Oven Beef

This is probably more of a feel good, tummy warming, I want more in the cooler weather sort of meal but we enjoyed it the other evening just the same.  And, truth be told, it was pretty chilly here in Chicagoland.  I do not have a recipe, I made it up as I was cooking.  This is one of my Mom's go-to recipes so you know how Mom's can sometimes be "Throw in a little of this, a lot of that and salt and pepper, then throw the whole thing in the oven".  Yep, that is about it.  So I made my own recipe to share.

Oven Beef  (I would like to have a fancier name, but nope, nothing has come to me yet, I will let you know).

The Players:

Not much prep required; this is a really good thing:

Bake covered in oven and serve: 

Oven Beef

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds stew meat, trimmed and cut into serving size pieces

salt, pepper to taste


1 small bag baby carrots, washed if necessary

1 package Lipton Dry Onion Soup mix

1 cup sliced raw mushrooms or 1 jar whole mushrooms, drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I prefer Campbell's)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder or to taste

1 pkg. flat noodles, cooked and drained  (optional)

The easy-peasy how to, you will love this, almost a night off, well not even close but you get the idea.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Prepare stew meat by trimming any excess fat, some is okay.  Rinse meat; pat dry.

Put meat in a large oven-proof casserole or dutch oven.

Add spices to meat, mix to distribute the spices.

Prepare mushrooms, if using fresh, by wiping away any visible dirt.

Add mushrooms, carrots and the soups; mix well to coat meat; make sure the dry soup mix is blended well. 

Cover dutch oven with lid.

Place dutch oven (or oven-proof casserole dish) in oven on middle rack. 

Bake for 3-4 hours, stirring half way through baking time. 

You can increase the oven temperature to reduce cooking time.  Also, check for doneness, depending on the amount of meat you are using, baking time may vary.

If using, prepare noodles according to package directions towards the end of cooking time for the oven beef.  Keep warm until serving. 

Your kitchen will smell wonderful as this is cooking. 

Left-overs are great too. 

Have a great day everyone!

Enjoy,

Evelyn