All-American Stew

When I was cleaning out the fridge, I found a nice chunk of London Broil. I got this fabulous buy on London Broil a while back. So, I cut it into smaller pieces of about one pound each and froze them. This one was destined for a great cool spring stew. (This time of year reminds me of lamb stew; but Scott will not eat lamb or mutton. Not that I blame him. But sometimes I like lamb stew.)

 

I thought I would use the slow cooker for this. Scott loves foods cooked in a slow cooker. I prefer either stovetop or even oven cooked. Guess I was in a good mood because I was making food the way he likes.

 

Okay, about an hour before dinner, I checked on the stew. It was watery, the veggies weren’t cooking, and I was getting frustrated over the pets being little devils all day. So I just dumped it all into a Dutch oven and brought it to a boil and voila, stew!
My Favorite Stew
1 TPSP vegetable oil
1 pound lean meat cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped a little rough
1 cup celery, chopped
½ cup red wine
1 quart beef broth or water
6 dried tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
4 potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup either turnip or parsnip, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1 cup frozen peas

 

1. Heat a Dutch oven and add the vegetable oil
2. Add the meat and allow it to really brown on the first side
3. Stir the meat to allow it to brown again
4. Now add the onion and celery when you stir the meat for the third time, allow it to brown nicely
5. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan and allow to reduce by half
6. Add the water and tomatoes
7. Cover and simmer for two hours
8. Add the carrots, potatoes, and turnip or parsnip, cook another 30 minutes
9. Add the cabbage and cook for 20 minutes more
10. Just before serving stir in the frozen peas

Serves 4

*Because potatoes do not freeze well, unless prepared properly, I will make the potatoes on the side. Then for Scott’s lunches, I will cook up 1/2 pound pasta and add it to the gravy before ladling out into plastic containers and freezing.