More Condo Cold Weather Cooking - Easy Beef Stew

Salad and Beef Stew

When the weather turns cold, I find there is a desire for what G and I call "Comfort Food."

Here is a recipe I created for an easy to prepare and hearty beef stew. This prepares a sufficient amount for several meals and we freeze most of it to reheat and serve over the next 30 days. I've found that some recipes do well in the freezer and flavors actually improve. This stew is, in my opinion, one of them.

This is an easy recipe. However, I prefer to marinate and brown the meat. I prepare and heat some of the vegetables to add flavor and give them a start prior to adding to a crock pot.

Preparation time is about one hour. Most of that is spent waiting for the ingredients to simmer or brown. Crock pot cooking time is about 3-1/2 to 4 hours.

Step 1 Prepare a marinade of 50% soy sauce and 50% Worcestershire sauce, with parsley leaves. Dried parsley works well for this.

Step 2: Add beef stew meat and allow to marinate. Mix well so the beef is completely coated with the marinade. I used 3 lbs.of beef for this recipe. Adjust per personal preference.

Step 3: While the beef is marinading, prepare and saute onions in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I use pepper and a bit of sea salt to season. I'm using a 6 Qt Club Aluminum dutch oven handed down to me by my mother. I suspect it is 70 years old:

Step 4: As the onions begin to change from translucent to clear, but before they can caramelize add the marinated beef to the sauteed onions. Save any excess marinade as it will be used later as part of the sauce, as shown in the photo below:

Step 5: After adding the beef to the onions brown the beef over medium heat, turning frequently:

Step 6: While the beef is browning scrub and slice about 6 carrots. I do not peel the carrots as many vitamins and nutrients exist in the skins of vegetables. Use your preference. Also scrub and cut 6 or more stalks (single ribs) of celery and add to the carrots. Once the beef is browned add the carrots and celery to the dutch over. To this add one large can (28 oz.) of peeled tomatoes. Add any left over marinade. Blend and continue heating:

Step 7: For a little extra zest, add a tablespoon of your favorite chili powder. For less zest, reduce to one or two teaspoons:

Step 7: Once the stew is simmering, turn off the heat and transfer everything from the dutch oven to the crock pot. Put the crock pot on the high heat setting:

Step 8:  Prepare the potatoes.  Potato selection is important, as some potatoes cook down and become mushy. That's a good thing if preparing minestra, but not desired for this stew. I used Green Giant Klondike Rose potatoes in this recipe. Most red skinned potatoes will do:

Step 9: Scrub the potatoes, cut off any "eyes" or damaged areas and cut into slices. For large potatoes, cut into sections. Place the potatoes in a colander to rinse and drain.  Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the dutch oven, some pepper and a little salt. Heat and then add the prepared potatoes. Cook over medium heat, toss frequently for even heating:

Step 10: After the potatoes have taken on the flavoring of the oil and spices and begin to brown it is time to move them to the crock pot.

Step 10: Transfer the potatoes to the crock pot. If you've got the proper proportions the pot will be nearly full and there will be sufficient liquid:

Step 11: Cover the crock pot and cook on high. Stir about once every 20-30 minutes. This is what the stew will look like after cooking for an hour and one-half:

Step 12: After a total cooking time of 3-1/2 to 4 hours, the stew should be done. Using a fork, check the potatoes and carrots for doneness:

Step 13: Turn off the crock pot and set aside a bowl of the stew to cool and then take a taste test. Bon Appetit!