Day 82.
The feeling you get coming home to the smell of stew that has been simmering all day long in the crockpot is comforting, relaxing, and reassuring. This is the feeling that Hallmark tries to recreate.
Save the cards. Make stew instead.
There are as many stew recipes out there as there are missing Barbie shoes. There are no rules in stew. Use what you have in the fridge or the pantry. I don't think I've ever created the same stew twice.
The Ingredients (that I happened to use this time. It felt really strange writing it all down...).
2 pounds beef stew meat
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 cup baby tomatoes, cut in half
2 to 3 ribs celery, sliced
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup green beans
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon steak seasoning blend (whatever you have on hand for bbqing, stir-frying, etc.)
1/2 cup flour, for dredging (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
--wash and chop all of your vegetables.
--plop them into the crockpot.
--put the flour in a bowl, and toss your meat in it to fully coat.
--put the meat into the crock (throw away the rest of the flour. don't add it in.)
--add dry seasoning and worcestershire sauce.
--pour in the wine and beef broth.
--cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours.
If you would like to prepare everything the night before--go for it---but don't add the liquid until you plug it in.
The Verdict.
Stew rocks. It tastes even better the next day.
Hey, Steph, would you please email me? I don't know if I have your most recent mailing address and I want to send you something.
Thanks!
March 22, 2008 at 9:04 AM
Ooooh, i can almost sniff the goodness from the pix of your stew. Now for some go-with French bread to dip into the gravy. Nothing better. You inpsire me. Thanx.
March 22, 2008 at 9:38 AM
haven't been by for a little while...way behind in my blog reading but I can see you've been cooking up a storm...I love stews! this one looks yummy!
March 22, 2008 at 6:03 PM
This looks really good :-)
March 22, 2008 at 6:33 PM
I LOVE your blog. Thanks for being so faithful. I just wanted to add a note to your stew recipe. I add tapioca (4T.) as a thickener, when I dump all the rest of the stuff in the CP. Works great!
March 24, 2008 at 7:45 PM
I just tried this recipe and it was great! I didn't use Worchestershire sauce or red wine, which might have deepened the flavor of the stew. I threw in peas instead of green beans and used homemade beef stock instead of canned.. Next time I'll try tapioca to thicken it up. Love your blog, keep up the good work!
~Megan
March 27, 2008 at 6:33 PM
yummmm....I was drooling at the picture...My granma used to cook in crockpots and none of us have been able to recreate that level of taste....great blog
April 6, 2008 at 9:40 PM
This is great! I have wanted to use my newest crockpot for some time. I learned that I probably threw away a perfectly good crock-pot, although it's always good to update after 30 years because the cord may need updating:) The reason I probably did not get the result before bringing out my old crockpot was that I did not have a recipe, and I am sure I used much too much liquid...lessons learned~ I am making this stew recipe now, and going to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the joys and ease of crock-pot cooking, and MORE home-cooked meals too! I realize it is too easy when my teens yell I'm hungary, on the way driving them to driving lessons etc., to drive through the fast food places! And it has added much expense to my credit card, which I am now cutting back on...need more nutrition too!! I can't wait to try a chicken recipe tomorrow! Thanks to you, my life is easier--I feel better about how I feed my family--and I have more time to mow etc., and less credit card debt. Luv this site!! I saw you on Rachel Ray~This is a God-send for me!! Luv to you and your family. LynneJoy
July 22, 2008 at 8:08 AM
One quick question... when you say 1 t of something, (like in the beef stew recipe), you mean teaspoon, right? I'm making this tomorrow and I see a lot of t's but want to double check that they are teaspoons, not Tablespoons.. I even looked through a few other of your recipes to see how you used your T's, and I see tsp a lot so I want to double check. Thanks!!!
February 11, 2009 at 1:00 PM
yes! little t is teaspoon and big T is tablespoon.
my mom and grandma always wrote recipes like that.
xoxo
steph
February 11, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Hello - Love your site and love your humor... however, did not love this stew. :( I followed it to the letter and it just did not really taste that great to us. My husband will eat anything, but was not a fan of the leftovers.
March 5, 2009 at 6:27 PM
This is almost the exact receipe i created when i married my dh. We just don't like tomato based soup. So we leave out all tomatoes and add corn kernals instead:D i like to serve it over fresh buttered biscuits. yummy. Also to up the flavor and I really skipped this part until recently, it makes a huge flavor difference to saute some of your vege's in butter before adding to the stew, and browning the meat in butter. I really really hate doing any extra steps, but it makes such a huge difference in flavor I won't be skipping this step anymore.
September 5, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Hi!
What can I use instead of wine? unsweetened white grape or red grape juice?
October 4, 2009 at 4:09 AM
Hi there,
it's really up to you---1/4 cup isn't all that much volume. if you have apple juice in the house, you can use that, or up the broth a bit.
xoxo steph
October 4, 2009 at 7:58 AM
Just got the book, I'm always trolling for new slow cooker books and this one looks good!
First recipe tried "Tradional Beef Stew" just finished this morning. I omitted mushrooms and celery (they're not my favorites) and added baby potatoes (what's stew without potatoes!). My verdict: good (not great). I liked the color added by tomatoes and green beans. Stew seemed a bit thin, I'll add less broth next time. Flavors seemed a bit subdued, next time I'll sautee onions then brown beef in onion leavings and perhaps use whole garlic cloves instead of powder. Maybe some fresh green herbs? I'm torn because I loved not having to brown beef or peel garlic cloves - the recipe as it stands is uber-simple! - but with a bit more prep and mess, it would taste richer I think.
Thanks for inspiring me to fire up my CrockPot again, it's been dormant a while!
January 26, 2010 at 7:04 AM
I always add 1 or 2 tablespoons of onion soup mix to the pot and only one can of stock. I always have lots of juice for gravy.
Also, I generally buy steaks when they are on sale and throw a couple of frozen ones in the crockpot. I can chunk the meat up later - yum
March 22, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Just a note to your readers. :) Lea and Perkins' Canadian version is NOT gluten free only the American one. :)
October 2, 2010 at 11:29 AM
Hi Stephanie,
I have recently moved out on my own (fresh out of college) and have started cooking for myself. I just got a crockpot this weekend and discovered your blog on here while searching for recipes. I am going to try the beef stew tomorrow and see how it goes. I love reading your blogs and the different recipes that you have. (Can't wait to try the Boston Tea Punch also). Thanks for your help!
July 10, 2012 at 1:21 PM