Recipe

I've always heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I believe the way to a man's soul is with meat and potatoes. Atleast that's how it is with my man and I don't know many other's who feel differently. (To be fair, I've never really asked.) I made this dish last week because I wanted to try a new, fancy way to prepare meat and potatoes. I made up the name of this dish- Beef tips with Garlic mashed potatoes. I've made mashed potatoes just about every way you could imagine, twice-baked, parmesan, red etc. This was a bit different. If you would like to make this dish to make your husband, son, boyfriend, fiance, uncle or grandpa worship you and literally say a prayer of thanks then follow these directions immediately.

You will need:

5 medium (I had 3 large) russet potatoes chopped into 1-2 inch cubes
1 large clove of garlic (I used a clove of elephant garlic, if you're using regular then take 4-5 cloves)
Approx. 3 Tbsp of butter or margarine
Milk
Sour cream
Fresh (or dry) chives
Salt
Pepper

1lb package of beef stew
1 1/2 cups of beef broth
(Hint-I saved some of the broth I cooked a roast in and froze it for later use and it was great!)

Start potatoes boiling until fork tender. This means you can easily stick a fork in one and the potato falls off. I don't peel my potatoes because I'm a little lazy and I like the taste and texture they have. Just give 'em a good scrub.

While potatoes are boiling place salt and peppered beef in a hot HOT pan to sear for a few minutes on each side. Make sure they have a nice dark brown color.
After the beef is browned remove from pan and add in the beef broth. There should be burned bits of meat on the bottom and that's just great! (This is a process called de-glazing and I'm currently addicted to it.) As you add in the broth, stir around scraping the bottom of the pan. Let this simmer while you make up the potatoes!

Drain potatoes and add in butter, 1/4-1/2 cup of sour cream, a couple of Tbsp of milk, and the garlic completely chopped up or pressed. If you use dried chives add them in now as well. Using a potato masher (NOT A MIXER) combine all ingredients leaving the potatoes lumpy. Next chop up some fresh chives and gently stir in. Salt and pepper to taste.
Back to the beef, it's what's for dinner!
Add the beef to the sauce and let simmer for 5-10 more minutes, this will allow the meat to soak up some of the liquid and become tender and delicioso. If the sauce is pretty thin you can always whisk in a little flour to thicken it up. To finish this all off plop a heaping pile of potatoes on a plate, indent to make a pool for the meat and top it all off. (If it's a fancy feast you can garnish with a few chives on top.)
I served this and my husband loved it, saying "Thank you for my wife in the name of the Father, Son and The Holy Spirit. Amen."

Yum!

(Note: I never really cook measuring things out, only when I bake, so these are guesstimates. Starting points really. Try it and see what you like and what tastes good to you and yours. Good luck!)