There Really Is Nothing Better Then A Good Beef Stew
Throughout the summer the barbeque is the king of dinner. As the weather cool the crock pot comes out and the beef stew start too cook.
This is just a basic recipe but it is easy enough to modify to suit your own taste. Once you have this basic version mastered you can change it up as you need to.
Start by getting the crock pot set up and heated. Fill the pot with hot tap water and start to heat it up. It isn’t a good idea to heat your crock pot without anything in it. I don’t want to crack it.
Then in a large saucepan add some oil to the pot and let it heat up add the beef and start to brown it. Seer the meat will lock in the flavor. Make sure all the sides of the cubed meat get browned. Keep an eye on the heat , you don’t want to burn the beef to the pan. I generally use about 6 on my stove. The meat should cook about half way then remove it from the pot.
Add a little oil if needed and start adding your cut carrots, potatos and onion. Get everything moving around so everything gets covered in the oil. You also want to scrape off the bits left on the pan from seering the meat. Cooking Tip: There is a ton of flavor left in the “pan drippings”.
Allow these veggies to start to cook down. You don’t want the saucepan to get too hot or to have the veggies start to dry out and stick. You can add a half a cup of soup stock to cool things down. Add the meat once the veggies have heated and started to cook through. Add about a half teaspoon of salt now also.
Now you can add some liquid~Now you can add some liquid}. It is ideal to use beef or vegatable stock for this but hot water will work also. Add enough liquid to cover all the veggies and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and reduce heat. It can simmer away for about 20 minutes.
By this time the crock pot is ready. Pour out the water and add the soup, be real careful. I have been splashed and it hurts so I have started to use a laddle until almost all of it is in the crock pot.
I let the stew cook for an hour or so on high and then I taste it and start to season. It will need some salt, pepper and garlic powder. The flavor can be enhanced with some beef stock cubes or onion soup mix. At this point you can also add some frozen corn and green beens or whatever else you want.
Let cook in the crock pot for about 5 hours on low and 2.5 or on high. Just before you serve it will need to be thickened. I use about 3 table spoons of flour mixed in 3/4 of a cup of milk. Pour in and stir. Cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Let leftovers cool and put into the fridge or freezer and enjoy when ever you fell the need for some comfort food. More Great Cooking Tips
