Beef Stroganoff or Beef and Noodles

This recipe is from a dear friend in Texas.  She loves crockpot meals and she told me about this several years ago.  My hub loves this and it is so easy to make.  When you have a busy day, it only takes minutes to put this together and you can cook it in the crockpot or in the oven.  Boil some noodles and make a salad and you have a great meal.  I titled this beef stroganoff or beef and noodles because you can go two ways with this recipe.  My friend's recipe is beef and noodles and I change it up sometimes to make it beef stroganoff.

Beef and Noodles
2 packages stew meat
1 envelope beef onion soup mix
2 cans mushroom soup
1-2 soups cans of water

I always rinse off the stew meat and the really big pieces I cut in half.  Then put meat in a bowl and add the next three ingredients and mix well. Put in a greased casserole dish and cover with foil or in the crockpot.  I cook mine in the oven at 325 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Take foil off and stir the meat mixture and spoon over cooked noodles.

For beef stroganoff, do all the above and add one small package of fresh sliced mushrooms and one thinly sliced onion (onions are optional).  You may need a little more water.  Cover and cook the same temperature and time.  Remove from oven when done and add one cup sour cream and stir into mixture well and then spoon over buttered noodles.  When I'm doing this beef dish,  I love to use pappardelle noodles.  These are a big wide golden artisan egg noodle and I love them with this beef dish.
Awh................very comforting food!  :)