By Miranda
I have half of a cow in my freezer, (literally- well it IS butchered) but I've been slowly chipping away at it and one of my favorite meals so far is this beef stew. I guess it's kinda like a stroganoff, but whatever it is, it's real good. Yes, it does take a while to cook, but if you plan ahead, it can be a delicious end to your day.
4 servings
1.5 lbs stew beef
1 Tbs oil
1 med-lg onion chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup red wine
2-3 cups stock
3 carrots, chopped (1 inch chunks)
8 oz. mushrooms
s+p
2 Tbs butter
2-3 Tbs flour (depending on how thick you prefer the broth)
1 Tbs fresh thyme or 1.5 tsp dried
Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes (look at my pasta recipe if
interested in making it from scratch)
Heat oil in large oven-safe heavy bottom pot over medium high heat. I use my cast iron stock pot. (If you dont have something like this you can transfer it into a crock pot and cook on low). Brown the stew beef pieces in small batches so you don't crowd the pan, so they are nicely browned on all sides (dont move them or stir them- just let them brown then turn them over).
1.5 lbs stew beef
1 Tbs oil
1 med-lg onion chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup red wine
2-3 cups stock
3 carrots, chopped (1 inch chunks)
8 oz. mushrooms
s+p
2 Tbs butter
2-3 Tbs flour (depending on how thick you prefer the broth)
1 Tbs fresh thyme or 1.5 tsp dried
Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes (look at my pasta recipe if
interested in making it from scratch)
Heat oil in large oven-safe heavy bottom pot over medium high heat. I use my cast iron stock pot. (If you dont have something like this you can transfer it into a crock pot and cook on low). Brown the stew beef pieces in small batches so you don't crowd the pan, so they are nicely browned on all sides (dont move them or stir them- just let them brown then turn them over).
Transfer the cooked pieces to a bowl until all pieces are done. This might take roughly 15 minutes.
After all meat is browned and in a separate bowl, add onion and celery to the pot and turn heat down to medium (if your stew beef is very lean, you may need to add another Tbsp oil prior to adding onion/celery). Cook onion and celery until softened and starting to brown, then add garlic and cook for additional minute or so.
Add red wine to this and stir to de-glaze the pot. Then add the beef back into pot along with stock (I used chicken stock because this was all I had, but I figure you should use beef stock :) - water would probably do fine as well, but it will not be as flavorful). Next, add the thyme and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees for about 5 hours. Again, if you do not have an oven-safe pot you can put this in a crock pot on low for the same amount of time. This gets the beef super tender and delicious!
After 5 hours, add in the carrots and mushrooms (really any combination of vegetables would work- butternut squash or green beans would be good too) and continue to cook for 1 hour, covered.
10 minutes prior to eating, melt the butter in the microwave and whisk in the flour until smooth. Stir this into your stew to thicken, and season with salt and pepper. Put it back into the oven to cook for the remaining 10 minutes. Serve stew over noodles or mashed potatoes. Yum!
Cover the pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees for about 5 hours. Again, if you do not have an oven-safe pot you can put this in a crock pot on low for the same amount of time. This gets the beef super tender and delicious!
After 5 hours, add in the carrots and mushrooms (really any combination of vegetables would work- butternut squash or green beans would be good too) and continue to cook for 1 hour, covered.
10 minutes prior to eating, melt the butter in the microwave and whisk in the flour until smooth. Stir this into your stew to thicken, and season with salt and pepper. Put it back into the oven to cook for the remaining 10 minutes. Serve stew over noodles or mashed potatoes. Yum!
