The weather is frightful, and it puts me in the mood for slowly simmered … meat.

I looked around the freezer to see what I had (slim pickings) and found about 1 1/2 lbs. of ’stewing beef’.  I believe it’s mostly shoulder, cut into 1″ (or so) cubes.  Some onions and mushrooms would cover the veg.  And… what?  Nothing too complicated. 

So I browned the meat in some olive oil and added some chopped onions and let them wilt, and just start to brown.  Then added some fresh (well, frozen) chopped garlic, and then a small can of tomato paste.  After a minute or two of ‘cooking’ the paste, I added some water, salt, dry oregano and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  A few cubes of frozen basil went in, covered and let it simmer very gently for about 2 hours.  Added some sliced mushrooms and cooked another hour or so.

 Finished it off with some more cubes of frozen basil, a pinch of brown sugar (just a tiny pinch!) and served it over rice.  It was delicious, easy and hit to spot.  Will do this again… might have to think of some variations though.