Pantry Collective

Apparently, I am a big fan of beef bourguignon, since I actually have another recipe here for it. This one is quite a bit better, though. The sauce is thicker and more flavorful, and doesn’t rely on canned mushroom soup for flavor. I saw the recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake last week and knew I had to make this yummy winter stew again.

I left out the bacon (intentionally) and the pearl onions (unintentionally). I just never have bacon on hand and really didn’t want to buy it just for this dish. And I am one of those people who doesn’t love bacon flavoring in everything, although I know many people do. I’m sure it adds a lot of flavor to the dish, but I promise, if you leave it out it is totally fine. The pearl onions, on the other hand, were forgotten about until it was already served. Oops! I might throw them in when reheating the leftovers.

That’s fresh baked No-Knead Bread on the plate, along with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus (two accompaniments I repeated from the first recipe). Yum!

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I have to apologize in advance - this dish is half eaten. The smell of the steak cooking in the house had tormented us for hours, and by the time these came out of the oven, toasty and delcious, we had to dig in right away. Only halfway through did I remember the camera. Believe me, you won’t want to stop in the middle of eating this delcious flatbread pizza to take a photo; I can only imagine how difficult it was for John to postpone his enjoyment even for a minute (I kept eating mine; I’m selfish like that sometimes). :)

You can use this filling in regular taco shells or soft corn tortillas as well. I make the filling fairly frequently and it never fails to be delicious.

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Spring in Chicago is temperamental. We’ll have some hot days, so hot you’re considering installing the air conditioners, and then BOOM, it’s 45 degrees and cloudy for a week. Then a warm, sunny day that makes your heart sing, which leads right back into a chilly rain or even some hail. On one of those chilly, gray days, I needed something comforting. I had some beef in the fridge and some root vegetables on hand, so beef stew was the obvious choice. I decided at the last minute to add a hint of sweet (or at least the idea of sweetness) to this otherwise savory dish with some cinnamon and nutmeg. Make this in the crockpot and your house will smell AMAZING all day long.

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I am kind of a sucker for any recipe labeled “Quick” or “Easy”. I like to cook, but sometimes fancy dishes are a little intimidating, so when someone comes up with a shortcut, I will usually try it. I don’t think I had ever eaten Beef Bourguignnone before attempting Real Simple’s “Quick Beef Bourguignonne” recipe last year for Valentine’s Day. I thought the combination of mushrooms, pearl onions, and beef in a wine and mushroom sauce sounded pretty good, and it was a fancier dish than the things I usually cooked - a nice meal to prepare for the holiday. It lived up to its name - it was very quick to prepare - and it was very easy too (aided, I’m sure, by using convenient packages of pre-sliced mushrooms and pre-cut beef, something I would probably do myself these days). If I make it again, I’ll probably look for a more authentic recipe so I can compare them. This version was pretty satisfying, though!

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I love hearty meals I can eat from a bowl, for some reason! Stews, casseroles, and soups are mainstays of our cold-weather diet. This beef stew fits the bill perfectly. Slow cookers are a lifesaver for meals like this - just throw everything in and let it cook slowly all day long, and when you come home, you’ve got a delicious hot bowl of food all ready to go. Just a few minutes of chopping veggies and you’re all set! You can brown the beef before you add it to the pot, if you like, but you don’t need to.

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