This may be the very first recipe I actually put on paper – over 30 years ago. my little sister, EO, used to stay with me in the summers during high school. I was a single mom back then and couldn’t afford a lot of higher priced ingredients, but on special nights I’d make this. It became one of her favorites and when she married and began her family cooking she asked me to write this down.

For some reason, I haven’t made this a lot in recent years, and decided to pull out my old recipe box and make it again. It’s finally warming up a bit and Spring officially starts next week, but the nights are still cold and a warm meal is still a satisfying way to end the day.

Turns out, this recipe stood the test of time. I was surprised my early attempts held up. The addition of fresh parsely and using long grain rice are about the ony changes from the original recipe in this version.

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 lbs Siroloin Roast or Steak, cubed
1 Medium Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
8 Ounces Fresh Mushrooms
1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil (high heat avocado or canola)
1/4 Cup cooking Sherry or Red Wine
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Sage
2 Tablespoons Beef Base or Beef Soup Granules
4 Cups Water
2 Tablespoon of a Flour & Butter Roux
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1 Tablespoon Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, minced
2-4 cups Steamed Long Grain Rice

Instructions

1. Add oil to a deep sided cooking skillet or stock pot and heat to medium high heat.
2. Brown sirloin cubes in oil until beginning to caramelize.
3. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have released a lot of moisture.
4. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
5. Deglaze pan with sherry or wine and cook til nearly evaporated.
6. Add Water, beef base, bay leaves, and sage.
7. Bring liquid to a simmer and cover pot. Simmer for 2 hours.
8. Approximately 40 minutes before beef tips are done simmering, cook long-grain rice to your preferred recipe.
9. When beef tips are done simmering, make a roux using butter and flour and quickly whisk about 2 tablespoons of roux into the simmering liquid to thicken into a gravy.
10. Add pepper to taste.
11. Just before serving, stir in fresh parsley.
12. Serve over steamed rice.

Notes:

• Best served with a simple green vegetable or salad.
• A sprinkle of parmesan as shown is a great compliment.
• You can substitute noodles, polenta, quinoa or whole grains for the rice.
• Garlic bread is a nice accompaniment.