Welcome to my site!

Welcome to my site!
I'm Cindy, and I love to cook! And, I love to eat... hence the size of my rear end! I come from a long line of cooks. My great great Grandmother was a cook in the original Harvey Houses. My grandmother Julia was an awesome cook, and my mom was incredible. I owe my skills to these great women. Especially my Mom who said this to me about making gravy... "Cindy Lynn, wallpaper paste is wallpaper paste & gravy is gravy. Never the two shall meet!" Shall we say my first experience at making gravy left a little bit to be desired! Thank the high heavens my cooking skills have improved since then! Enjoy!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Italian Beef Stew

I really enjoy a nice beef stew; so hearty and filling. This time I wanted to give my stew an Italian twist, so I used the Italian Stewed Tomatoes and added the oregano and basil. I served it over rice, but I also like to serve over fluffy mashed potatoes sometimes.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil for sautéing
1 white onion, chopped
1 celery heart, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds stew beef cut into 1” cubes
1 cup dry red wine
3 – 15oz. cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, cleaned - quartered or halved
3/4 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot

Directions:

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drizzle some oil into pan. Add onion and chopped celery; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté for another minute or two. Remove from pan.

2. Drizzle some additional oil into the pan. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season beef salt and pepper; dredge in flour. Add some beef to pan – making sure not to crowd too much into the pan at one time. You want the meat to brown, not steam. Sauté 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure until all the meat is cooked.

3. Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 5 minutes). Return meat and the onion mixture to pan. Add tomato and next 4 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, and stir in sliced carrot and mushrooms. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste.
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