Well lookie here. Looks like we’re going to be stuffing out faces full of hearty comfort food. I’m not complaining; are you? When it comes to comfort food, I have a strong and borderline inappropriate love for all things stew, soup, or pasta related. And my ultimate weakness is when you take a stew and place it over a bed of pasta. So enter Beef Stew with Mushrooms: it starts with a fresh made-from-scratch super easy stew with crimini mushrooms, onions, and garlic that is so deliciously comforting because we’re using real ingredients like butter, flour, and beef broth and letting it cook up until the meat is almost falling apart. If there was a bone, trust me, the meat would’ve been falling off of it for sure. Grab yourself a bowl full of noodles because things are about to get crazy with beef stew in the most homemade, comfort food, coziest way possible. This beef stew with mushrooms was the concoction that came out of my kitchen one fine sunday evening when the hubby and I were bummed out from the end of our much needed but, oh-too-short vacation in New Orleans. We needed a bowl of pick-me-up and this stew definitely provided. It tastes especially good when it’s 40 degrees outside and you’ve got a warm fire going with your most coziest pajamas on. It’s like magic, you feel that warm, and cozy and comforted. It’s what good food is all about, yo. The easiest way for me to describe this mushroom and beef stew is that it’s like beef stroganoff – because it’s got the mushrooms and onions and garlic – except it’s not loaded with sour cream or greek yogurt. So it’s a beef stroganoff that’s not creamy. Am I making it sound unappetizing? Because it’s so the opposite. Here’s how to make it: We’re going to start by browning out meat. Toss it with the flour and a little bit of salt. Melt the butter with the oil and sear the meat on high heat. Do it in batches if you’ve got a smaller dutch oven. Remove to a plate. Next we’re adding in tons of onion and garlic to the pan, don’t worry if there’s brown bits at the bottom, it’ll all come off and turn into a nice little gravy. In go the mushrooms. Once they’ve had a chance to cook we add a few tablespoons of red wine vinegar, this helps gets those bits off and flavors our stew. Add in the beef broth, red pepper flakes, the browned meat, and a few sprigs of thyme. Now sit back and let it cook. Once it’s done, toss in the defrosted peas. And finally, you’ll add in a flour slurry to help thicken the stew. Beef stew with mushrooms has become a favorite of ours. The hubby just can’t get enough of it. Even though he loves this beef stew on a bed of egg noodles, he says he could have it in a bowl all by itself too. I love the fact that other than a quick 20 minute prep work, the stew cooks itself. I can busy myself in the kitchen making all sorts of yummy treats for you guys while this beef stew is simmering away in the background. You can also toss in your favorite veggies if you like, carrots are something some people like to see in their stew. You can add defrosted peas and carrots if you want to add a little more color and nutrition to the stew. Me? I like it just the way it is. Warm, cozy, garlicky and served over a bed of pasta. Cozy, comfort food. Mushrooms and beef together in a stew? This is definitely a 10 out of 10 in our books.
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Feel free to add in your favorite veggies if you’d like. Frozen peas and carrots can be added instead of just the peas if you’d like a little more color.Recipe slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
