Sunday Beef for Weeknights

2 tablespoons olive oil

24 oz beef, cut into 4 steaks (okay, she said sirloin, I bought sirloin and thought this really was too tough (poor Adam was not happy with the all chewing required!)....if I were to put beef in this again like this I'd buy GOOD steaks...you'll have to spend money because you are pan frying....as a note, what I think I'm going to try is using leftover French Dip meat, which I'm always trying hard to use up as it dries out so much and I think this will be perfect for it.]

Salt and pepper

1 small onion, chopped [she used a leek, I prefer onion]

2 tablespoons butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 carrot, diced small

2 ribs celery, from rib, chopped [okay, I can't get rid of celery and really don't like it so I didn't buy it...I use dried celery flakes in its place]

1 pound potatoes, chopped small [she used red potatoes, I used what was in my fridge]

1 tsp thyme [she used 4 sprigs of fresh]

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup dry red wine [I made this to get rid of this actually!]

2 cups beef stock [she was all about good quality...I used beef boullion cubes]

[she put in some jelly...I didn't]

Heat a deep, heavy bottomed skillet over high heat, then add 2 tablespoon oil. Season meat with salt and pepper, then carmelize the meat 2 minutes on each side. [So next time, I'll skip this step.]

Remove steaks from pan and reduce heat to medium high. Add butter to the pan and the onions, garlic, carrot, and potatoes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add thyme, celery flakes (unless you used real celery then add with veggies) and bay sprigs. Saute veggies 10 minutes. Add flour, cook 1 minute. Whisk in red wine and reduce 1 minute. Whisk in broth and bring to a bubble. Slide meat into pan. If serving immediately, simmer over medium heat 7 to 10 minutes. If this meal is a make-ahead, remove the dish from the stove top at this point. When you reheat, bring sauce to a bubble and simmer 5 to 7 minutes over moderate heat.

Remove from stove top and serve each steak with lots of veggies and broth in shallow dishes with crusty bread for dipping. [Definitely get bread!]

Serves 4.