2lb of diced beef

Oh i got some of that garlic sauce for the chips

hey dude cmon i aint eatn since monday

oh god i want some!
we all need to get together for the biggest picnic ever.

I'll bring a bottle of chilli dipping sauce. Just in case El Tino manages to join us. Then we can have Mexican chips.

hmmm picnic, we need somewhere right in the middle of the UK

that would rule!

Stanstead Airport.

Bloody traitor

omg mr t is better

The two casks are for ME.

Beef & No Barley Soup View Image

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons oil
2 lb beef, diced - cubes should be about the size of the tip of your pinky
2 cups diced onion
1 cup each diced celery and carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (more if you like garlic)
2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
2 cups red wine, divided
3 TB fresh thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
3 2 lb boxes Swanson's Lower Sodium Beef Broth (You don't need all that salt, anyway. If the soup tastes bland, kick up the thyme, garlic, and freshly ground pepper!)
salt and pepper to taste (add freshly ground pepper with the cooking, hold off on adding the salt until almost done; you may not need it)
In a 5 quart or larger pot, heat the oil over medium to med.-high heat. Add the diced beef and saut? until cooked through, about 8 minutes. There will probably be some juices from the beef left in the pot; leave them there! Remove beef from pan, and add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Season with some freshly ground pepper, and saut? until softened. Remove the veggies, and then add the mushrooms.

At this point, the pot ought to be fairly "dry". Good: You want the mushrooms to cook, but you want them sort of roasted, too. Make sure you keep them moving around the pot. After about 5 minutes or so, the mushrooms should have some toasty brown areas - now you can add part of the wine. If you're using 2 cups, add about 1 1/2 cups. Bring to a boil (yes, the mushrooms are in there, too), and make sure you scrape up any yummy bits from the bottom of the pan!!! Boil for about 2 minutes, then add the beef and veggies back to the pot.

Stir well, and cook off most of the wine, which will take, oh, well, as long as it takes. Don't cook it bone dry; you want about a 1/2 cup of liquid left.

Add the thyme, bay leaves, and the broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. We left it uncovered, but if you want to cover it, that's fine. After about an hour, check the seasonings and add the last bit of wine. Simmer for another 15 minutes, and serve!

We estimate this makes about eight hearty servings, and you certainly should have a nice crusty loaf of whole-grain country bread (or, failing that, some bread and butter!), and maybe a salad. We used an Australian Shiraz for the wine - remember, if you won't drink it plain, don't use it for cooking! - and we bet that would go well with the soup.