fall comfort food!

beef stew (can't mess it up!)

ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter
2 lbs. beef for stew 
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4-1 cup carrot, cut into coins or cubes (or, use baby carrots, whole!) 
4 small potatoes, cut in big cubes (like potatoes?  add more!)
celery, 2 stalks, chopped
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
32 oz. carton, natural, unsalted beef stock (could use broth but, stock has more flavor!) 
1/3 cup frozen peas
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water

instructions:

melt butter in a large dutch oven.  let it get hot and bubbly.

add the beef to pot, when beef starts to brown, add the onions and garlic and lightly brown everything.  (beef in stew tastes much better if it has been browned first!)

STAYING HOME?  OR DO YOU HAVE ERRANDS TO RUN?  If you need to go out, transfer the beef mixture to your crock pot and continue with recipe.  Staying home, continue in the same pot...

add carrots, potatoes, celery, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to pot.

pour enough beef stock into the pot to cover everything.  stir to combine.

bring to a gentle boil then turn heat down, cover, and simmer on stove at least 2 hours.  if you put the stew into the crock pot, leave pot on high for a few hours then turn to low for a few hours.  either way, the beef, potatoes, and carrots should be fork tender when stew is done.  

add frozen peas (they cook quickly) and dried parsley.

mix cold water and cornstarch together and then add to the pot to thicken the gravy.  stir and cook until peas are warmed and gravy is thick, hot and bubbly.  taste to check seasonings.

grab a loaf of crusty bread and enjoy!

--in my picture, my gravy looks light because some wonderful person at the grocery store decided to open the seal on my beef stock!  UGH!  I dumped the whole carton down the drain.  BUT, like I said in the recipe title, you can’t mess this up--I used chicken stock instead.  It worked fine and tasted delicious!

--my beef and vegetable measurements are approximate--I don't really measure.  Put in more of what you like, less of what you don't.  It all works!!!