Mellow Beef and Red Wine Casserole

Mellow Beef and Red Wine Casserole from "Gluten Free and Easy" by Robyn Russell

(*I will add my comments too.)

Ingredients
olive oil
8 oz French shallots, peeled and halved or quartered if large
5 oz bacon slices, cut into match sticks
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 cups beef stock (I did not make from scratch and had to be sure I used a gluten brand)
2 1/4 lb trimmed blade or chuck steak, cubed
1 cup red wine (cabernet or shiraz) *I am a big fan of the small bottles for cooking if you don't plan on drinking the rest of the bottle.*
3 1/2 fluid oz (1/2 cup) port
1 tablespoon pure cornstarch (cornflour)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks *I used 4 carrots because I like them.*
2 generous tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only *I threw the sprigs in on the stem and removed when I removed the bay leaf.*
8 oz Swiss brown mushrooms, halved and quartered *I just used pre-sliced button mushrooms.*

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large casserole dish, fry the shallots until soft, then remove to a bowl. Increase the heat, add the bacon and fry until browned. Add the garlic when the bacon is nearly ready. Remove the garlic and bacon to the bowl with the shallots.
3. Pour the beef stock into the casserole dish and stir it around the dish, scraping up all the browned bits, then pour this into the bowl with the bacon and shallots.
4. Heat some more olive oil in the casserole dish and brown the meat in batches over high heat. Remove the meat from the dish, lower the heat, and stir in the red wine and port, again stirring up the residue. Remove about 1/4 cup of liquid, blend in cornstarch, then stir back into dish and simmer. Return the cooked items to the casserole dish and add the carrots, tomato paste, and herbs. Mix together, adding a little more stock if necessary to cover. 
5. Cover casserole with a lid and transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender. Stir a few times during the cooking and add mushrooms for the last 30 minutes.
6. Remove the bay leaf, check the seasoning, and serve with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.

*I put everything in a crock pot instead of in the oven. My crock pot has an insert so I was able to do all the prep work in that and then use it to cook. My crock pot cooks HOT so I cooked on low for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.*

Serves 4-6