Bœuf Bourguignon

I think by now it's pretty clear that I LOVE soups and stews this time of year, and who doesn't really? It's the perfect cure after a cold, rainy day, not to mention the fact that I am about as lazy as they come so I try to make as many one-pot recipes as possible during the busy fall months.

A bowl of delicious^ Note the crusty bread - this is a must for serving!!

Speaking of being lazy, what I love the most about this recipe is that the veggies get cut into large pieces. The onion is cut into eighths, so you won't be wiping away tears while trying to chop it into tiny pieces. Another lazy tip: don't bother to peel your potatoes or carrots, just give them a good scrubbing and keep the skins on. This will not only save you time with the prep, but you will keep all of the nutrients that are lost when you remove the peels:

Potatoes are quartered and the onion cut into eighths^

This is slightly embarrassing, but when I went to make this recipe again over the weekend I somehow lost the mushrooms and celery that I had bought for this recipe. They were seriously nowhere to be found! I suspect that I left the entire grocery bag at the store, c'est la vie. I decided to forge ahead without those ingredients, and the result was equally as delicious if a bit more simple. The good news is that this is a versatile stew, so if you have kids who won't touch anything with mushrooms in it, you can feel free to omit them and be a bit flexible with the recipe. I also had less stew meat on hand than what I would typically use for this recipe, but that didn't make much of a difference at all.

My "simple" version of the recipe without celery or mushrooms^

It was just as tasty, can confirm^

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: approx 1.5 hours

Serves: 4

What you need:

• approx 1 pound beef stew meat (chopped into bite sized pieces)

• 3 tbsp flour

• 2-4 tsp cooking oil

• 1.5 cups red wine

• 4 cups water, divided

• 3-4 tsp beef bouillon granules (or 2 tsp “better than bouillon” which is what I used)

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (reserve some for serving)

• 1 bunch fresh sage, chopped

• 3 small carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

• 2 celery ribs, cut into ½ inch pieces

• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, halved

• 3-4 medium yellow potatoes, quartered

• 1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges

• Salt & pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the chunks of beef with the flour and salt & pepper to taste. Place a large Dutch oven or oven-proof pot on the stove top and heat the cooking oil over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in two batches, adding more oil if necessary. Remove from pot and set aside.

2. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, adding 3 cups of the water, bouillon granules, garlic, oregano, and fresh herbs to the pot immediately afterwards. Bring to a boil, slide the beef back into the pot, and transfer to the oven. Bake covered for approx 40 mins.

3. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, and onion to the pot, along with the 4th cup of water and salt & pepper to taste. Cover and return pot to oven and bake for another 45-55 mins, until the veggies are tender.

4. Serve with remaining parsley & crusty bread. Enjoy!