In the Kitchen: Meat & Mushrooms

With my parents move into my house came many things — two more bodies, two more cats, a lot more stuff and a new presence in the kitchen. While I mostly handle the household chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc), my mom does make an occasional dinner. It's usually a "childhood favorite", a meal I grew up on but just never bothered to make myself. Today, I bring you one such meal, one we creatively call Meat & Mushrooms.

If you are a regular follower of my recipe posts, you may have caught on that I am not a beef eater. There are two occasions when I eat it, and this is one. This meal is the epitome of simple, hearty goodness. Beef, onions, mushrooms — that's about it. It feels like it was transported from my grandma's kitchen in 1960 and dropped onto my counter.

Ingredients

1.5 – 2 lbs boneless top round beef steak

1 large onion, sliced

8 – 12 beef bouillon cubes

12 oz mushrooms, sliced

Flour

Water

Pepper to taste

In an electric skillet (we swear by a 30 year old Lifetime brand one), place the raw beef, sliced onion, bouillon cubes and one bay leaf (if desired). Add enough water to just cover the meat and simmer, covered, for about 4 – 5 hours or until the meat is cooked to your liking. By the way, don't be scared of the onions if you're usually not a fan. They cook away into nothing but flavor which isn't oniony and gross, but essential and delicious!

Beware, this dish will make your house smell amazing all day, therefore making you really, really hungry and possibly driving your dog (and maybe your husband) crazy.

Once the meat is done, add the mushrooms and continue simmering until the mushrooms reach your desired tenderness.

When the mushrooms are done, remove the meat and thicken the liquid to make a gravy. Mix about 3 Tablespoons flour with 1/2 cup water and add to the pan. Continue adding additional flour/water until the gravy is as thick as you'd like. Add pepper to taste, and salt if you wish, but the bouillon has enough salt to last you a lifetime! This is definitely not for those on a low-sodium diet :)

Add the meat back to the pan to heat up and you're ready to eat!

We prefer to serve this over rice with some veggies, but it's delicious with mashed potatoes, too. The gravy is so good you'll want to keep any leftovers to spoon in your morning coffee, err… well, you get it.

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