Crockpot Beef Bourig... um, something French

OK- I hate the French language! I admit it. Something about French really drives me up a wall. It really is a very pretty language to listen to- much better than Spanish, German, English. But it bugs me. What makes it worse is I can't pronounce anything French. Including the name of this recipe... Bourguignon.

As I've said time and time again, I generally don't make beef meals because I stink at cooking it. And my poor little husband is saddened because he really does like it, especially as a special treat now and again. So I decided to use the crockpot to see if I could make a tasty tender beef dish.

According to him, this was great. The meat was in fact very tender, it smelled wonderful, and the flavors all melded together nicely, but I didn't like it. I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like tomato-based flavors. I like pasta sauce, and I like raw tomatoes, but you can keep your tomato soup, your tomato chili and apparently your tomato infused beef bourguignon. Sorry hon, this one ain't comin' back. I will however use the same process to make you beef again soon.


French Beef Bourguignon
Slightly modified from Crock-Pot.com

• 1+ lbs Boneless Beef Chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 2 C. Carrots, sliced
  
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
  
• 1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
  
• 1 C. Mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 C Cheap Red Wine
  
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme Leaves
  
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
  
• 2 tsp. Dry Mustard
  
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 1/4 C. Red Wine
  
• 2 Tbsp. Flour

1. In a pan, brown the beef on all sides.
   
2. Pour cooked beef into slow cooker and add in all the remaining ingredients except the final 1/4 C. wine and flour. Give a stir to blend.
   
3. Cook over Low heat for 5-7 hours.
   
4. About 15 minutes before serving, blend together the remaining wine and flour to create a thick slurry. Gently stir in this mixture to the beef, raise the heat to High and allow the sauce to thicken up some. This will serve as a type of gravy.
   
5. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Mom made, Cat approved. Yup, our cat Tyson coveted dinner while I photographed it on the only available surface in the house, the loveseat, thanks to my husband's architecture projects coating the dining room table and the rest of our tables being swamped in papers and junk. Ty Guy was good though- he gave it some big sniffs but stayed in his donut bed. Good boy.