what’s for dinner…beef stew

Winter is taking its toll. Cold and gray days are all running together.  It’s days like this that I look for warm comfort food and easy recipes.  I always have luck finding great stuff on Pinterest.

I made this delicious beef stew last night and it is all gone.  All I am going to say is that this is the best and easiest beef stew.  So, find a day at home with a few hours, get the ingredients and make it.

BEEF STEW slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

Serves: 5-6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 3 hours
3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs unsalted butter

2 lbs stew meat

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced (or 3 Tbs preminced garlic)

1 cup red wine (use a wine you would drink or substitute a cup beef broth)

4 cups beef stock

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs tomato paste

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp sea salt

pinch freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

5 whole carrots, washed, unpeeled and roughly sliced

4 whole golden potatoes, cut into 8ths

torn fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

1. Heat oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Brown meat, setting aside on a plate when brown. You are not cooking the meat all the way through. You just want the outside to get brown.

2. Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute.

3. Pour in wine, beef stock, Worcestershire, tomato paste,  paprika, salt, pepper and sugar. Cut any pieces of meat that are larger in half, then add beef and any juices on the plate back into pot. Stir to combine.

4. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. If too much of your liquid evaporates (you want it to cover the ingredients), you can add a little water to the pot.
5. Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook an additional 30-60 minutes until they are tender.

6. Taste and adjust any seasonings, but I found it was perfect. Serve topped with fresh parsley.

All photos courtesy of Pinterest.  Enjoy!

xoxo- Tanya