TGIF

I came home tonight in a great mood. To begin with, I had a great week at work, winning two different motions. Which is a mood lifter because a motion I wrote last week did not go over as well - and it was phenomenal. I was pretty confident in these motions, but apparently you just never know which way they're going to go.

Second of all, I finally figured out what I wanted to do for my birthday! Which is another big deal because it's coming up pretty soon. And frankly, I've been pouting about it for a while. Not so much the getting older part, but the fact that there's no time to celebrate! Our schedules are just jammed packed lately and we have events both the weekend before and after my birthday. So now that I've figured out what I want to do, I just need to get the plans in motion!

And finally, the reason I was in such a good mood tonight is because it's FRIDAY! I made it through the week working on virtually no sleep. And while we do have plans this weekend, I think I'll be home a lot more than I was last weekend. You know what that means? Laundry? I'm looking at you. There will be some massive folding this weekend. And by Sunday night I plan on being able to see the coffee table again. Plus I can get to bed at a reasonable hour (since I still have to get up a bit early since both of our weekend plans start at 11 am - and I need to get a run and some errands in before that!)

I'm so grateful for Friday nights at home when I have the time to make dinner and use up some of the leftovers I've accumulated over the week. This is a great use for leftover ground beef and mushrooms. Maybe it's living so close to the beach, but mushrooms do not last very long here before they get yucky. So whenever I use them in one dish, you can be sure I'll be using them again very shortly. Cooking the mushrooms and tomatoes low and slow makes a nice thick ragu type sauce. In fact, this dish would be equally at home on top of some pasta. But it's so good, it stands on its own.

Beef with Mushrooms
1/2 lb ground beef
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 lb mushrooms, cut in half
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 sprig thyme, crumbled
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp red wine
1 tomato, pureed
salt and pepper

1. Brown beef in medium pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and cook the mushrooms until they are soft.
3. Add the green onions, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, broth, wine, pureed tomato, salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour.
4. Stir in the beef and cook just until heated through.