What is Beef Bourguignon?

Beef Bourguignon (which is pronounced beef boar-gin-yaan) is a signature French stew made up chunks of rich beef braised in a deeply flavored red wine based sauce, along with aromatic vegetables such as pearl onions and browned mushrooms. Often times it includes another rich meat such as pork (bacon!), and it also includes plenty of herbs for complementary fresh flavor.

It is a humble, rustic style dish yet somehow at the same time if seems luxurious with such sophisticated flavor. It's creates a main dish worthy of a holiday celebration!

Wondering what to serve with Beef Bourguignon? It's best paired with mashed potatoes or a hearty artisan bread because there's so much of that complex gravy-like sauce to be soaked up by pairing with something so appropriately fitting.

Recipe also includes stovetop and Instant Pot cooking methods.

Want to take these to the next level? Serve them over homemade corn tortillas or flour tortillas.

Shredded Beef Tacos

This is truly a family favorite recipe! I first shared it way back in 2012 it was one of my original go-to recipes and still is! I make it all the time for parties, family get togethers, weeknight meals and for freeze ahead meal prep.

It's one of the easiest things you can make, the beef is so tender and brimming with flavor, and people of all ages enjoy these tacos.

Personally I'm a total food snob and will only make this using the method of browning before slow-cooking, but for really busy people you can skip the browning method and you'll still have a tasty dinner.

The other great thing about this shredded beef taco recipe is that you can use leftover beef for so many other dishes such as enchiladas, taquitos, nachos, quesadillas, tamales or burritos. And if you are in a hurry you can just serve these street taco style with simply the beef, cilantro, onion and lime.

I've also updated this recipe with notes including a stove-top cooking option for those of you who don't have a slow cooker or just prefer it to be ready faster. And I've also included and option for cooking it in a pressure cooker. Of the three I like slow cooking the best but use what works for you and your schedule and the equipment you have.

Want to make them next level delicious? Serve them on homemade hamburger buns, you can even butter and toast them!

Easy Sloppy Joes with the Best Sloppy Joes Sauce!

Who doesn't love a classic sloppy joe sandwich? So many of us grew up eating these in the 90's, made with that canned sauce of course that isn't anything near as good as this homemade version.

This easy sloppy joes sauce from scratch don't take much more effort than a store-bought Manwhich sauce and it's easily worth the few extra steps! Made from scratch is always better.

These beefy sandwiches are saucy, messy, and just so simply satisfying. You'll always find them piled high and spilling over because it's impossible for any bun to fully retain all that tasty goodness.

They definitely may not be the fanciest most appealing dish, but they are just good for the soul comfort food.

And I think it's fitting to say these are always one of the highlights of summer. Bakery fresh (or homemade) burger buns sandwiching a rich, meaty, tomato-y filling, with a nice balance sweet and smoky and a welcomed background flavor of seasoning throughout them.

Pair them with all your favorite summer sides, and an ice cold drink of course to polish it off. This is how you do real people food.

Shortcut Korean Beef

Traditional Korean beef bulgogi is incredible of course, but this Korean ground beef bowl recipe is even easier (no marinating or slicing beef), faster, and it's cheaper.

After just one bite I think you'll completely appreciate this dish. Those sweet, salty, and umami flavors over the richness of the well browned beef are simplicity at it's best.

Then when you pair it with fresh veggies and cozy rice and you've got a tempting, piled high bowl of hearty and delicious comfort food the whole family can agree on!

Chili Con Carne

Chili con carne is a robust and rich chili made with beef roast that includes deeply flavored Mexican chilies and spices all simmered together in a stew-like dish. This is a Texas style chili and it's made of mostly beef and chili sauce without lots of added fillers.

It uses a generous amount of browned beef chuck chunks rather than ground hamburger and this really builds up the meaty flavor. Whole dried chilies are used in place of pre-ground store-bought chili powder, and those chilies are toasted in a skillet then soaked in liquid and pureed in a blender to build the base of this hearty chili.

The chili is simmered low and slow on the stovetop for well harmonized depth of flavor and to tenderize the beef.

It's an impressive made from scratch chili that may seem intimidating at first but once you try it you'll see it's easier to make than you'd think.

It's also a tasty change from the original style chili and you may find tasters to love it even more, especially meat lovers! Plus it could just win your next chili cook off!

Our Favorite Navajo Tacos!

Think piled high taco salad but even better! These are a Southwestern classic.

Just imagine a pillowy soft yet chewy center encased by a lightly crisp, perfectly fried golden brown exterior. Then it's generously topped with a deeply flavorful browned beef taco filling and all those vibrantly colorful toppings that have a pleasant complementary blend of textures.

People of all ages love them! They are such a simply satisfying taco to say the least.

Try them soon and you'll see why our family has craved them as long as we can remember!

