you didn't mean to insult or sneer and that being familiar with your posts I am sure you are a nice person.

If you go back and read what I wrote, you will find that many of the reasons I gave that someone might choose to use convenience foods have nothing to do with whether or not, "ANYONE could manage a simple recipe." I myself have been cooking entire meals, from scratch, with a great deal of pleasure since I was 9 years old, and am 48 now. I make my own bread, can my own jam, pickles, and various sauces, have a fair proficiency in a number of different cuisines, and use recipes for ideas, not guides. The head chef in the upscale restaurant I used to manage often sat down with me to discuss and plan the upcoming month's specials,and it was a rare menu that didn't feature at least one of my recipes.

However, I buy Classico spaghetti sauce as a quickie base for a variety of dishes, use instant Dashi-no-moto instead of shaving a dried block of tuna to simmer with kelp for Japanese fish stock, keep jars of beef and chicken base in the fridge for when I run out of my own stock or just need a bit, and buy boxed pasta for when I don't want to muck about with making my own. I also sometimes use both garlic and onion powders (like Lou), though I always have garlic and onions on hand, as well as dried oregano, basil, chives, marjoram, mint, shiso, cilantro, parsley and thyme though I have fresh in my garden. Sometimes I'm in a hurry or don't feel like clipping, cleaning and chopping fresh, sometimes it's because the flavor I'm looking for requires the dried over the fresh.

If I posted a question about Classico, noting that a particular sauce had a different flavor than it used, and asking if anyone could give me information about it, I would hardly like to receive a reply that started out, "I have to wonder why anyone would use a mix to make pasta sauce when it is so wasy to make form scratch", being that such does not answer the question I put, and moreover seems to imply (though as I said, I'm sure that wasn't your intention) that I'm either lazy or incompetent because I use a jarred sauce.

Now, if you were unable to answer my question, but generously wanted to share your favorite recipe for pasta sauce, a less easily misconstrued lead in sentence might be something like, "I can't help you with your question about Classico, because I've never used it, but this is my favorite sauce recipe:"

I hope I have made my intentions more clear, caliloo. I had no more intention to insult or attack you than you had to insult or attack cbadcali.

Don't know if anyone is interested in other mixes, but I recently found these Indian blends at a gourmet shop I came across. Organic too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Indian spice mixes

Oh Lou! You made me laugh! I grew up in a family with 10 people to feed at each meal and not a lot of money to spend. My dear mother was not a particularly dynamic cook. Her spaghetti consisted of elbow macaroni, canned (but not seasoned) tomatoes, salt, pepper and Velveeta cheese. No foolin'.

So, when I got my own place I developed my own spaghetti "recipe" which consisted of Ragu seasoned with Spatini Spaghetti Sauce mix! As I remember it, it was delicious! Someone even asked for my recipe! How embarrassing was that to give out my secret?

Thanks for the walk down memory lane and my chuckle for today.

Alexa:
Can you help me make some Beef Stroganoff?
I don't think I can do it myself.
Hope I didn't say anything wrong ???

If I did can we kiss and make up !!!! Wheeoo !!!
I got Goose Bumps all over.

I'll try to think of a Song to sing to you.
Too tired right now.
I'm gonna watch the fights.

Lvmadison:
You are welcome . Glad I could make someone laugh.
Makes me feel good.

Goldgirl:
Are you trying to start trouble ??? LOL , LOL, LOL.
Don't mind me I'm crazy.
Lou

Crazy is good.

:D