Beef Bourguignon

Handbags, how many is to many? Personally I love nothing more than the buzz of buying a new handbag its a rush, a feeling of joy! Especially if the handbag in question is really expensive you know your on to a winner when it comes in its own cotton sack! My younger daughter Tallulah is following in my foot steps. Today I found her with seven handbags on one arm - proud doesn't even cover it!

Beef Bourguignon does take a while to cook but only minutes to get oven ready. So make it a the weekend and you can forget about it while it cooks or make it in advance so it ready when you want it. Its so tasty the girls love it, the meat is really soft so easy to chew - that's why this dish works, both of mine will not eat anything that involves to much chewing!
Serves 4. 2 adults, 2 toddlers (Probably more but Glen (husband) eats tonnes of this!

Ingredients

• 3 rashes of smoked bacon
• 1 kg steak/stewing steak
• 2 tbsp flour
• 300 g button mushrooms
• 12ish Charlotte onions - I didn't have any but quartered 2 cooking onions
• 1/2 bottle red wine - The alcohol is cooked off during the cooking time! But if you don't like cooking with wine make 200 ml of extra beef stock
• 300ml beef stock
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 garlic clove crushed

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 c
2. You will need a lidded casserole dish that can go on and in both the hob and oven! Fry the bacon remove and set aside. Toss the meat in the flour fry browning off the meat remove and set aside.
3. Fry the onions until going golden, then re- add the bacon, meat and all other ingredients including wine and stock in saucepan then bring to boil putting the lid on. Cook in the oven at 180 c for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is really soft and the sauce has thickened. (You can simmer this on the hob, but for me it seems easier to have it in the oven out the way!)
4. I serve this with mashed potatoes and carrots! Its so yummy you'll want more!