The struggles of the 1960s career woman.
The 1960s were a scary time for the career woman. For one thing, she had to drive herself to work.
And then, she had to make herself food like this beef stroganoff knock-off. Beef strogan-way-off.
A similar recipe appeared in the October 12, 1964 edition of Manitoba’s Winnipeg Free Press:
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Beef ‘n’ Noodles is another fast skillet supper. The beef and noodles cook together. Then, for elegance, sour cream and canned mushrooms are added. This might be company fare for the career girl. She might prefer to feature the chicken breasts or the spaghetti. The spaghetti is really inexpensive because the sauce calls for frankfurters instead of beef.
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Beef ‘n’ Noodles
Saute onion in butter until tender but not brown. Add beef; brown. Place uncooked noodles over beef. Pour on tomato juice, sprinkle with salt, celery salt and pepper. Drizzle with Worcestershire. Bring to boiling point. Cover. Simmer 20 minutes. Add green pepper. Simmer 10 minutes longer or until noodles tender. Stir in sour cream and drained mushrooms. Heat just to boiling. Yield: six servings. |
I know, I know. You’re dying to see the spaghetti recipe.
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Career Girls’ Spaghetti
Heat salad oil in skillet. Saute onions and mushrooms till golden. Stir in flour and chopped frankfurters. Add tomato juice, water, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Simmer 25 minutes. Ad parsley and green pepper; Simmer five minutes longer. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as package directs. Serve ring of spaghetti on platter. Fill centre of ring with sauce. Pass grated cheese separately. Yield: four servings. |
Remember how the newspaper said that beef ‘n’ noodles would be “company fare” for the career girl?
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I know what you’re thinking. “What if I’m a busy 1960s career woman who doesn’t have company so I can’t make beef ‘n’ noodles with sour cream for them?”
Don’t worry! There’s a pre-made version! Here’s an ad from the June 11, 1969 edition of the San Antonio Express.
The sodium content is a little high, but to be fair, half of that is probably just the tears.
So I guess, if I were to sum up what I’ve learned about beef ‘n’ noodles with sour cream, it seems to boil down to this:
From a box sold in East Moline, Illinois.
Beef ‘n’ Noodles in Sour Cream
1 c. chopped onion
2 Tbsp. fat
1 lb. ground beef
3 c. noodles
3 c. tomato juice
2 tsp. salt
1 to 2 tsp. celery salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. sour cream
Cook onion in fat until tender, not brown.
Add meat–brown lightly. Place noodles over meat. Add ingredients except sour cream. Pour over noodles to moisten all.
Simmer over low heat about 30 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat just to boiling.
Company fare indeed. Not sure this Yesterdish should have been “rescued.” Pass the Chianti.