Bloody Mary Stew

it is a soup/stew kind of weekend. it has been super cold here.

as T would say, brrrrrrrrr!

25 degrees and windy - yikes. the only remedy i know for this kind of weather is a hearty, comforting, warming bowl of meaty goodness. i have been enjoying L's leftover beef vegetable soup since thursday but last night, i made bloody mary stew.

perhaps the best thing about a big pot of soup is the ease of preparation. literally, you chop a bunch of stuff, throw it into a big pot (or crock pot) and a few hours later, viola! a meal in a pot!

this bloody mary stew is almost too easy. the only thing to do is brown the meat - there isn't even any chopping involved. but, the result is so flavorful and heavenly. i highly recommend you try this if you are a soup/stew lover. my personal chef clients always love this and ask for it again and again. in fact, a fellow personal chef gave the recipe to me. it was a pot roast recipe but i made it a stew. thanks B!

i served this with a nice field greens salad (with cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette) and a nice of glass of the same red wine i used in the stew (bogle petite sirah). a perfect meal.

Bloody Mary Stew
(serves approximately 6)

2 C bloody mary mix (i use Mr. & Mrs. T)
1 1/2 C good red wine (pinot noir or petite sirah works best)
5 tbs flour
1 envelope of onion soup/dip mix
1 bag (12 oz) baby carrots
1 - 15oz can of onions, drained
8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1-1.5 lbs stew meat
salt
pepper

sprinkle salt and pepper on meat and brown in a large skillet. meanwhile add first 4 ingredients into crock pot and whisk well making sure there aren't any lumps. then add carrots, onions, and meat. stir well to combine.

cook on low heat for 8 hours. add mushrooms about 4-5 hours in. (you can add them at the beginning, but i find they nearly disintegrate if in the whole 8 hours)