Before COVID, Beef Stroganoff was in every frozen food area, in every grocery.
Now?
Neither Kroger nor Publix nor Wallymart has it.
{BAFFLED}
Did they stop making it?
Why?
The Committee never rests.
I’m bored at work so I checked some of the brand websites; neither Stouffer’s nor Lean Cuisine seemed to have it, though a brand called Michelina’s does.
I looked up Stouffer’s Beef Stroganoff and got a lot of hits.
My guess is those links are stale, because the actual Stouffer’s website doesn’t list it as a current product.
I just made some a couple of weeks ago. It isn’t hard. And doesn’t require obscure ingredients.
It’s me; I’ve been on a campaign to eliminate Americanized adoption of dishes bastardized from other cuisines and ‘Beef Stroganoff’ is at the top of my list. Next up is the ketchup-and-egg noodle ‘goulash’ that nobody from Central Europe would recognize.
Stranger
It may just be that shaved beef, or other non-ground variants are now expensive enough to not bother at the price point people are willing to pay - or rather, the profit margins are far too slim to bother with. Even the cheap, store brand “shaved beef” options have simultaneously increased in price from around $5-6 to $7-8 per package while the package shrunk from 16oz to 12. Same-ish for “beef strips for fajita” and even “stew beef” is around $8-9 a pound.
BTW, Michelina’s is what you buy when the store has run out of real food. Prisons serve better slop, in my opinion.
I got one hit from two years ago saying that, at the time, it was only available in Canada for some reason.
I also get hits for Stouffer’s “Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff” where you have to supply your own beef.
I made my own beef stroganoff a few nights ago; it’s a lot better than anything I got from the supermarket. I do use a bit of a shortcut, however: Yelloh’s (formerly Schwann’s) frozen beef tips in gravy takes the place of cooking up the beef itself, and it jump-starts the gravy.
It’s not hard, but it does take some time. There are evenings when I get home from work, and I’m tired, and I don’t want to spend any time doing any actual cooking. I just want some dinner now. So I don’t fault the OP for wanting to have the frozen variety on hand.
I seem to recall Trader Joe’s used to have a stroganoff in their “heat and serve” meals section – not frozen, but refrigerated meals that just require reheating. But I haven’t looked for it in a long time, and Trader Joe’s is notorious for discontinuing items that don’t sell well enough, so I have no idea if they still carry it.
Maybe it’s called something else now. You know, for geopolitical reasons. Anyway, gotta go. There’s a pitcher of Boise Mules I have to make and consume before they start announcing election results.
I am 67 years old, a fairly decent home cook and I have never seen frozen beef stroganoff.
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Everyone should learn how to make a good beef stroganoff. Damn, what a ridiculously delicious meal.
I learned mine from my mother. Her beef stroganoff? Within thirty seconds you’ll be two-fisting it into your eat-hole. Absolutely delicious.
Dial KLondike-1212 and as for “Delmont’s Special Express”, then send certified cheque or cash (no money orders or personal/traveler’s cheques accepted) to the specified P.O. Box.
Stranger
Do they traditionally serve those in lead mugs?
I don’t recall ever seeing Beef Stroganoff in the freezer section. And I eat a lot of frozen meals.
Boston Market makes a beef steak and pasta meal that’s pretty close. And tasty
Hamburger Helper offers a Beef Stroganoff.
I quit buying Hamburger Helper many years ago.
Home copycat recipes are similar and I know there are no artificial chemicals. I use less salt.
Fresh milk and Sour Cream instead of the dehydrated junk in the Hamburger Helper box.