Quick & Easy Homemade Beef Stew

Last Updated on 2020-02-09 by Linda

Well yes I do know it’s almost summer and that is not traditional Homemade Beef Stew time. However in Ottawa the weather has changed and the rain has been happening for a few days so comfort food was required.  I had a day off on Monday and as I was watching the rain pouring down I thought a stew would be a welcome dinner.

Linda and Cooking

Now if you have been following me for a bit you totally understand that I am the baker.  Kent is the chef in our home.  He loves to cook, I love for him to cook and it works for both of us.  What may surprise you though is I actually can cook.  Most times I am just to lazy to meal prep.  When I lived on my own, peanut butter and banana toast was a staple.  It was quick and easy and generated no dishes.

Baking, well that is another story, I love to bake and never worry about dishes.  It is a good combination right?  I love baking, he loves cooking, we both love eating, a match made in food heaven. Now truth be told, I love meal prep with Kent and creating things together but normally I use his meal prep time for either treadmill or blogging.

Quick & Easy Beef Stew

As I indicated earlier, I was off on Monday and Kent actually called and suggested Beef Stew.  Honestly at first I was meh, not really feeling it but what else was there right? I took the beef out and started defrosting it in the oven.  This was one of those I fully intended to just de-frost and wait for him to get home.  Sitting at the table getting frustrated with my blog (speed problems) I decided to start playing around.

My mom and nana had always made Beef Stew and I use to make it. Their recipe was in my old college cookbook. This time I thought I would try experimenting a bit.  I started surfing through beef stew recipes but nothing was catching my eye. Mostly because I could not find beef stock in the house so I wanted to experiment on my own.

Funny thing was Kent stopped at the grocery store and purchased [amazon_textlink asin=’B00MWV36GA’ text=’beef stock’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’alabourofli06-20′ marketplace=’CA’ link_id=’7671f6c6-698f-11e8-9708-5113ef08d29c’], so I ended up adding it as well.

Linda’s Homemade Beef Stew

Beef stew can be as simple or as complicated as you want. For me coating the beef in a whole wheat flour as I was frying it, adding worcestershire sauce, rosemary and garlic all seemed appropriate at the time.  Normally Kent fires the beef in the same pot as we make the stew but I went with the frying pan and then added the beef to the pot. I also added the beef stock at the end as well as some paprika.

Potatoes were peeled and diced, I added carrots and celery and then let it all simmer on the stove. I did not add dumplings and I regret that decision. Dumplings just make a stew perfect but require patience which I normally do not have. I also life the lid too early and then the dumplings do not turn out. (recipe at end)

Hearty Stew for Dinner

It was kind of a nice treat for Kent to come home and not have to fully prepare dinner. A hearty stew on a cool rainy evening is perfect. Plus to everyone’s surprise I also made Monster Cookies. No recipe to share as I had purchased the dough for a fundraiser.  I think I will start experimenting though, it’s like a soft molasses cookie with smarties. (and I mean Canadian chocolate smarties not the Rockets)

Homemade Beef Stew

a quick and easy beef stew recipe that you will want to try

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Homemade Beef Stew

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 300kcal

Author: lindaandkent1@gmail.com

Ingredients

• 2 packages stewing beef
• 6 medium potatoes
• 5 medium carrots I also have used canned carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• pinch rosemary
• pinch garlic powder or garlic gloves
• pinch paprika
• beef stock
• corn starch
• water
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 c flour

Instructions

• Coat the beef in flour and fry in pan.  Make sure you scorch each side to a nice brown colour.  
• while beef is browning add in garlic,rosemary,salt and pepper to taste.  I usually sprinkle each own based on the palate of my family
• add paprika
• add beef stock ( I used the powder and sprinkle it on the beef)
• set aside and peel and slice potatoes and carrots.  Also slice the celery stalks
• In large pot add potatoes, carrots and celery
• add beef mixture ( keep all liquid and scrape that in as well)
• in two cups of water add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and blend well
• add water mixture to pot
• if there is not enough water to cover the vegetables add a bit more.
• simmer on stove for one hour
• serve with warm bread or rolls

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Beef Stew

Amount Per Serving (6 Servings)

Calories 300

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

dumplings really make a stew better so take the time and go the extra distance for your family.

Plus if you are like me, dumplings give you an excuse to add molasses to your stew. YUM 

Truth be told I add the molasses anyway.

Nutrition

Serving: 6Servings | Calories: 300kcal

Have you tried this recipe? I would love to see the resultsMention @alabouroflife or tag #alabouroffood!