Beef Stew

(Originally posted by DebbieBoo)

That makes me sad because that means Spring Break is almost over! *sniff*sniff*

Anywho, on with the recipe posting!

This is my interpretation of Jana’s Beef Stew (Hope you don’t mind, Jana!) I’ll post her original recipe w/ my adaptions in parenthesis.

Beef Stew
1 1/2 - 2 pounds stew beef cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/3 cups water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove minced garlic (I LOVE garlic, so I used 3-4 cloves instead!)
1 chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste (I put lots of both, esp the pepper; I like it spicy!)
3 cups sliced carrots (Made it w/o these the first time; only used about 1 cup the second time)
3 cups cubed red potatoes (you may omit if you wish) (The previous was Jana’s note; I actually used sweet potatoes instead)
2 1/2 cups pearl onions (I didn’t have these so left ‘em out)
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
(((Debbie also added: 1 cup of frozen peas (near the end) and 1/2 pound of mushrooms (because they’re yummy) and some diced green peppers when I added the onion)))

Heat olive oil and brown the beef cubes.
Add 2 cups of water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, and spices.
Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add carrots, potatoes and onions, cover and cook 30 more minutes or until veggies are tender. (This is when I added the mushrooms also; and maybe the peas.)
In a small cup, whisk 1/3 cup water with flour and add to stew to thicken before serving.

This stew is sooooo yummy and well worth the wait! For me, it’s hard to imagine having it again anytime soon because the temps are already getting up into the 70’s here and eating stew on a warm day just seems wrong. But I’m sure I’ll crave it again soon.

Every time I make it, though, I think I end up adding more water, therefore using a bit more flour for thickening it (and Worcestershire sauce to even out the flavoring). Oh, I also use the broth from the soup to mix with the flour.

Hope y’all enjoy!