I’m a lazy cook. In theory, I would love to spend hours in the kitchen making dinner and baked goodies, but reality gets in the way. We’re running late or forget to go grocery shopping or I’m just plain tired. That’s where my crock-pot comes in. I’m all for creating tasty dinners that require very little more than dumping ingredients in the crock-pot.

This simple beef stroganoff recipe is delicious enough that I’ve used it for entertaining before, but it’s so quick and easy that it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. Sirloin Tip Roast, cut in cubes
• 1 can Golden Mushroom Soup
• 1 Soup Can Filled with Water
• 1 Package of Au Jus Mix (I like Lawry brand but any will do. Powdered brown gravy mix will even do in a pinch.)
• 1 Pint Sour Cream
• 1 Package Wide Egg Noodles

Preparation

I always buy beef already cut in cubes for this recipe. Costco has some great quality beef already cut up. If you can’t find beef already cut into cubes, you can find a Sirloin Tip Roast and either cut it up yourself or ask the meat department do it for you. I’d opt to have them do it for you because it just takes them a minute, although don’t make the same mistake I made once. Cubed beef and beef cubes are very different things. While cubed beef is delicious, it definitely doesn’t work for this recipe. I always say I’m cubing the beef when I cut it into small pieces so I have to remember to rephrase things before asking for the butcher to cut up my meat.

Dump the beef cubes into your crock-pot and cover with the can of Golden Mushroom Soup and a soup can filled with water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When the meat is tender, stir in the package of au jus mix and let the whole thing cook for another 10 minutes or so.

If you want, you can stop right here and serve the whole thing over mashed potatoes. It’s delicious just like this. Sometimes we’ll even add in peas and carrots to this and that turns out beautifully. Can’t decide? Split this into 2 portions and you could have

Just before serving, stir in the sour cream. You can use the full pint if you want. I tend to like this better with a bit less so I can really taste the beef flavor too. Serve over egg noodles.

This makes excellent leftovers too and would freeze really well — just hold off on adding the sour cream until you reheat it.

Alternative Cooking Method

If I’m running short of time, or *ahem* forget to put dinner in the crock-pot, you can cook this in a covered casserole. Bake at 325° for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. You can do this for a shorter time frame if you want but the meat may not be quite as tender.