Easy Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
• 2 onions medium chopped
• 4 stalks celery chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 5-6 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 bag (~12 oz) frozen peas
• 3 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2 medium bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 2 cups cheap red wine something hearty; I use shiraz
• 1 8oz bottle Johnny’s French Dip Concentrate
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Water as needed
• Some cooking oil olive or canola
• Some Kosher salt
• Lots of black pepper

Instructions

1. Turn the Instant Pot to saute and adjust to “more” (hotter). Wait until the display says “HOT”. Coat the bottom of the pot with oil. Cover the bottom of the pot with a single layer of meat (should be about half the package). Season liberally with salt and pepper. Walk away for 6 minutes, then flip the meat over and cook undisturbed for another 6 minutes. Remove the meat, toss in the second half and repeat. Set aside all the meat and juice in a bowl. Be sure the bowl is at the back edge of the counter, to keep it safe from your extremely large dog. (Hey, I’m just telling you how I make this; you do what you need to do.)
2. Wash the mushrooms and toss them into the pot, adding a little oil if necessary. Saute until the mushrooms are dry and slightly browned–5-8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. Add more oil if necessary. Add onions, salt and pepper, and saute until slightly browned. Add garlic and stir a minute. Add celery and carrots, and saute until slightly browned. Use the sherry to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
4. Let the pot sit uncovered a little bit while you wash, peel if desired, and quarter the potatoes. Put them, the bay leaves, the thyme, half the wine, the bouillon cubes, and the entire jug of French Dip Concentrate into the pot. If the liquid doesn’t cover most of the potatoes, add some water. Close the lid and set to high pressure for 4 minutes, then quick-release the steam.
5. Remove half the vegetables from the pot and set aside. Dump the meat and juice from earlier into the pot. Add the other half of the wine, and water if the liquid level is low. Close the lid and set to high pressure for 30 minutes, then let it sit for 10 minutes and open.
6. Vigorously stir the pot, breaking up mushy potatoes and carrots to thicken the stew. You can add flour or corn starch at this point if that’s the sort of thing you like to do. Add the frozen peas, mushrooms and set-aside vegetables. Taste and add final seasoning as needed.