Old-Fashioned Homemade Beef Stew Recipe

Save Money and Make Healthy and Hearty Stew From Scratch

© Alicia King

Sep 15, 2009

Warm, filling, hearty and inexpensive to make - beef stew is the ideal fall and winter meal. Families can dish up enough for everyone and still have leftovers. Those who are single can easily freeze the broth or the stew itself and eat off of the same batch for months effortlessly. This recipe can take as little as one hour to prepare, or simmer all day in a crock-pot.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 pounds of inexpensive stew beef (boneless, in chunks)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• water
• 2-3 large potatoes, washed and diced
• 2 cups diced carrots
• approximately 1/2 cup cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

Stovetop Cooking Instructions and Preparation:

1. Pour oil in bottom of soup pot. Heat oil on medium flame, and add beef. Brown all sides.
2. Add onion, pepper and garlic, sauté with beef until vegetables are less crisp
3. Add water to fill soup pot to 3/4 the way full
4. Add spices
5. Turn down heat to simmer, leave simmering for 30 minutes.
6. When beef is tender, add potatoes and carrots
7. Ladle out 1 cup of the broth and mix with cornstarch to thicken, add this back into the broth to make the stew thick and hearty
8. Simmer for another 30 minutes until vegetables are fork tender
9. Be sure to freeze several servings! Soups and stews can last from 6 months to 1 year if properly sealed in your freezer!

To Prepare Allergy-Free, Gluten-Free Beef Broth:

1. Just before step 6 above, when the beef is tender and has simmered for at least 30 minutes, ladle the broth and spices into ice cube trays.
2. Once frozen, transfer the broth-cubes to zippered freezer bags and label with date.
3. 1 typical ice cube = 1 oz. broth or 1/8 of a cup. Label your bag with the conversion information that 8 cubes = 1 cup of broth for easier use in recipes.
4. Thaw cubes to use in recipes, casseroles, and stroganoff like regular beef broth.

Crock-Pot Instructions:

1. After browning the meat, and sautéing the onion, pepper and garlic in step 2, transfer these items to your crock pot.
2. Fill with water, seasoning as well as potatoes and carrots
3. Set the crock-pot to cook for your desired time, and simmer.
4. 1 hour before serving, thicken the broth with cornstarch as described in step 7 above.

To Add Hearty, Healthy Fiber to this Recipe:

Some cooks may want to add additional hearty flavor to this recipe with quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"). Quinoa is an "ancient grain" originally used by the Incan empire that is rich in nutrients, high in fiber and protein and 100% gluten-free.

On the plant, quinoa is coated with a waxy substance called saponin that has a bitter taste to naturally repel birds and insects from eating the grain. Because of this, it is important to rinse quinoa before adding to stew, or to use a brand that is pre-rinsed.

1. Measure 1 cup of quinoa.
2. Use a fine mesh filter or a coffee filter to rinse the quinoa until it no longer looks like soap suds are bubbling from the grain.
3. Add to the stew with the potatoes and carrots at step 6 above, or step 2 of the crock pot instructions.

Unlike pasta, or even barley, quinoa freezes well and holds its texture over long-term storage.

Hearty, Filling Stew can be allergy friendly!

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