Perfect Beef Tenderloin

Yes beef tenderloin is expensive because it only makes for a small percentage of the meat yield from a steer (or heifer), so that rarity along with it's highly sought after demand makes it a pricey cut of meat.

But of course during the holidays it's worth the splurge. It's buttery tender and doesn't get better than this! The tenderloin (or filet mignon when cut into individual portions) has the best texture (it's ruined many cheap cuts of roast for me because it's so superior).

Here we follow a straight forward method to prepare and cook it, it's seriously easy and hard to mess up. It is however almost imperative you have a key piece of kitchen equipment. You'll need a trusty probe oven thermometer (I highly recommend the Chef Alarm I own a few and they work well. Other cheaper options are available online as well).

If you are going to spend that much on a cut of meat you don't want to ruin it. The cook time will vary based on thickness of the roast and desired doneness, so it's best to take out all the guess work and risk and use a thermometer that will monitor the temp the entire time and alert you when it's ready to your desired target temperature.

It's understandable though if you don't already own one and you just have an instant read food thermometer. If going this route you'll just want to start to check the temperature at about 1 hour then continue to closely monitor it, while taking the temp quickly and don't let heat escape the oven for long.

Note that you can purchase beef tenderloin peeled of silver skin and other tough connective tissue that's ready to cook (you'll pay a bit more per pound), or you can peel it yourself and save some money (just keep in mind you'll need a 6 lb roast here rather than 5).

What to Serve with It

If you are wondering what to serve with this, I know this may be repetitive, but everyone seems perfectly pleased by the classic meat and potatoes combo especially over the holidays. Whether it's scalloped potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, a roasted potato veggie blend, parmesan mashed potatoes, or just baked potatoes you can't go wrong with comfort food classics.

Salads and the typical bright greens go well too. Steamed or roasted broccoli, green beans, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts.

And make it a completely homestyle meal with homemade rosemary dinner rolls, then fancy it up with my favorite vanilla bean cheesecake to finish for dessert. I'd call it the perfect meal!

Easy Tri Tip Roast

This has been a go-to recipe at our house for the last few months because it's incredibly easy to make, you only need a handful of ingredients, and it’s made with a less expensive cut of beef.

You can usually find tri tip quite a bit cheaper than most steaks (which are getting very expensive lately). We just buy a 2-pack at $7.99 per pound at our local Costco and freeze the second one for later (for best quality use frozen tri tip within 3 months).

The key to a good tri tip is in the seasoning and the cooking method. Here we give it a nice spice rub for added flavor, let it rest at room temp a while, then roast it in a moderately heated oven, and last finish it by reverse searing (baking then skillet browning) for a few minutes in a scorching pan.

It's the perfect beef roast!

What is Tri Tip?

• Tri tip is a cut of beef that comes from the bottom of the sirloin of a cow. It is usually cut in a triangular shape.
• You'll find it has a nice beefy flavor and great tender texture when cooked to a medium doneness.
• Its name comes from its triangular shape and the fact that it's cut at a tapered tip, at the very tip of the sirloin.
• Options available are select, choice and prime grades. Select is lowest quality, choice is good quality, and prime the best quality. I recommend buying only choice or prime.

Dutch Oven Beef Stew

An incredibly delicious traditional beef stew that's likely even better than you remember your family making growing up!

It's made with tender bite size pieces of beef, creamy potatoes, nutritious carrots, and a rich and savory red wine infused broth.

This easy beef stew follows a straightforward prep and finishes with that classic old fashioned flavor.

Beef and onions are browned on the stovetop (tip: nicely browned beef is key to the complex depth of flavor here). Then the liquids and herbs are added and the stew and it's cooked in the oven. Partway through the remaining vegetables are added so they don't end up mushy, and then it's baked once more until everything is tender.

You'll appreciate this mostly hands off version that doesn't need constant tending to on the stovetop, and how the even encircling heat surrounding the pot from the oven ensures a more consistent end result.

Truly it's a recipe to enjoy year round but one that's especially fitting for cool crisp autumn days and blustery breezy winter days. It's a homestyle, soul warming dish that is certain to be a highlight of a long day!

A Comforting Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe

This Cabbage Roll Soup is so much faster than making traditional cabbage rolls yet it tastes just as good! It's a hassle-free, cooked in one pot recipe!

You have a quick prep of ingredients, veggies are sauteed, then everything is just simmered until the cabbage and rice are tender. And during that time all those delicious herby, beefy, tomato-y flavors meld together perfectly.

It's a soup that is made with basic ingredients, it's incredibly hearty, and I think you'll agree it's just super satisfying comfort food. It's made up of an abundance of veggies, the rice will help fill you up, and you get a fair amount of protein from the beef so it's an all around win!

This is so delicious that you'll likely find yourself converting from the traditional, more labor intensive cabbage rolls to this easier soup method from here on out instead!