Homemade beef stew

[greymoya]

This was my grandmother's recipe, and it's awesome for cold winter days!

1-2 packages stew meat (depending on how much you like)
2 large white potatoes
3-4 carrots
Seasoned salt and Garlic salt to taste (or your favorite seasonings)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 can kernel corn
1 can green beans
1 can peas
*You can actually use any canned vegetables you like-my mother likes hominy in hers, for instance. Play with the recipe!

1) Fill a large soup pot 1/2 full or water and bring it to a simmer

2) Peel and cut up potatoes and carrots and put in water. Let them simmer while you cut up the meat.

3) Cut stew meat into small pieces and add to water. Let this simmer for about 1/2 an hour, skimming the impurities off the top of the water 2-3 times.

4) Add the rest of the ingredients, without draining the water from the veggie cans (it adds flavor!). Mix well to make sure tomato paste dissolves.

5) Simmer on low heat 3-4 hours. The water will reduce until it's the consistancy of soup. While simmering, add seasonings until it tastes the way you like.

***I always make this the day before I want to eat it. The next day, I add a little more water and let it simmer down again. It is thicker the second day, more like actual stew, and tastes better too! Serve it with buttered honey cornbread, yum!!!

[greymoya]

I forgot to mention, as long as you use lean beef stew meat, and cut off the icky bits, this is also a low-fat recipe!

[Chrisnstar]

Thanks. It's pretty similar to mine. i've found that a good lean cut of a roast can be cut up into stew size pieces and you have less of that "icky stuff". I also cook mine in a crock pot all day. Mmmm

And make a batch of WF's homemade biscuits to go with it!

chris

[LeslieLesfire]

We always brown our stew cubes first before we boil them. Also our stew doesn't have any tomato products in it or any green beans or corn or anything. This sounds like it would be good Dusty. Here is how we make ours if you are interested in a slightly different version.

Brown your stew meat, then saute together a chopped onion, some chopped celery, when the onions are translucent add back your meat then add carrots sliced thick and potatoes cubed. Salt, pepper, garlic powder/minced garlic or whatever you have. One beef boullion cube and of course your water. Simmer til everything is done.

Then I make a vegetable beef soup that is more similiar to your recipe Dusty, except I use hamburger. I brown my hamburger and add in a can each of whole kernal corn, green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce. I will add chopped onion and garlic to that along with salt and pepper. I use lots of garlic in this one. I sometimes add some green peas to this one too if I have them.

Then Finally mom makes a stew meat chili,
She browns her stew cubes, then sautes chopped onion til translucent. Then adds beef boullion cube, water, jalapenos/chilis, beans and rice, chili powder and cumin and garlic. This makes a totatlly different type chili but it is so good. I'm not sure how to tell you measurements on any of these because we just throw things in to taste.

[Newfygirl]

Heres what we do: We put the stew meat in the crock pot along with potatoes, celery, carrots and onions. Put ina packet of onion soup mix and let cook on low for 8 hours or so. Yum!

[greymoya]

Those sound like yummy alternatives, I'll have to try them. I never saw the point in browning the meat though, it gets plenty cooked after simmering for over 12 hours total! Plus, I don't like the harder bits on the outsides of the meat pieces from where they got crispy while browning. But I'm going to definately try these ideas!