Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Best Beef Stew

Its Foodie Friday!

I got my Aunt Aliree's cookbooks when she died.

I flipped through the pages and recipes, handwritten and clipped from the newspaper or a magazine, would occasionally fall out. I felt like I was sitting in her den and she was telling me of some recipe she had seen, and had plans to try, and here I was looking at it.

So I decided, I needed to start doing the same thing, cutting out recipes and sticking them in books for someone else to find.

and I am so glad I had this little plan of mine.

This Beef Stew recipe was my first attempt. and now I have made it for the last two weekends in a row. It is the easiest and best tasting beef stew I have ever made. Each time, I planned to freeze some for later, but instead, ended up bringing containers full of it to friends with sick husbands, neighbors, elderly aunts, and then to lunch myself.

Its been impossible to hang onto this beef stew.

Both weekends, I never had any left over to freeze for later! I have half a mind to make it again this weekend. It is really good enough to make three weekends in a row.

This is from a Worcestershire ad, with my modifications:

Salt and Pepper and then brown 3 pounds or so stew meat in skillet until all sides are very brown.

Throw in crock pot with the following:

1 bag of baby carrots
1 chopped onion
3 or 4 diced potatoes
2 cans (or jars) of brown gravy
1 can of beef broth
1 can of water
1/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1 package of already cut mushrooms

Cook in crock pot on high for 8 hours.
The longer it cooks, the more tender the stew meat becomes.

At serving, add 1 can of drained green peas and give it a stir.

and don't forget it is Foodie Friday! Go! Visit others!

14 comments:

Haden News said...

Great recipe...I will use it over the holidays for sure! Thanks and Happy Halloween.............:)

Natasha in Oz said...

What a hearty and warming recipe...just right for the cold winters days you have ahead of you!
Best wishes, NM.

Marigene said...

Your aunt's stew would have been just the meal for a rainy day, like we are having. Thanks for sharing!

gin said...

sounds delicious. What a nice gesture to carry on through the generations. One day some family member will be saying the same thing about you.

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

What a precious gift you got!
I love to let something cook in the crock pot all day. I will have to make this very yummy and hearty recipe. I might have to double the recipe so I can freeze it too,
Yvonne

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

What a treasure to find hand written notes and recipes of your beloved aunt. Thanks so much for sharing.

:)
ButterYum

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a great quick recipe. Anything that's designed for a crock-pot is popular these days. How lucky you were to be the heiress to your aunt's cookbook collection. I'll bet you've had hours of fun with it.

Anita@Theycallmejammi said...

Never had beef stew with brown gravy added, so will definetly give this recipe a try. I bet it makes the stew very creamy and homey.

Unknown said...

GREAT!!! recipe, I like the idea of the gravy in it.
Geri

Anonymous said...

It's so nice you have your Grandmother's recipes -such a great way to remember her by.
The stew recipe sounds delicious
vickie

Deborah said...

Your stew sounds yummy. Thanks for leaving a comment. Have a great weekend.

Megan said...

This looks like a nice and easy recipe and if your making 3 weeks in a row, it must be tried!

Karine said...

It looks to be a great recipe! Thanks for sharing :)

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

What a wonderful treasure to have your aunt's recipes. This sounds like a wonderful, cold-weather meal!