Recipe Review: Beef with Caramelized Shallots

Have you guys seen these Swanson Flavor Boost packets that came out about a year ago or so?  You can find info on them here if you haven’t. They come in chicken, beef and vegetable.  Well, a while back I had coupons for these guys.  LOTS of coupons for these guys.  So I bought them… 12 boxes of them.  They’re good for a year so I figured what the heck.  I’m crazy I know.  Anyway, once I had them I suddenly realized that I didn’t know what the heck I was going to do with them.  So I started perusing the Campbell’s website looking for inspiration.  One of the recipes I came across was this one and even though it’s beef based (which I don’t eat) I thought that the Hubs would love it.  So, off to the store I went.

Beef with Caramelized Shallots

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 boneless beef sirloin steak (about 1 lb) cut into thin strips (I cut mine up like stew meat)
• 6 medium shallots, cut in quarters (about 1 cup) (note: if you’ve never heard of a shallot don’t fret – they look similar to a head of garlic except they’re slightly purple in color – they have a flavor similar to that of an onion)
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard (I used Grey Poupon)
• 2 packets Swanson Flavor Boost Concentrated Beef Broth
• 3 cups egg noodles

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook noodles as directed.  Drain and set aside.
2. While noodles are cooking heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the beef and cook until well browned, stirring often.  Remove the beef from the skillet.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet.  Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir the wine and vinegar in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture is reduced by half.  Stir in the mustard and concentrated broth.  Return the beef to the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.  Serve the beef mixture with the noodles.

THOUGHTS

Husband LOVED this dish.  He even made the little purring sound that he makes that tells me I made a winner.

I love that this is a simple two pot dish.  It’s quick and easy and other than slicing your meat and the shallots there’s zero prep work.  Add a quick side salad and this would be great for a weeknight meal!

When I cooked the beef there was a lot of juice left in the pan.  I decided not to drain it off.  It created a tiny bit of a gravy effect which I think enhanced the dish.  There was practically zero fat on the piece of meat that we used so draining/not draining didn’t really matter from a health standpoint.

When you’re simmering the wine, it splatters!  We have white countertops and red wine stains so I made sure to keep wiping it up as best I could.  Once the meal was cooked, I plated Husbands dish then ran a rag w/ de-greaser & bleach over our white counter & stove.  No stains!

I wouldn’t change anything in the recipe.  I suggest you try this one today!

*I was in no way sponsored by Campbell’s to write this review.  That’d be cool though.  Sponsor me Campbells!

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