Favorite Ingredients Friday

Even though we haven't been hit by typical snowy/cold weather lately. It's still the right time of the year for this dish. I love a good stew, but must admit I don't really make it often. I found this Paula Deen recipe and decided to give it a try. I must admit I wasn't sure how one of her recipes would work out if it didn't include a pound of butter and a quart of cream. This was absolutely delicious. I served it with drop biscuits, and it was perfect.

Old-Time Beef Stew
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1. 2 pounds stew beef
2. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3. 2 cups water
4. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
5. 1 clove garlic, peeled
6. 1 or 2 bay leaves
7. 1 medium onion, sliced
8. 1 teaspoon salt
9. 1 teaspoon sugar
10. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
11. 1/2 teaspoon paprika
12. Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
13. 3 large carrots, sliced
14. 3 ribs celery, chopped
15. 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer.

To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Now for what I did different. I didn't have ground allspice, so I placed a few whole ones in a tea infuser and dropped it in the pot. I didn't use stew meat. I prefer to buy a chuck roast and cut it up myself. I also left out the celery because mine was really sad looking, and I added two potatoes and peas because I like them in stew. I also modified the last step. I just used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water to make a slurry. I then added that to the whole pot and brought it back up to a boil for a minute or two, and then reduced it back to a simmer while the biscuits finished...maybe 5 minutes.


Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fun recipes!


Past FIF recipes:

White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