The Truth about Beef Stew & a Great Recipe too!

The truth is, you can make beef stew from a bunch of left overs in the fridge that normally would get thrown away! Another truth is you can put just about anything in beef stew as long as you have some of the main ingredients: Beef and Beef Broth. Now I don't mean ground beef, I mean some sort of steak. Often I use left over steak from previous meals of the week. Today I used the sliced steak used for stir fry or fajitas. Of course there are vegetable essentials such as carrots, potatoes...and actually any other vegetable can be substitued for another. Heck, maybe even the carrots and potatoes can be substituted if you aren't a fan. But one thing to remember is, it's so simple! Honestly, I don't even measure half the time, I find sometimes when I'm adding ingredients I add to my liking, I stop when I think that's enough of that ingredient. Depending on what flavors you like more you add more or less of certain ones. I promise you, if you follow simple directions you can have a great stew brewing on your stove in minutes.

Lacy's Beef Stew

Ingredients

- Beef - about 1 to 2 lbs. cut into cubes
- Olive Oil - I prefer Extra Virgin
- 8 oz. sliced & cubed mushrooms
- 3 or 4 carrots sliced
- 1/2-1 chopped onion
-3 or 4 stalks celery sliced
- 6-8 cups of beef broth
- a couple fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves of garlic- sliced
- 2-4 half baked potatoes cubed (amount depends on your potato liking, I LOVE potatoes)(to half bake put in microwave covered by wet paper towel for about 8 minutes & let stand - too hot to cube right out of the microwave)
- 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- salt, pepper, oregano
- 1 cup of rice - cooked (optional)
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- about 5 tablespoons of gravy or sauce thickener (I used Gold Medal Wondra, but you can also use flour)(amount may vary on how thick you want your stew)


Preparation
First start browning the cubed beef in a large stockpot, or one of the big spaghetti pots if you talk like me. Throw in about 2 tablespoons of the gravy thickener or flour, toss the 2 together. Then add some salt and some pepper I'd say about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let cook for a couple minutes, but not too long about 3 minutes.

Add sliced & cubed mushrooms, sliced celery, and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is tender & beef is browned. Add the Beef Broth, depending on how much stew you want your beef and vegetables to have you can use 6 cups for a thicker sauce that surrounds your beef and vegetables OR you could use 8 cups and have a slightly thick stew that covers your beef & vegetables, it's all up to your taste buds. Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Add carrots, basil leaves, and cubed half baked potatoes. Reduce the heat a little, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes stirring ocassionally. Or until vegetables and meat are tender. Add the peas and rice cook for 10 more minutes. To thicken the sauce add 3 more tablespoons of the sauce thickener or flour as well as some grated parmesan cheese. Flavor with salt, pepper & oregano.

Pour into bowls and garnish the top with a bit more of the parmesan cheese. I like to serve my beef stew with 1 or 2 pieces of buttered toast - such as an italian loaf or sourdough bread. Enjoy!!

If there are any questions regarding this recipe feel free to email me at lacyorama@gmail.com