Old Time Beef Stew...

If you know me, you would know it is very out of character for me to cook...but doesn't eating home cooked meals make people feel better.  Well I thought with all that has been going on in our house...a little more home cooking might be nice. 

I had some Stew meat thawed and found a good recipe from Paula Dean...the results...of course, the Farmer loved it, oldest daughter rated it her top 10, which is a huge compliment - so today I make her favorite Pad Thai, the yougest daughter, I am pretty sure she liked it in between her dancing around the table, the boys not so much...but my goal is to please half of us and that definetly happened last night.

Old-Time Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 pounds stew beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
5 small red potatos cut in wedges*
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.  *I added in five red potatos cut in wedges and added them when I put in the carrots and celery.

Have a great day!

Michelle