Beef and Mushroom Casserole or Saute

I know when it’s from, but not what it is.

A list of ingredients like this was pretty common in the 1970s. So common, in fact, that without more context, I’m not sure what this recipe was intended to be.

Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix was only on the shelves for two years before California Dip debuted in 1954, and from there, it was a combination bonanza. While most of the television commercials of the 1970s focused on their individual serving packets, by the 1980s, they refocused on the onion soup mix and how it can be added to [food] to make souper-[food].

I’ll let Jason Alexander explain:

But that’s not this recipe, obviously. So what is it? Perhaps it’s intended to be a version of this recipe from the March 14, 1971 edition of the (Mansfield, Ohio) News Journal?

Dinner in a Dish 4 pound chuck roast or other similar cut of meat 1 package Lipton onion soup mix 8 medium potatoes 1 pound carrots 2 small jars whole mushrooms 2 cans (10-1/2 ounce) cream of mushroom soup Place meat in pan with enough foil to cover entire contents. Sprinkle onion soup mix over meat and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Add carrots, potatoes and bake for another hour. Remove from oven and add mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup and bake for approximately another hour. Add salad, rolls and dessert and you will have a complete dinner including gravy. Mrs. Clayton R. Davis Rt. 2, Box 300 B-1 Loudonville, O.

 
One wonders where Mrs. Davis normally put her dinner, if identifying that this one was in a dish was distinctive. In my imagination, the answer is, “a sombrero.”

Or is this not a casserole at all, but more of a sauteed dish, like this one from the April 27, 1976 edition of the Middletown (New York) Times Herald Record?

Pork Chops Supreme 4-6 lean shoulder pork chops 2 T. Lipton onion soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup Small can mushrooms 1/2 can beer Pan-fry chops till golden with all fat removed. Drain fat. Add 2 T. Lipton onion soup mix, 1 can of mushroom soup and 1/2 can of beer and mushrooms. Stir, simmer for 50 minutes. Serves: 2-3. Mrs. Linda Harth 2 Sycamore La. Goshen, N.Y.

 
Or is it neither casserole or saute, and more of a roasted stew-in-a-package, kind of like this roast recipe from the August 18, 1972 edition of the Oskaloosa (Iowa) Daily Herald?

Easy Beef Roast Mrs. Carmen Phillippe 4 pound roast 1 can mushroom soup 2 envelopes onion soup mix Take a large piece of aluminum foil. Place one envelope onion soup mix in center. Place roast on top. Add the can of mushroom soup, then another envelope of mushroom soup mix. Wrap securely, but loosely, so juices do not escape. Bake in 300 degree oven, 1 hour per pound of meat.

 
For more on Lipton soup mixes and the Lipton company, see the post for chicken with rice.

From the box of F.J. from Sun City, Arizona. Some cards suggest a family history in Missouri and Kansas.

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