Hearty Beef Stew

Creating a dinner dish that keeps me warm and feels like home is always key when cooking for me. This beef stew has every note of flavors from sweet to spicy and salty. It’s the perfect kind of dish to have on a snowy night.

Growing up my mom worked a lot. Even after the long hours and the exhaustion she always came home to make us dinner. I can see why beef stew was made often in my house. It’s quick to make, flavorful, feeds many and is probably the coziest meal to have. I always feel like I’m home when I make this, the veggies are just what I had on hand but feel free to change up any of the vegetables with whatever you have, the point here is to develop flavors and make it a hearty meal for you and your family.

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Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 40min

yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs of beef stew (medium diced chuck meat)

• 1 cup of yellow onion

• 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup medium diced sweet carrots

• 1/2 cup medium diced celery

• 4 whole garlic cloves (minced)

• 1 medium size sweet potato

• 1/3 cup of frozen sweet peas

• 1 bunch parsley

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 oz lime juice

• 2 Tablespoons of kosher salt

• 1/2 tablespoon of fresh black pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon complete seasoning

• 1 teaspoon ground thyme

• 1/ Tablespoon of ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 4 oz tomato sauce

• 1 beef cube

• 4 cups of water

• 2 cups of beef stock

Method:

1. Begin by brining a large pot to high heat, add the oil.

2. Meanwhile season the meat with salt and pepper.

3. When the oil is hot add in the beef chunks and let brown for about 10 min. The meat should start to create a dark “fond” at the bottom of the pot.

4. Once the meat is golden on all sides add in the potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook until translucent.

5. Add in all the spices, cook and develop all those flavors for about 5 mins.

6. Deglaze with water, stock, lime juice and add in the tomato paste.

7. Bring down to a medium simmer and let cook the remainder of the time, or until the meat is tender.

8. Check after about 30 min and adjust seasonings if needed.

9. The last five minutes add in the sweet peas and chopped parsley.

10. Serve over white rice! Freeze stew for a week if you have leftovers. Enjoy!

*Note: The bigger the pieces of meat the longer the cooking time will be. In this case keep an eye out and add more stock as needed.