Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

“I said brr…it’s cold in here! There must be some Torros in the atmosphere!” Name the movie?? That’s an easy one. People who know me well know that I can relate almost any real life situation to a movie quote. I love to just throw out a quote in response for a conversation and see who around me picks it up. My brother and I have been known to have entire conversations in movie quotes. It’s a skill I tell you. In this case, what is better than 2 rival schools battling it out on the mat? On that note, I just finished Cheer Season 2 today – how good is that show!? Makes me long for my gymnastics days…sort of. Anyway, should we get back on track? Let’s get cooking!

But in all seriousness, it is cold out there! We are in the depths of winter, and all I want to do in stay home in my cozy sweatpants, pour myself a drink and eat a nice warm meal. That’s where this delicious beef stew comes in. It is a one pot meal, so less clean up, and it makes a lot so it can feed your family for multiple days, keeping you warm and full.

Start by preheating your oven to 300. I find it easiest to coat lots of cubes of meat for stew in a large ziplock bag. Place 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in a large ziplock bag and mix around. Add the meat into the bag, zip and shake. Voila! The meat is covered and the mess is contained.

Once coated, heat olive oil over high heat in a large dutch oven. Once hot, add in a single layer of beef. You want to make sure to shake off excess flour from the meat before adding it so you don’t have clumps of flour. Very important, do not overcrowd the pan. You want a nice single layer where the meat has room to brown nicely. If it is too crowded the meat will steam and not get that nice dark crust we are looking for. Brown the meat for 2-3 minutes on both sides.

While the meat is browning, chop the onions, mushrooms, potatoes and garlic. P.S. how pretty is the color of my knife? In addition to being a great sharp knife, it also adds a nice pop of color to my photos, don’t you think? It is part of the Cuisinart Classic Knife collection. I rotate between these and my Wusthof knives – love them both!

Once the meat has browned on both sides, remove from the pan and place on a plate. If the pan is dry, add another tablespoon of oil and repeat with the rest of the meat.

Once browned, remove the second batch of meat and place on the plate with the first batch and set aside. Add olive oil and my secret ingredient to the pan. You ready for it? I like to use the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes. It has so much flavor packed in there – the concentrated tomato flavor mixed with spices. It is a hidden gem – don’t let it go to waste! Add the vegetables to the oil mixture, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until softened.

While the vegetables are cooking, roughly chop the sundried tomatoes. Once the veggies have softened, add in the tomatoes, stir and cook through for 1 minute.

Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan – aka scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Remember – brown = flavor! Then add in the beef broth, rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Add the beef back into the pot, making sure to pour in any juices that accumulated on the plate.

Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours. NOTE: if after 2 hours it is still too liquidy for your liking, you can add in a corn starch slurry. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Pour that mixture into the stew, stir and place back in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes. This will help thicken it up. Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with a nice glass of red wine for a perfect meal on a cold night.