French Onion Beef Noodle Bake

I absolutely LOVE French onion soup, so when I saw this recipe you know I had to try it!

French Onion Beef Noodle Bake
Pillsbury Casseroles & Slow Cooker - Jan/Feb 2007

The Line Up
5 c uncooked wide egg noodles (8 oz)
3 TBSP butter or margarine
2 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into 1"cubes
4 medium onions, thinly sliced (4 cups)
2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
3 c beef broth
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp salt
2 c seasoned croutons (4 oz)
2 c shredded Swiss cheese (8 oz)

Game Plan
Heat oven to 350. Cook and drain noodles oas directed on package.
Meanwhile, in a 5 qt Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add beef, onions & mushrooms, cook about 20 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is browned on all sides, onions are soft and mushrooms are browned.
Spread noodles in bottom of ungreased 13x9" (3 qt) glass baking dish. Spoon beef mixture over noodles.
In same Dutch oven, heat 2 1/2 c of the broth to boiling over medium-high heat. In small bowl, mix remaining 1/2 c broth and the flour until smooth. Stir flour mixture into boiling broth. Cook, stirring constantly until bubbly and thickened. Stir in rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour over beef mixture; stir until well blended. Sprinkle with croutons, then cheese. Bake 25-35 minutes or until bubbly around edges and cheese is melted.

Coach's Post Game Conference
First - silly thought - who would have thought that I would have French, Swiss and Dutch all in the same recipe!? :)
I need to cook the meat longer. I cooked it about the time suggested but it wasn't very tender at all. Quit tough. So I highly suggest checking to see that the meat is tender before it goes into the oven.
I promised The All-Star last week that this week would be a mushroom free week, so I had to omit the mushrooms. Will definitely add the mushrooms next time! How can I not?
I didn't put the croutons in until after it was baked. I feared that putting the croutons in under the cheese and having them in the sauce would make them mushy and I didn't want that at all.

Final Score
Coach -  I'd give this a triple ONLY because the meat was tough tonight.
Catcher - Well - he worked a long shift and was sleeping. I know I saw him eat, he mumbled something about "good" - but I'm pretty sure he was still asleep because he disappeared almost as quickly as he emerged from the bed.
The All Star - He said it was a home run

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