My Mother-In-Law’s Foolproof Beef Casserole

This recipe in my mother-in-law’s collection champions simple, fresh ingredients, and is delicate but SUPER tasty! And, there’s a reason it’s called a CASSEROLE.

I’ve read on the internet that the difference between casseroles and stews is that casseroles cook in the oven, while stews cook on the stove top. That’s not quite right. Stews can be cooked in ovens, too. For a waggish and erudite explanation of casseroles, stews, braises — including a glossary on which is the more classy, or the more proletariat — I give you this link to food critic, writer and former Masterchef judge, Matt Preston. It explains why I use a “classier” cut of meat for this dish, rather than eg. chuck steak.

As for my mother-in-law’s foolproof beef casserole being foolproof … Well, in decades of cooking this, I have found that to be 100% accurate.

Unlike most dishes of this kind, this foolproof beef casserole doesn’t rely on browning the meat first. It just doesn’t matter. Chuck it all in and bake it. My FAVOURITE kind of cooking – simple, easy, filling, nutritious. I also always cook using my mother-in-law’s handwritten recipe card, even though it is getting almost too faded to read. I wrote a post about why I do that here.

And finally, I leave you with a quote from Matt Preston from the link above:

“DAUBE, RAGU and RAGOUT – names to use on a fancy restaurant menu when ‘casserole’ sounds too home-style and stew just too povo for the intended … price tag.”

-Matt Preston, Food Critic and Writer _{Note: “povo” is Australian slang, a diminutive of poverty/impoverished, and is generally used in a humerous self-deprecating or tongue-in-cheek way.}