Beef and Mushroom Stew

On a cold day, not many things are better then a hot meal.



This is one of those "throw everything handy into a pot" meals that I decided to make one freezing Sunday. My little cup that you see pictured makes me exceptionally happy, all green and looking like Mike Wazoski.


You know, from "Monsters Inc."


This stew turned out deliciously simple and satisfying. It wasn't too dense and, as you can see from the photo above, I put mine over pasta. Not usual for a stew, perhaps, but I had the bow tie noodles and couldn't resist. I'd imagine this stew would taste even better with some crusty bread to dip and slurp it with but, I didn't have anything better then Wonder bread on hand.


If anyone makes it with some really clutch bread, let me know if the pairing is as spectacular as I imagine :)


Make and enjoy!


Beef Stew:

• 2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (or sirloin, cubed)
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Shallots, Minced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 8 ounces mushrooms- I used various types
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 1 can Beef Consomme
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Oregano/Basil/Spices to preference/amount (I just started tossing things in I liked)
• 2 Tablespoons flour- to thicken

Sprinkle flour over meat. Toss to coat.

Melt butter with olive oil in heavy pot. Sear meat over high heat in batches; remove to a plate when brown.

Add shallots and garlic to pan (don't bother with any cleaning); saute over medium-low heat til soft/flavors are melding in the air and with the juices. Add mushrooms and cook until slightly softened/browned, perhaps 2 mins. Pour in wine and consomme, salt and pepper to taste, and stir. Bring to a boil, then add back into the mix the browned meat. Reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. This is when I began tasting and adding various spices/salt pepper to taste. After you have it seasoned to your liking, mix 2 tablespoons flour with a little water and pour into the stew. Allow to cook and thicken for ten more minutes. Turn off heat and allow stew to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

As I said, I put it over pasta but! I think a steaming cup with some bread would be even better. Let me know what you guys think once you make it, if you make it ;)

*Update* When I made this for a bunch of my friends, I added 2 cups of leftover white rice (leftover meaning, already cooked and sitting in the fridge) into the stew pot and let it simmer for an hour before serving. It was DIVINE. If you have leftover rice or want to cook up some rice, I suggest mixing it right in with your favorite stews or soups. The consistency becomes spectacular and the meal twice as hearty. This recipe was made even better by this addition! I am certain I will never make it plain again! I wish I had a photo of it but, it got inhaled by the group! Just know- delicious. And take my word for it.

Super Bowl Chili & Cornbread

Seeing as our super bowl party ran pretty late last night, I am more then scrambling to get this posted today. 

Whoops! 

Anyway, the Super Bowl is a time for chili and corn bread with my family. We raise buffalo too so, we always make it a point to serve up buffalo chili. Always a fantastic, yearly treat. It is a ritual I was not inclined to miss just because I now live 14 hours away. My roommate and I had a bunch of people over and made a BUNCH of food. The center of which were the chili and cornbread casserole. I also made spinach corn muffins, which are always a smash, but I wanted to make some of the yummy, spoon served, corn casserole as well. 

If we're going to have buttery, delicious carbs, we are going to do it right. I also made some appetizers, including my family's infamous sausage appetizers and my roomie's favorite cheesey spreads. 

While the chili was the star of the show, it was almost entirely out done by my desserts. Which I will have to post later in order to do them proper justice. However, as a preview for the post that I will add later this week, here are some pics of the dessert tables and two of my favorites. The theme for the the desserts was "Super BOWL", and they therefore all have cereal as a main ingredient. Can't wait to share! Enjoy the chili and cornbread recipe in the mean time!!

More pics and recipes to follow! Happy Super Bowl, all :)

Bison Chili:

-          2 teaspoons butter or margarine

-          3 lbs bison. My fam makes 1 ½ lbs ground bison, 1 ½ lbs diced chuck, cut into ½ inch pieces

-          1 lg onion, diced

-          1 lg green pepper, diced

-          1 garlic clove, crushed

-          5 tbls chili powder

-          2 bay leaves

-          2 tsp each oregano and sugar

-          1 tsp each cumin and salt

-          ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

-          1 can (14 ½ or 16 oz) stewed tomatoes

-          1 can (13 or 14 oz) beef broth

-          1 can (16 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

-          1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

-          1 cup water

-          1 tbls cornmeal

In dutch oven, melt butter or margarine over high heat. Add meat and brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in onion, green pepper, and garlic; sauté until brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in onion, pepper, and garlic until veggies are softened, approx 4 mins. Stir in spices, cook about 2 mins. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Simmer uncovered 1 to 1 ½ hours more. Discard garlic and bay leaves.


Chili is one of those recipes that always seems to be different every time you make it. This recipe is the best and, I always try to stick to it as much as possible. Making it for the Super Bowl this year was a train wreck on my part when I put in too much chili powder by mistake and then was desperately trying to cut the spice level down to manageable amounts with whatever I had on hand. Everything but the kitchen sink ended up in this batch, ha. Everyone seemed to love it, even adoring the extra spice! But, if you want a good recipe to start with as a base for your experiments in chili making- this should be it.


Serve with sour cream, cheese, noodles, ect. Or with corn bread casserole! See below.

Corn Bread Casserole:

-          1 box jiffy cornbread mix

-          1 egg

-          ½ stick butter/marg, softened

-          1 can cream corn

-          1 can regular corn, drained

-          8 oz sour cream

Combine all ingredients and pour into a 2 qt casserole dish. I even mix mine in the dish more often then not to save a dirty dish. Bake at 350 for 50 mins. Serve by the warm, delicious, gooey spoonful :)

My Nana's Beef Burgundy

This recipe is a family favorite. And everyone who has it loves it as well. It's got a lot of full flavors and is one of my favorite dishes of all time on cold winter nights. My dad loves this recipe, his mom made it for him as a kid, and then my mom made it for us. And now I make it for my roommates ;)

Beef Burgundy

Mix Together:

-1 cup ruby port wine

-1 can cream of mushroom soup

-1 can cambells french onion soup

Pour over 1- 8oz package of sliced mushrooms and 3 pounds of sirloin tip roast, (cut into cubes). Put all ingredients into a large covered pot, bake for 3 hours at 350, and then put it on the stove top for 10 minutes, simmering on low, adding Wondra to thicken if needed. Serve hot over rice or egg noodles.