I thought when I moved to Texas that I wouldn’t need my snow tires or any cold weather gear EVER AGAIN…and I couldn’t have been more wrong! Holy moley, it’s cold outside! Normally I make beef stew in the crock pot as it adds a minimal amount of heat to the kitchen but since it’s, oh….14 degrees outside!!!!- I wanted to ADD heat into the kitchen and decided to cook the stew in the oven. Usually I flour the beef and saute it and the veggies before I add the liquid to start the stewing process….I was feeling lazy for no good reason and just threw everything in the pot. Results? Amazing! Next time I am putting in less effort! Ha!
Beef Stew Serves 6
- 2 # stew meat- Mine was frozen and I just hucked it into a large casserole dish.
- 2 c. red wine
Pour the wine on top of the frozen stew meat and put on the lid. Stick in the oven and turn the heat on to 325 degrees. Go do something fun for an hour.
Peel and chop the following into chunks approximately the same size:
- 4 large or 6 small white potatoes, scrubbed
- 3 large carrots
- 2 parsnips
- 6 large cloves garlic, minced (or not!)
- 2 seeded fresh jalapenos
- 2 cups fresh mushrooms or 1/2 c dried mushrooms
- 3 c. chicken broth (I use Pacific Natural Organic)
- 1 T crushed rosemary
- 1 T crushed thyme
Throw it all into the pot with the meat and give it a good stir. Put the lid back on and continue cooking in the oven for another hour. Add salt to taste at the end as there is a considerable amount of salt in the broth- even the organic ones have a lot. IF you want the broth to have a thicker texture, about 15 minutes before serving, add 1/2 c. red wine to 3 T. corn starch and mix well; pour on top of the stew and stir gently to mix well. Put the lid back on the casserole and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, set the table, slice some french bread and make a green salad. Guilt other family members into doing the dishes as you slaved over this delicious dinner. heh, heh.
