Thanks to AJ Dub for transcribing this when I talked through it on podcast episode 168! I finally got around to making it again and testing the directions per my changes, so I’m sharing the deliciousness with you all. Only, you know, without inviting you to my house to eat it because I really need to vacuum the living room and clean the bathroom.

Pam’s Beef & Mushroom Stew

Adapted from AllRecipes.com.  Total time: 1 hour

• 1-2 lbs stew beef , cut into bite sized pieces (not big honkin’ chunks)
• 1 cup “classy” red wine (Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot with a screw top or a nice $5 Barefoot Cellar Zinfandel)
• 1 cup water
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced (you might want to chop these smaller, too, but that’s personal preference)
•  6 cups beef broth
• ¾ cup barley
• thyme and rosemary to taste
• 1 tbsp flour or cornstarch to thicken the stew

Brown beef in about 3 tbsp oil in the bottom of a pan until edges are brown, to seal in juicy goodness. Once brown, add the 1 cup water and 1 cup wine. Let simmer.

In a large soup pot heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil and cook the onions, mushrooms, carrots, and celery until onions are soft and translucent.

Pour in the beef broth, and add barley, thyme and rosemary.  You may be tempted to add more barley than 3/4 cup because it doesn’t look like much. Don’t do it. Barley is the weed of stew world - give it an inch and it takes a mile and expands like mad until all you have a pot of barley that’s staged a coup and kicked all the beef and veggies to the side.

Add in 1 tbsp flour or cornstarch to thicken the broth, and then add in the meat/wine mixture. Simmer for 30 -40 minutes.

Serve with biscuits or homemade thick sliced bread to sop up the broth from the bottom of the bowl.