Recipe: Beef and Portobello Mushrooms

Another great crock pot meal... Beef and Portobello Mushrooms ...

I’m always looking for a slightly different version of beef stew… oh don’t get me wrong… I love a good beef stew… but I like to change it up a bit… just to keep things interesting.

I had a pound of baby Portobello mushrooms to use.. and thought the earthy flavor would be good in a stew… so I went searching for ideas… the picture is what caught my eye… savory beef.. lots of mushrooms a few carrots.. very simple… served over wide egg noodles… looked darn good.. so Beef and Portobello Mushrooms it was… a good choice.. I might add.

The recipe is adapted from a Campbell’s recipe. I added lots more mushrooms and decided to slow cook it so the meat would be melt in your mouth tender. The slow cook method was also a big convenience, it cooked while I worked… and supper time came.. and dinner was done!

TIPS

This can be started on the stove and finished in a crock pot.. which is what I did… a variation from the original recipe. You can cook it all on top of the stove if you prefer, you will need to stir it occasionally. Bring to a steady simmer and cook until the meat is tender and the carrots are cooked but still firm, about 45 minutes to an hour.

The gravy will naturally thicken as it cooks because the meat was dredged in flour at the beginning.

Although I never serve my beef stew over noodles, I decided to this time since there were no potatoes in the stew.. it was a really nice change… I highly recommend it.

If adding alcohol to your food is a problem, just omit it.. admittedly it will change the flavor a bit, but it will still be delicious.

This will make 4 servings.







Recipe: Beef and Portobello Mushrooms

All you need:

1 pound sirloin beef chunks (usually labeled for stew)
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sprinkling of salt and pepper
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound baby Portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 cups Swanson beef broth or stock
½ cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups fresh baby carrots

All you need to do:

In a wide bowl, mix the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Dredge the meat in the flour mixture.

In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.

Add the meat and brown on all sides. Add a little more olive oil as needed.

Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and place in a crock pot.

Add the sliced mushrooms and garlic.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the mushrooms and stir well to very lightly coat the mushrooms.

Cook and stir frequently until mushrooms are soft. Do not allow the garlic to scorch, reduce heat slightly if needed.

Remove the mushrooms and garlic and any mushroom liquid and pour into the crock pot.

Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Set the crock pot on high until stew begins to simmer, about 30 minutes.

Reduce the crock pot to low and cook for about 5-6 hours until meat is tender and carrots are cooked but still firm.

Discard the bay leaf.

Serve over cooked wide egg noodles.