Tomato-Basil Steak Pasta

This is the OG version. My version is much thicker and darker. My pictures were ugly though ;)

Tonight I asked Sam what he wanted for dinner and his suggestion was to do something with the beef we had in the freezer, and since we barely ever eat beef, I decided to try something masterful. I love the Olive Garden Braised Beef and Tortellini dish, so I looked up some "copycat" recipes online.  I didn't find a solid consensus on the "real" recipe, so I just did my own thing with what I thought would work, and we loved the result! We think it would also rock without the beef, making it vegetarian (and cheaper) if you wanted.  You can also use regular pasta instead of stuffed, or serve it on rice.

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/3c diced onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 8oz cooked steak strips
• 1 10oz can of fire roasted tomatoes in tomato puree
• 1tsp basil
• 1tsp thyme
• 1/4c balsamic vinegar
• 1c mushrooms, sliced
• 1 10oz can cream of mushroom soup

Heat oil in a large, deep pan.  Brown the onion, then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.  Add the steak and brown.  Add the tomatoes, basil, thyme, and vinegar.  Cover and bring to a simmer.  Add sliced mushrooms, cover (we used a cast iron pan and just put it in the oven, or transfer to a casserole dish), then place in the oven for at least 30 minutes (or until beef is tender) at 300F.  In the meantime, cook your tortellini.  When the pasta is almost done, remove sauce and stir in the can of mushroom soup.  Serve over your pasta.