Beef Stew
Why I Love This Recipe
The nice thing about this beef stew is that it's not an exact science. I've made it many times and I don't think I have ever made it the same way twice. You can use what you have or add what your family likes. I will give you my basic directions and you go from there!
Ingredients You'll Need
top method: About 2 hours prep and cook time. 1 - 1.5 pounds of stew beef or pot roast cut up into large bite sized pieces. Coat with 1/4-1/3 c. flour, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt. Brown beef in large pot heated with 1 T. olive or canola oil. Add 2 to 4 pounds of baking potatoes, peeled and cut into large bite sized pieces; 1 1/2 pounds carrots (either baby carrots or peeled and cut carrots); medium onion, cut into large pieces; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 cups hot beef broth (can use water and beef granules); 1 T. worchestershire sauce. Stir all this together and cook over medium to low heat (covered) until you can insert a fork into the potatoes and carrots. The last 20 minutes you can add 10 oz. pkg of frozen veggies (we like peas). The last 10 minutes add a jar of beef gravy (I like Heinz.) Serve with warm biscuits or bread slices.
Crock pot method: About 7 1/2 to 8 hours prep and cook time. Use the same recipe as the stove top but don't brown your beef, just throw it into the crock with the flour, salt & pepper. Add the potatoes, carrots, broth, onions, garlic and worchestershire sauce. Cook on high for 1 hour then turn to low for the rest of the day. I usually cook this at least 6 hours. The last 30 minutes add the frozen veggies and gravy.
Directions
Stove top method: About 2 hours prep and cook time. 1 - 1.5 pounds of stew beef or pot roast cut up into large bite sized pieces. Coat with 1/4-1/3 c. flour, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt. Brown beef in large pot heated with 1 T. olive or canola oil. Add 2 to 4 pounds of baking potatoes, peeled and cut into large bite sized pieces; 1 1/2 pounds carrots (either baby carrots or peeled and cut carrots); medium onion, cut into large pieces; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 cups hot beef broth (can use water and beef granules); 1 T. worchestershire sauce. Stir all this together and cook over medium to low heat (covered) until you can insert a fork into the potatoes and carrots. The last 20 minutes you can add 10 oz. pkg of frozen veggies (we like peas). The last 10 minutes add a jar of beef gravy (I like Heinz.) Serve with warm biscuits or bread slices.
Crock pot method: About 7 1/2 to 8 hours prep and cook time. Use the same recipe as the stove top but don't brown your beef, just throw it into the crock with the flour, salt & pepper. Add the potatoes, carrots, broth, onions, garlic and worchestershire sauce. Cook on high for 1 hour then turn to low for the rest of the day. I usually cook this at least 6 hours. The last 30 minutes add the frozen veggies and gravy.
Camp fire method: Make it like the stove top recipe only you have to stir it much more often and cook it in less time, most generally, depending on how hot your fire is and how close you set the pot to the fire.
Oven method: About the same prep and cooking time as stove top. Follow the stove top directions for browning the beef then add all the ingredients except the frozen veggies and gravy to a large & deep casserole dish. Bake in a 350 oven (covered) until potatoes and carrots are fork ready then add the frozen veggies and gravy for the last 15 minutes or so.
This is a good dish to experiment with different meats, veggies and flavorings. The potatoes and carrots are good fillers. If you need to serve more, these are the ingredients to add more of. The key is to keep it covered, moist and to use firm, dense veggies in the long cooking process. You can use boiling potatoes but they turn out a little too soft and fall apart. If you don't have onions or garlic you can use the powdered variety. We like the fattier cuts of beef for their long cooking flavors but you can use very lean cuts, too. It's really hard to mess up a beef stew unless you let it go dry! Keep an eye on it and stir if you are doing the stove top.