Beef Stew

Yesterday, Houston went from 70 degrees in the AM, to under 40 by the afternoon. Houston weather can be crazy! They say, "If you don't like the weather, stick around awhile... it will change." The cold weather prompted the boy to want chili for dinner. While looking through chili recipes, I could not find one that I fell in love with, or one that did not require a slow cooker. I suggested beef stew, and we found a winner! I have been looking for an excuse to pull out my Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven and it sure paid off. Last night's recipe is courtesy of my close friend, Paula Deen. I made some adjustments that I have included in my version of the recipe below. It takes a long time to cook, but is super easy. You could start the stew and then do things around the house while it cooks. Just set a timer! This recipe will easily feed 2 adults, with second helpings. If you're making this for a crowd, double or triple the amounts. 


When you start off cooking, it can be expensive to buy all of these new spices. However, the more you cook, the more you will use them over and over in different recipes. So start your collection as soon as possible. On to the food! 


Old-Time Beef Stew


Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 lb. stew beef (go to the pre-packaged beef section, like where you would find ground beef)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• dash of ground allspice (allspice is a single spice from the spice rack)
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (boxed in the baking aisle)

1. Peel and slice the onions.

2. Heat oil over high heat and add beef.

3. Brown all sides of the beef.

4. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. 

5. Turn the heat to low or medium-low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. 

6. While stew is (ah-hem) stewing, chop the carrots and celery.

7. After the first cooking process is complete, remove the garlic and bay leaves. Add the carrots and celery. Cover and cook for 40ish more minutes, until carrots and celery are soft.

8. When the veggies are soft, remove most of the hot liquid from the pot and set aside. 

9. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water until smooth. This cornstarch mixture will thicken the stew.

10. Mix the hot liquid from the pot and cornstarch mixture from step #9 together. 

11. Return it all to the pot. At this point, I added a few more dashes of each spice. Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Johnny added red pepper flakes and it was great! This meal is perfect for a cold day.