Comfort Food on Hopefully the Last of the Snowy Days . . .

Saturday was a day to stay in our jammies.  The snow was falling and Trevor took my car to work so we were kinda forced to stay indoors.  With a four year old that has no problem telling you she's bored when she's not being kept busy, this could be a recipe for disaster and a blow to my mental health.  : )  Meggie is my "Chopped" partner.  If you've never watched "Chopped" then you have no idea what I'm talking about and you're missing out on one of our absolute favorite tv programs on the Food Network.  I honestly started watching it because I thought one of the judges was hot.

Scott Conant.  Is he yummylicious or what??!!!!!??  And yes, my husband knows how I feel about him.  : )

Then I ended up loving the show.  Megan, thankfully, will pull herself away from Peppa Pig and watch it with me.  I think this has brought out a love of cooking in her.  That and baking with her Nana!!  : )  So we decided to make a pot of beef stew together.  I wanted something simple that I had the ingredients on hand for already.  I found a recipe on line that met all our criteria and I thought I'd share it. 

It called for 2 lbs. of cubed beef stew meat but I used 3 lbs. and kind of guessed on additional amounts of the other ingredients that needed to be added due to the healthy appetites in our house and left-overs for my honey to take to work. 

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Add oil to large pot (they called for a dutch oven but, truth be told, I don't have one) and stew meat and cook until browned on all sides.

Add four and a half cups of hot water and five tablespoons of beef bouillon granules.  You can crumble up five beef bouillons if you don't have the granules.  I always keep chicken and beef bouillon granules on hand because they add extra flavor to almost anything.

2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

Now you add your spices listed above.  The only dried rosemary I had on hand was McCormick brand that has been in my cupboard for a while so I added some extra in case it had lost some of its strength.  I ended up scooping it all out with a colander type spoon once the stew was finished cooking because it was not something I wanted to eat.  Reminded me too much of pine needles.  : )

My sous chef, Miss Megan, hard at work stirring the pot.

Next you put a lid on it and let everything simmer for an hour.

It's also time for a chocolate milk break!!!

After an hour, stir in:

4 large potatoes peeled and cubed  (I used red and I'm thinking I might not peel them next time.)
3 handfuls of baby carrots cut in half
4 stalks of celery
1 large chopped vidalia onion

Next, add 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch to 3 tablespoons of cold water, mix and stir into the stew.  The recipe didn't call for it but I also added sea salt to taste.  I honestly thought it was a bit bland without it. It all depends upon your preference.  Cover the pot once again and simmer for 1 hour more.


Voila!!!!!  . . .

Add a crusty piece of bread to soak up all that delicious gravy and you have a rib sticking meal for a cold spring (in this case) day!!! It was a huge hit in our house and Jim took the last of it to work again tonight.  Minimal work with maximum return!!!  : )

Easy peasy!!!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful Monday ~ Wendy