Today it snowed for the first time this fall in Colorado. It was cold and wet and I was hungry. Nothing sounds better than Beef Stew on this type of day. Here’s the recipe
Ingredients:
Steak or beef (a lot of different kinds of beef work for stew, but mostly just make sure you get something nicely marbled, but not fatty. I used top sirloin.)
vegetable or olive oil
1 white or yellow Onion
1 large or 2 small carrots
3 cloves garlic minced
4 or 5 red potatoes diced
1 pkg of mushrooms
1 can green beans
1 can diced Italian style tomatoes
3 cans beef broth
water
1 tbs rosemary
Salt
pepper
Optional:
Celery
squash
bell peppers
red wine
To Make:
pour 2 tbs of oil into a large stock pot. Cube beef and put into pot to brown over medium heat. When beef is browned, remove from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat. Add 1-2 tbs of oil back into the pot. Add onions carrots and garlic, and stir over medium-high heat until soft (about 5 minutes). Add in potatoes and mushrooms and return the beef to the stock pot. Stir over same heat for 5 minutes. Add green beans, tomatoes and first two cans of beef broth plus one can of water. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Cover Bring stew up to boiling for 20 minutes. You will lose a lot of liquid in the steam. Turn the heat down to medium or until you have a rapid simmer. Add last can of broth and 1/2 can of water. Simmer for 1 hour or until beef proteins have been broken down and beef is soft.
Follow the Recipe extra:
For me, Beef Stew is all about knowing how things cook. The beef needs to boil for a long time to be soft and not chewy. The lower the quality of beef, the longer it will need to cook. Softer foods should be added later on in the process so as not to get too soggy. Potatoes can be added later in the simmering process to leave them a little crunchy. Try different things and taste a lot as you go. Also, if you’re like my husband and I and you can’t stand rosemary floating in your soup, use a coffee filter and some cooking twine and make a baggie. Take the baggie out of the stew before serving 
You kinda can’t screw up beef stew.
Rosemary
I think it’s a miracle that you are a good cook because you certainly didn’t learn it from me. I’ve tried your beef stew and it is great! I suppose I could make it in the crock pot which is my kind of cooking!! I’ll say it again, it’s a miracle that you can actually cook without the use of a crock pot. Love ya, Mom
Alex
Hey D!!! This is really sweet!!! You’re the next Rachael Ray. Put the Three C Chicken (Cheesy, Crispy, Chicken) Recipe up soon. I don’t know what it is really called.
