Western Hospitality Casserole

An easy recipe that is filling and delicious. It is comfort food that your family will love. 

Instead of buying already cut up beef stew meat, just buy a roast and cut it up yourself. You can save a lot of money by doing this. This recipe can be doubled to serve at least 12 people.  It can also be frozen, before you add the cheese, so you can serve it later. Just defrost and then bake.

Ingredients

1/3 c. flour
1 tsp salt
2 lbs. beef roast or beef stew meat 
1 Tbs. c. oil
2 garlic cloves
6 Tbs. tomato paste
2 c. beef bouillon or dry red wine
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaves 1
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms 
1 (4 oz.) pkg or 2 c. uncooked egg noodles
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Combine flour and salt in a shallow bowl or pan. Cut beef roast into 1-inch cubes.

Dredge the beef cubes in the flour and salt mixture, shaking off the excess.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Carefully add the meat and cook the meat until browned, flipping them over to brown all sides.

Add the garlic, tomato paste, beef bouillon, thyme, and bay leaves.  Cover. Simmer for 90 minutes or until beef is tender. 

Remove bay leaves.  Stir in mushrooms.  

Cook noodles according to pkg directions.  Drain. Add noodles to the beef mixture.

If your Dutch oven is oven safe, bake the beef mixture for 1 hour. However, you can also pour the meat and noodle mixture into a 12 x 8-inch pan. Cover with foil or a lid.

Bake for 1 hour.   Uncover and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake for another15 minutes.

Notes:

You can replace 2/3 cup of the beef bouillon with dry red wine. Do not use cooking wine because that is too salty. Use the wine that you like to drink for a great flavor.