Sunday Dinner: Beef Burgundy with Mushrooms

I wish I were eating this right now. It’s Sunday as I write, I’m hungry, and a slow-roasted dish with tender chunks of meat, tasty mushrooms, and a thick, rich sauce sounds so good. Unfortunately, I don’t often have time for recipes with the word “slow” in it.  That’s just not the speed I operate at most of the time. Like today. Thanks to volleyball coaching and a birthday party, dinner tonight will consist of the Starbucks decaf iced mocha I’m drinking right now, and any leftover birthday pizza the party goers don’t get to.

But LAST Sunday I was feasting on this. Lucky ME 🙂

When I do have time, this kind of meal is perfect and pretty simple to throw together. After browning the meat, you just throw the sauce together and bring to a boil, add back in the meat and a thickener (flour/water) and slow cook in the oven for about an hour and a half.  The slow-and-low cooking method is great for this cut of beef, allowing the lean meat to get tender without drying it out. This would work well in the crock pot too.

The recipe is simplified thanks to a couple of convenience items like canned cream of mushroom soup and Lipton’s onion soup mix. This, of course, ramps up the sodium content a bit, so if you’re looking out for that, use less of the Lipton and/or make sure the rest of your meal is made from fresh and naturally low sodium items.

So, if you’ve got a lazy Sunday coming up, give this a go! Then, relax and enjoy it before Monday hits you 🙂

Beef Burgundy
recipe adapted from Cooking Light Five Star Recipes cookbook
Serves 4

1.5 – 2 lbs lean stew beef
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 cups red wine
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (like Campbell’s Healthy Request)
1 cup beef broth
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 medium onions, sliced
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup water

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large Dutch oven* coated with spray oil, brown the beef over medium-high heat. Remove beef to paper towels.

Coat the pan once again with spray oil. Saute the garlic for about 1 minute, until golden. Add in the wine, mushroom soup. broth and onion soup mix. Bring to a boil. Add back in the beef, along with the mushrooms and onions.

Whisk together the flour and water. Add to pan and stir to combine.

Cover pan, put in the center rack of the pre-heated oven, and cook for about 1.5 hours. Meat will be tender, and sauce will be thickened.

*A Dutch oven is any pot with a lid that can be used both on the stove top and in the oven. You’ll need at least a 3-quart pot for this recipe. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, simply use a non-stick pan for the preparations, then transfer to a roasting pan covered with aluminum foil for the oven. If you’d rather use a crock pot, follow steps for browning meat and making sauce. Next,  add everything to the crock pot (including the flour/water) and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

ENJOY!