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Desperation Beef
 
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Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes
Servings: 4
My mother captured the original recipe in the early 1970's (I still remember transcribing the recipe card on our old manual typewriter).
Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat
2 medium fresh tomatoes
1 green pepper (recipe only says green pepper, but i think it's one chopped fine)
1 sliced onion (but the recipe specifies chopped fine)
1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms (recipe doesn't specify, but this seems reasonable)
Directions:
1. Cut beef into very small pieces.
2. Brown slightly, add 3/4 cup water and other ingredients cut up into small pieces.
3. Simmer till beef is done.
4. My notes:.
5. * This recipe was written when stew beef was the scribbly bits they cut off of everything else and was about the cheapest meat available. I suppose you could use store-ground beef for the same reason; if so it should be drained before adding the other ingredients. I used beef for stroganoff because it was the cheapest cut available that day. The meat is cut small to cook faster.
6. * I think the recipe is calling for 1 green pepper, chopped.
7. * I used the mushrooms undrained for a bit more liquid; it does boil away.
8. * The gravy is like an au-jus when you're done. I thickened it with a tablespoon of cornstarch to make a more substantial gravy.
9. * This is a sort of stove-top stew. It predates Hamburger Helper. It's not a bad recipe, but could do with some tweaking.
By RecipeOfHealth.com