Beef and Onion Casserole

This one is simple enough for anyone to make and it is one of the best tasting casseroles I've had in a long time!

This afternoon I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner. I wanted a BBQ but when I ran the idea past my hubby (as in my opinion the BBQ is the mans domain and gives me a night off cooking) he wasn't very excited by the prospect. Knowing I had some chuck steak in the freezer, I thought the easiest way to get what I had to get done, bath and dress our toddler and cook dinner was to do a slow cooked casserole. Minimal fuss, epic results.

My toddler is currently inhaling the casserole she likes it that much. It's pretty much all gone within 5 minutes! Mothers - give it a go!

Ingredients:

1kg beef chuck steak, cut into 2cm dice
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped coarsely
1 carrot, chopped
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup dry red wine
400g can crushed tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste

1. Coat beef in flour and shake away the excess. Heat half the oil in a casserole dish or large saucepan, cook beef in batches until all browned.

2. Take the beef out. Heat remaining oil in the same pan. Cook onion, carrot and garlic, stirring, until the onion softens.

3. Return beef to the pan with wine, undrained tomatoes, stock and paste. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered for 40 minutes. Uncover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce thickens slightly.

I served ours with some brown rice and my Nanna's amazing dumplings. My nan always made dumplings with casseroles and that got passed down to my mum and now to me.

It is the simplest dumpling recipe ever and that's why I like it.

Dumplings:

Self raising flour - 1 tablespoon for every dumpling you want to make
Water
Salt and Pepper

Place the self raising flour in a bowl. Add a little bit of water, stirring until you have added enough to make a thick paste. Be careful not to add too much! Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Drop a spoonful of mixture into your simmering casserole just before you are ready to serve. Put the lid back on and cook for a couple of minutes. They should puff up slightly and be slightly springy to touch. Then voila! You're done.

Enjoy. :)

*Casserole adapted from '1000 Best Ever Recipes from AWW'