A warm-you-from-the-inside-out winter stew that uses up whatever vegetables you have in the freezer, fridge or pantry.
This is more of a "cook while you're watching football on a lazy Sunday" kind of meal. It takes about 90 minutes to cook, plus prep time.
"Grrmgrmmgrmmgrmm." - Jax the pug, enjoying the chopped stew meat I throw his way
Ingredients:
2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons flour (I use a gluten-free blend)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, quartered and sliced
1/2 cup red wine (dry, like a pinot noir or cab)
4 cups beef broth
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Italian spice blend
Cornstarch
Olive oil
*** Vegetables -- use what you have on hand or what you wish! **
Some suggestions:
- 1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cubed - russets, red or sweet potatoes
- small package of frozen carrots (I used a tri-colored organic blend, sliced)
- 4 parsnips, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup bell peppers (I used red and yellow)
- 3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3/4 cup peas (add at the very end or they get mushy)
Preparation:
- Trim fat off the meat and cut into 1-inch cubes. Mix flour, salt and pepper in large Zip-Loc bag and add beef. Shake to coat.
- Peel, cube, cut and prep all your vegetables.
Cook & Serve:
- Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Cook the beef and the onions until brown.
- Add the wine and the beef broth (scrape the cooked bits off the bottom of the pan). Stir in the tomato sauce.
- Add all remaining spices and vegetables, except for the cornstarch.
- Bring to boil, then turn heat down to low. Cover and simmer for 60-90 minutes until beef is tender.
- To thicken the stew, mix equal parts cornstarch and water in a bowl to form a paste -- start with mixing 3 Tablespoons. Add a spoonful at a time to pan and stir well until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve hot with a crusty loaf of French bread (gluten-free if you must). If you've got rosemary, mince it up and stir it with your butter. Wow, I'm drooling just thinking about it.
- This freezes well! Pour into single-serve freezer bags for a future winter meal.
A Little Backstory:
There's a novelty song from like 20 years ago where a guy names all the weird things he likes and the last in the list is " ... and stew" and then he sings the chorus: "AND IIIIIII LIIIIIKE YOOOOOOOU." Does anyone else remember this song? Google's no help. Jesus, I can't get that tune out of my head.
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