Beef Stew

Here we are, in the middle of the summer season. Temperatures have been hovering in the 90's for several weeks now. It's been warm and wonderful! But, out of nowhere this weekend, we had a 30-degree drop in temperatures. Sunday there were gloomy storm clouds, strong winds & even a little drizzle! And it put me in a baking/comfort food mood. (Thus the french bread you saw a couple of days ago!) To go with it, I made a big pot of beef stew! Comfort heaven!!

For this we'll need:


Stew meat, carrots, potatoes, onion, stewed tomatoes, beef broth & Italian dressing (not pictured).

Start out by putting the meat in a zip-lock baggie with 3/4 cup of the Italian dressing.


Close up the bag, massage the dressing around all the meat & then stick it back in the fridge to marinate for about 1/2 an hour.

While that is soaking get your veggies all peeled and chunked up.


Now get out your stock pot, drizzle a little oil into the bottom, set it to medium heat & throw in your onions. Stir them around to get some color on them & soften them up - about 10 minutes.


Once they look good to you add in everything else! Get the meat out of the marinade & toss the dressing out. Add the meat, veggies and canned stuff to the pot.


Now bring it to a boil, cover & reduce heat to low. Simmer it for an hour & 15 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. After that time is up, take off the lid & let it go for about 15 more minutes. Once it's done you can thicken it up, if you like more of a gravy. If you like a broth you're done.

To thicken it: Pull some of the broth out into a separate dish. Add in a couple forkfuls of corn starch. Whisk it around to combine, then slowly stir it back into the pot. Viola! Gravy!


Now just serve it up & enjoy! This is a very kid-friendly stew. For me, I ad a couple of shakes of salt and a LOT of black pepper. It's also good with some hot sauce stirred in!


Comfort food at its best!

Beef Stew:

3/4 cups Italian dressing
2 lbs stew meat
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups of carrots, peeled & sliced
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled & chunked
1 14.5-oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 14.5-oz can beef broth

Place dressing and beef into a large zip-lock bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cook onions in a stock pot over medium-high heat, with a little oil, for about 10 minutes. Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Add beef, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes with their liquid and broth to the pot.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour & 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

**To thicken: Remove a small amount of the broth into a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch & whisk together with a fork until well combined. Add mixture back to the stew pot & stir until incorporated into stew.