Beef Stew

I've been married for nearly 9 years now, and the entire time Travis has insisted that he doesn't like beef stew.  I made this tonight, almost apologetically, because I had a hunk of beef to use up out of our freezer, and I couldn't really think of any other way to use it.  It had a big hunk of bone in it, so I knew I wanted to simmer it forever... anyway, this is what came of it, and Travis inhaled it.  I think Clara ate so much that I was concerned her little tummy would ache!  When I asked Travis why he said he didn't like beef stew but liked this, he claimed that this wasn't like the beef stew he had ever had.  So I wrote it down!  I figure if I try to make beef stew again, I want it to turn out like this. It was an all-day-in-the-crockpot thing, and then about another 20 min stovetop.

It wasn't the simplest thing to make, but I think the effort was worth it.  You end up with carrots that aren't overcooked and a non-greasy sauce that's easy to make just the right consistency.  I was going to serve the potatoes just boiled, but my family requested that I mash them, so I did and it was yummy.

Beef Stew

2-lb beef roast

Seasoning mix: 1 T. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. ground thyme

1 onion

4 stalks celery

4 carrots

4 C. water

1 T. olive oil

1 onion

2 T. flour

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. red pepper flake (opt.)

Chop onion, celery, and carrots into chunks and add to bottom of crockpot. Coat the roast in seasoning mix, saving remainder, and place on top of veg in crockpot.  Add the water, and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on medium.  Take the meat out and cut into chunks.  Save the broth and carrots; discard the onion and celery (unless you like that).

 

In a large pot, brown the onions in the olive oil until soft and starting to caramelize.  Add the flour and cook 1 min, then add tomatoes, meat, Worcestershire sauce, remaining seasoning, and red pepper flake.  Add 1 – 2 cups of the saved broth, until it’s the thickness you like.  Add the carrots back in,and when they're cooked the way you like, serve it up with potatoes – boiled or mashed.

A most amazing sandwich

This one was picture-worthy, although I should've gotten a picture before I took several bites of it.  I couldn't help myself, though - it was SO good!!

Yes, it's just a sandwich, but it's a particularly yummy and unexpected combination. You will need:

cucumber, peeled
tomatoes (i used cherry, cut in half)
sweet peppers, red/orange/yellow
hummus
feta cheese

I made mine on whole-grain toast, spreading hummus on both slices of bread and piling everything else up in between, but I can see other possibilities with this combination - dice all the veggies and toss together with the feta cheese, then place on top of crackers that have a base of hummus.  Or cram it all into a pita.  If you like olives I think they'd go well in this sandwich, but I'm not a big olive fan.  It's extra good with spicy hummus, too.