GRAPHICS EDITOR
Aaaaah, Stroganoff. Just like aunt Olga used to make. Well, maybe not just like aunt Olga used to make.
This is a reasonably quick and easy dish to prepare. In the way of cooking instruments, you will need a skillet, pot, knife, can opener, cutting board (a copy of Link magazine will serve nicely) and a spatula or wooden spoon.
Food you will use:
1 lb. cube steak, flank steak, or ground beef
10 oz. egg noodles
4 oz. mushrooms
1 small onion
8 oz. sour cream
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 clove of garlic
chives
black pepper
Be sure your meat is defrosted. If you can plan ahead, leave it out in your room. If you can't plan ahead, nuke it for five minutes on half power and you should be okay.
Boil some water, and then throw the egg noodles. Cook according to the package directions. You do not need to add salt, unlike spaghetti and other bread pasta.
Now, while the noodles are cooking, chop up the onion into itty-bitty pieces. Slice the mushrooms. Go ahead and open the soup and the sour cream.
The noodles will take a while to cook, so you have a little time. Do something useful, like cleaning the kitchen or reading your philosophy.
Five minutes before the noodles are done, start your meat. Turn a burner on high, and place your skillet on it.
Once it gets hot (No! Bad! Don't check it with your fingers!), throw on the meat and onions. Stir vigorously until the meat is brown, then remove the skillet from the burner. Turn the burner down to medium. Drain the grease from the skillet by placing a knife or the cutting board over the skillet so that just a sliver of the skillet is open, and tilt over the a can.
Do not drain the grease into the sink, or someone will eventually have to clear the meat from the plumbing with Drano.
Stir in the mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup and the sour cream. If you have trouble getting their gelatinous masses out of their respective containers, break the vacuum holding them in by stabbing the upended top of the can or cup.
Replace the skillet to the burner on medium, and add the chives and pepper. Stir until mixture achieves a uniform consistency, and is warm.
Drain the noodles, put 'em on the plate, and spoon the mixture over it. Enjoy.