Temperatures are mild here, but the sun is nowhere to be seen 😦
It’s a cloudy damp snowy day. I guess I will do a little cooking and whip up a tender beef stew, AudiRose way…
Crock Pot Tender Beef Stew
3 lbs beef, cubed (I use a blade roast)
1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tspn. Sea Salt
1/4 tspn. Crushed Black Pepper
2 Tblspns. Olive Oil
1 Tblspn. Butter
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter on medium heat. In a large bowl (or zip-lock bag) add flour, salt and pepper. Coat the beef cubes with the flour. Add the beef cubes to the skillet and only cook the beef just until it turns a slight brown, do not cook the meat, just change the red colour to a pinky brown. Overcooking your meat will result in you having to chew on tough meat, and no one wants that! Set aside. *Keep your pan, do not wash it, as you will use this to sauté your onions and garlic in this pan using the beef remnants.
Now prepare the following:
1 Cup Carrots, Sliced (not too thick)
1 Cup Turnip, Cubed (not too big)
About 6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed (not too big)
Salt and Pepper
Add all your veggies to the crock pot and sprinkle with a little salt & pepper.
Prepare your broth for the stew using the pan you used for browning the beef. Add to the pan,
3 Tblspns. Butter
Once the butter has melted, add:
3 sliced Onions (I did mine in big chunks cuz some people are onion haters here boo)
2 Cloves minced Garlic
Sauté for a few minutes and add,
1 tspn. Thyme
1 tspn. Parsley
1/2 tspn. Allspice
Stir well combining onions and garlic, then add to the pan:
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 Cup Red Wine (I use whatever I have in my fridge, this time I used Dao Meia Encosta, a wonderful Portuguese Red Wine)
2-3 Bayleaf
*Mushrooms can also be added at this point, but I didn’t have any on hand.
Now add your beef cubes to the crock pot and pour the broth wine mixture over the meat and vegetables, add the Bayleaf to the top. Put the lid on the crock pot and cook for about 30 minutes on the high setting and then for approximately 5-6 hours on the low setting. Check your meat, you do not want to overcook it.
When the last 1/2 hour of cooking arrives, whisk together
1/4 Cup Vegetable Broth, warmed
1/2 Cup Heinz Ketchup
3 Tblspns. All-Purpose Flour
Add this flour mixture to the crock pot and slowly stir it in to thicken up the wine broth.
In a microwavable container, add 1/2 cup frozen peas and 1/2 cup frozen corn with some water and microwave or a few minutes. Add to the crock pot. Continue cooking for about 2 more minutes. Serve with some garlic toast!
Tender Beef Stew 🙂
audirose 