Slow Cooker Burgundy Beef

On Tuesday evenings I take my daughter to dance class. I've figured out that if I don't have something super easy or already made up planned for dinner, I am tempted to hit a drive thru on the way home. So, this Tuesday's planned meal involved my crock pot. Slow cooker recipes are also a great way to use up all of the stew beef I have in my freezer. When I found this Beef Burgundy recipe, it caught my interest. Of course, I haven't had the best luck cooking with wine lately, so I was taking a risk here. Lucky for me, this came out just fine. It looks yummy, doesn't it?

Here's what you need: 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms, 4 onions, burgundy wine, pepper, marjoram, beef broth, thyme, and of course, beef. Two pounds of stew beef, that is. You'll also need beef bouillon granules, salt, and flour. Somehow these didn't make it into the picture. Oops.


Dredge the beef in 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour.



Put the sliced onions and then the beef into the bottom of your slow cooker. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of beef bouillon.



Top with the mushrooms and spices.


Then I took a little time out. After ruining my Bacon and Egg pasta with an awful tasting wine, I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice! After my misstep with the nasty Chardonnay, Mary at My New 30 advised, "Well, "they" say never cook with a wine that you wouldn't drink! If it tastes bad in the glass, it'll taste worse in the recipe." I believe her! I heard Rachael Ray say the same thing on her show a couple of days later. Man, why couldn't I have watched that show before I ruined a whole pasta dish. Oh well, water under the bridge. Today, I was not going to ruin dinner. Today I was going to taste the wine first! So, I poured a little burgundy in my glass. It felt taboo. I mean it was AFTER noon (just), but it felt weird pouring a glass of wine all by myself in the kitchen in the middle of the day. I could just hear the other pre-school moms whispering, "Was that wine on her breath?!" when I showed up to retrieve my daughter from her playdate. I imagined the scene from my Dr. Phil intervention, me sobbing into my handkercheif, the live studio audience looking on and shaking their heads in disbelief as I explain, "It just started with tasting wine for a recipe. The baby was napping, my daughter was on a playdate. The house was so peaceful. It helped me relax..." All for the sake of dinner. (I swear I only had two sips) The burgundy was drinkable. I don't think I've ever had burgundy before, so I can't really do a comparison. The fact is my local grocery only carried two types of burgundy, a big bottle variety and a small one. I went with the small one. It was under $6. I decided to use the burgundy and press ahead with my recipe.




Pour the burgundy and beef broth over the top of the mushrooms, put on the lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours. When the beef was ready, I gave it a taste test and did a little extra seasoning. Then I mixed up 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water and poured it into the crock pot to thicken the mixture a little. It sticks to your noodles better this way. Serve it over hot cooked noodles. I accompanied the beef and noodles with Sweet Peas Parma (see the next post). Yummy!



Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

4 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 lbs. stewing meat, cubed
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules (or 2 cubes)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
1/8 teaspoon thyme
pepper
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 cups burgundy wine

1. Place onions in slow cooker
2. Dredge meat in flour. Place in slow cooker. Salt and pepper. Add in bouillon.
3. Add mushrooms, marjoram, and thyme.
4. Pour in broth and wine.
5. Cover. Cook 8-10 hours on Low.
6. Add 3 tablespoons of water to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Stir until smooth. Add to beef burgundy mixture and stir until thickened.
7. Serve over cooked noodles.