Beef Stew = so so

My first attempt at home made from scratch stew and it was ok but not great. My adventure begins when I was looking for a potato peeler and thought we didn't have one (I later found one). So I decided I would have to use a knife to peel them. Thats what they used to do in the old days right? I chose a knife that wasn't to terribly sharp so as to avoid cutting off an appendage. It was pretty tough having to peel 6 potatoes with a knife but I managed eventually. As I was cutting the fresh peeled potatoes I couldn't help but think about all those TV shows and movies I've seen where the wife/mother/woman of the house is in the kitchen cutting up lots of vegetables for dinner. I've never been THAT kind of wife/mother before. I do fix dinner but well not the big fancy dinners that requires cutting of fresh produce. Or at least not that often, I even hummed a little personal theme song in my head and pictured myself wearing an apron with my hair pulled back in a bun and perfect make up on.... Ok scratch the makeup I can't stand the stuff. In stead I was dressed VERY casual and had my hair thrown into a very messy ponytail. Ah well can't be perfect!

Next up was the celery and carrots. Casey had recently just bought a bag of baby carrots because he had the munchies so me trying to be frugal I decided to just use those instead. I just cut them up a little smaller and there you have the carrots. I added all the produce to bowls to add in the stew when I was ready for them.

The recipe calls for browning the meat on all sides and then browning the boiling onions on both sides before combining everything in the pot. Which is what I did, at this point the house smelled WONDERFUL and I really was feeling VERY domestic! I will say all this "prep" for the simmering takes about an hour so allow plenty of time!

Finally it was time to add everything in the pot for a good long simmer. I learned something, the recipe calls for adding all the veggies and meat BEFORE the broth for a good reason..... It WILL SPLASH! Ok, it wasn't a huge deal really. As I was dumping the veggies from their prospective bowls (green bowl for celery.... orange bowl for carrots) I couldn't help but feel a little like Martha Stewart. "Take this marvelous cut celery and add it to the broth, followed by your marvelous carrots, onions and last but certainly not least your stew meat. Stir it all together and wow doesn't it just smell wonderful?" Haha Yes I was having a grand time. I put it all in and then after it came to a boil I put the lid on, turned down the heat and let it simmer for the 2hrs it called for.

Everything ready for simmering.

Finally it was time to taste the stew, it was ok. It was good enough but nothing special. I think next time I will ad a little more seasoning then the recipe calls for. I think also since my husband wasn't fond of the texture from the potatoes turning to mush I will probably ad those about an hour into the simmering instead of letting them simmer for 2hrs with the whole stew. I have to say other then the meat it was all pretty mushy. The meat however was VERY tender and flavorful just not the rest of the stew.

Finished product with biscuits.

So finally here is the link to the recipe... Again I found it on allrecipes.com You might want to check out the reviews for suggestions. I was just reading them and realized I should have waited to put the potatoes in till around a half hour before the stew is done. Dully noted, on with the recipe...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/angels-old-fashioned-beef-stew/detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pounds beef chuck, cubed
• 12 small boiling onions
• 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 carrots, sliced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions

1. In a large pot heat oil over medium high heat. In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated; brown in hot oil, about 1 minute per side. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.
2. Lower heat to medium and add onions. Brown onions on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then remove from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat from pot.
3. To pot add potatoes, carrots, celery, reserved onions, browned meat and broth. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. For a thicker broth: 1/2 hour before stew is done, combine 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl and mix well, then slowly stir mixture into stew.