Allrecipes: Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I'm a big fan of anything with mushrooms, and especially anything stroganoff, but I don't always have the time to thinly slice some nice beef and roughly chop a basket of wild mushrooms.  So when I saw this recipe, I figured I would try it out.  And it's not...bad, per se.  But it's definitely not as awesome as the original.  For a quick weeknight supper, it will do.

Note: I ended up adding some lemon juice to the final dish to try and get some of that sour cream tartness to shine through, like in the original.  I think it got overpowered by all of the processed products in the recipe.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Loosely adapted from Allrecipes

1 pound beef stew meat
2 tablespoons canola oil

½ cup water
1 (10½-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (4-ounce) can mushroom pieces, drained
1 envelope Lipton Beefy Mushroom or Beefy Onion soup mix
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

4 ounces sour cream

Set an Instant Pot to Sauté setting or, if using a traditional slow cooker, set a pan over medium-high heat.  Add the oil, and when it shimmers, add the stew meat.  Cook until the meat has browned.

If using an Instant Pot, cancel the Sauté, then add all remaining ingredients except for sour cream, then cover.  Set to Slow Cook on the Normal setting for 8 hours.

If using a traditional slow cooker, add the water to the pan to scrape up any browned bits, then pour into the slow cooker.  Add all the remaining ingredients except sour cream, then cover.  Set to Lo for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, uncover and add the sour cream, stirring well to incorporate.  Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

Makes 4 servings