Classic Beef Stew

For those of us who have made the questionable decision to live in Canada (and more specifically, in the prairies) during the winter season, there is nothing better than a hot beverage or meal. Even better when that meal has been cooking all day long and is ready to be devoured as soon as you walk in the door!

I am personally a huge fan of slow cooker recipes. Sure, it takes a little bit of extra time in the morning so I actually have to get out of bed when my alarm goes off instead of hitting snooze 4-5 times. But when you walk in the door at the end of a long day at work and your house smells like heaven, it all seems worth it.

So when I came across a cookbook at Costco one day that is exclusively slow cooker recipes, I figured it was worth a shot!

If you look closely you'll see the price tag is still on it... $12.99! Not bad!

I'm not a big soup person, so I've just been working my way through the stew and chili sections of the cookbook so far. And the first recipe I tried was the Classic Beef Stew.

First of all, I couldn't get over how good this smelled. I remember we had even left the house after supper and when we came back I just inhaled the delicious smell that was still hanging about inside.

It probably depends on how much meat and such you have in there to begin with, and what kind of schedule you work, but I found the 8 hours to be a bit long. It didn't taste overcooked or anything, it's just that the beef cubes ended up shredding instead of staying whole. But it's pretty much impossible for me to get home in less than 8 hours so... I'll just keep enjoying my shredded beef stew!

I strongly suggest you give this recipe a try.

Classic Beef Stew

Boneless beef pot roast (top or bottom blade, or cross rib), cubed
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package mushrooms, chopped
3 fresh sprigs thyme (I used ~1 tsp dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
2 and 1/2 cups sodium-reduced beef broth
1/2 dry red wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour

Directions:
1. Trim fat from roast and cut into large cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker.
2. Add the chopped/cubed potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf. (My tip: the bay leaf has to be taken out before you eat, so mix everything together and add the bay leaf on top last so it's easy to find to remove).
3. In a small bowl whisk together beef broth, wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir into slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low until beef is tender; about 6-8 hours.
5. When finished, skim off as much fat as possible. (I just used a ladle and got as much as I could, but you won't get it all).
6. Whisk flour with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until thickened (about 15 minutes). Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs (if used) and serve.

Hope you enjoy!

Until next time...

D.