Grandmother DIANNE MARIE EILAND HEGLER (Williamsport, Tennessee) was raised in Opp, Alabama. She is known as Oma to her two young granddaughters. ELLA ANNELISE HEGLER’S (Mount Juliet, Tennessee) mom, Marie Hegler, says that when Ella is old enough, she will be learning her way around the kitchen with Oma, just like Marie did. Oma has always has been adventurous in the kitchen, taking recipes and putting her spin on them to make them her own. Because of her husband’s military career, she moved around a lot and was introduced to many different styles of cooking and a wide range of ingredients. (Her husband is a retired US Air Force colonel.) Marie shares, “Our family was always willing to try out her new recipes, and rarely did Mom make a dish that we didn’t enjoy, though we all had our favorites. One of those favorites was this stroganoff that we usually ate over rice or sometimes just on top of toast.”
1 small onion, diced
1 (4.5 ounce) jar mushrooms, drained, or 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 (14.25 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion and mushrooms (if fresh) in the butter and olive oil. Remove from the pan.
2 Add the ground beef to the skillet and brown. Drain off the excess grease; add the garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
3 Add back in the onions and mushrooms; stir in the water chestnuts and soup. Simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
4 Turn off the heat, stir in the sour cream, and serve. This is delicious served over rice or egg noodles or on top of toast.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS.