Italian Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine

,Monday was a great day for a play date!  The kids had not been sleeping well, so going out is insanity right now.  Hess' best friend came over for the morning.  Always so cute to watch them run around holding hands.  At age two, this is Hess' first friend.  It's nice too because her mommy is a lot like me in parenting styles, so it is really easy to talk to her!!  It made me feel like I had it all together, smelling the short ribs cooking during the play date!

Dinner was pretty easy to make, but we did eat late since this recipe takes a long time to cook!  To prep, I quartered 16oz of baby Bella mushrooms, and sliced 2 large yellow onions.  I put them in the fridge the night before to save myself some time.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season 3 lbs of beef short ribs with salt and pepper.  I added 2 Tbsp of olive oil but the recipe did not call for any oil.  Add the ribs to the pan.  Do not crowd the ribs or they won't brown well.  Cook the ribs 6-8 minutes or until browned on all sides.  Place them into the crockpot.

Add onions to the skillet.  Cook and stir 3-5 minutes until they are tender.  Add 2 minced garlic cloves, mushrooms, 2 cups of dry red wine, 2 cups of beef broth and 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning to the skillet.  Always use wine you would drink, not something cheap.  We used a 2009 Beaulieu Vineyards Red Wine.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Pour over the ribs.

Cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 6-8 hours.  I recommend the low and slow method.  It recommends serving it with mashed potatoes.  I made mine with 4 red potatoes, 4 Tbsp of butter, about 3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, Tbsp of sour cream, salt and pepper to your liking and milk until the potatoes are as creamy as you desire.  I highly recommend serving it with mashed potatoes.  The hubby really liked it.  Hess didn't but it was late and he's two!  I thought it was good but I have made better.  It was a rough night for little Hess so pictures were not taken.

It makes 8 servings for 279 calories but this excludes the mashed potatoes.