Recipe for the day ~ Northern Italian Beef Stew

Northern Italian Beef Stew

(Courtesy of All Recipes)

Ingredients:

2 TBspns olive oil

2 pounds lean top round, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 large sweet onions, diced

2 cups large chunks of celery

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large rounds

1 pound crimini mushrooms

2 TBspns minced garlic

2 cup dry red wine

4 large tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 TBspns dried basil

1 tspn dried thyme

1 tspn dried marjoram

1/2 tspn dried sage

1 quart beef stock

2 cups tomato sauce

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat

Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch

Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings

Cook and stir onion, celery and carrots in the retained beef drippings until softened, 2 to 3 minutes

Stir in mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture

Pour red wine into the pan

Bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon

Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes

Transfer everything to a slow cooker

Stir tomatoes into the mixture

Add beef to slow cooker with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram and sage

Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture 

Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick