Everyone Loves Comfort Food
Everyone has their go-to comfort foods when fall is here. Is it something from your childhood, that your mom or grandma used to make? Is it something your own kids love and beg you to make? I have a lot of comfort food favorites, but would you believe that beef stroganoff has never been one of them?
Making Comfort Food Budget Friendly
I feel like so many people had beef stroganoff all the time growing up or make it regularly now as adults, but my family never did! I decided to finally try it for myself and this slow cooker version is just perfect for cozy, cool weeknight evenings.
Nothing says comfort food to me more than something warm, creamy, and full of flavor! This recipe is rich with savory mushrooms, hearty bites of beef, and a velvety sauce. What I really love about it is its flexibility: if you're on a budget, opt for affordable ground beef instead of more expensive stew meat and you can still get that delicious flavor without stretching your monthly grocery bill. Using ground beef is also a great way to stretch a meal for a large group!
Click the image below to download the printable recipe card!
Recipe Notes + Customization
As I said above, you can use ground beef in place of stew meat, but I actually had a couple of frozen strip steaks that I needed to use up, so I diced and seared them and they worked perfectly! I also had some pre-cooked, sliced mushrooms I had frozen a few weeks ago so this truly was a dump and go recipe this time! I recommend waiting to add any mushrooms when you add the cream cheese, pre-cooked or raw, so that they don't get soggy sitting in the sauce the entire time. Of course, that's entirely up to you! Make this recipe yours by customizing it any way you choose and find what works for your family! You could add peas, omit mushrooms, swap cream cheese for sour cream...the options are endless!
I'm so glad I decided to finally try a recipe that looked so good to me but was unfamiliar! Now we have another comfort food staple in our routine. Comfort food doesn't always have to start in our comfort zone!
