I first saw this recipe on a blog I follow but it is adapted from Cooking Light Magazine.  I really loved that it was served over egg noodles (I love egg noodles!) and it sounded so homey and comforting during the long winter months.  I tried this recipe out on my kids (my usual unsuspecting guinea pigs!) as my hubby was in South Africa for the week.  I pulled it together on Sunday after church and the house smelled amazing!  They all said it smelled delicious and ate it with gusto.  I call this company-worthy food; I’m planning on putting this on the menu rotation for when we have guests over for dinner this winter.  Let me know if you try it!

Provencal Beef Stew

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed (yes, 12!)
• 1 2-pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes (I used stew beef)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups diced carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• dash of ground cloves
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups of cooked egg noodles
• fresh thyme for garnish

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over low heat.  Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes until garlic is soft and fragrant, remove garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Increase heat to medium-high, and add beef cubes in batches, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sear beef on all sides until browned.

Remove beef and set aside.   Add wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.

Add garlic, beef, remaining salt, pepper, carrots, onions, beef broth, tomato paste, herbs, cloves, diced tomatoes and bay leaf to the pan.  Bring to a boil.

Cover the Dutch oven and bake in oven for 2 1/2 hours until beef is tender.  Discard bay leaf and serve over cooked egg noodles.  Garnish with fresh thyme if desired.

Note:  The original recipe does say you can prepare this in the slow cooker but I did not try it.  To make in the slow cooker, prepare through step one, then place all the ingredients in an electric slow cooker and cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours.

Enjoy!