Beef Stew

 This past Sunday marked the start of John's Week of Favorites.  His birthday was on Monday & I am a firm believer of celebrating your birthday to it's full potential, so in my house you get a week of favorites.  When I was younger I celebrated my birthday for an entire month.  So I guess I've matured...slightly.  ;)  For my hubby's first day of favorites, I made Beef Stew.  Warm & comforting, this hearty stew was perfect for a chilly Sunday dinner!  I slowly cooked it for a good portion of the day while we finished up our Christmas decorating & got ready to start the work week after the long Thanksgiving weekend.  I cook my stew in the oven but you could use a crock pot if you'd prefer.  It takes some time to make it but it's so worth it.  The slow cooking renders meat is so tender it falls apart!  I love that my hubby's birthday falls in between Thanksgiving & Christmas.  It's such a special time of year- which makes perfect sense that my guy was born then!

 Generously season the roast on all sides with Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper. 

 Then coat with flour. 

 In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat up about 2 tbsp of olive oil to medium/ high heat.  Sear all the sides of the roast. 

 When the meat is seared, remove from the pot & reduce the heat to medium.  Add the onions & carrots to the pot.  Saute for a couple of minutes, scraping up the flour & bits from the roast.  (You may need to add a little bit more olive oil to the pan for this.)

 (If you are using a crock pot, transfer all the onions & carrots to the bowl of the crock pot.)  Add in the tomato paste & 1/2 of the beef broth.  Stir to incorporate. 

 Then add the meat & all it's juices.  Pour in the rest of the beef broth on top.  Cover & place in the oven.  Cook for 3-4 hours in the oven at 300 degrees.  In a crock pot, cook at high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

 After 3-4 hours (or 6-8 hours, depending on your cooking method) check on the roast.  I use a wooden spoon to help break it up.  If your meat is falling apart easily, then it's ready for the rest of the veggies.  If it's still tough, then you need to cover & continue to cook it.  At this point, you should also check the liquid level.  You may or may not need to add more water or more broth to cook the potatoes.  I needed more so I added 2-3 cups of water & 2 beef bouillon cubes.  Then I covered & continued to cook it for another hour.  When your roast is starting to falling apart, add the potatoes & frozen green beans.  You can add any veggies that you'd like.  Add in some corn, peas- anything you want!  Turn the heat up to 350 degrees in the oven (high for your crock pot).  Adjust your seasonings, then cover & continue to cook for an hour, or until the potatoes are tender. 

?This time I served with wide egg noodles but some times I just served with some crusty bread. 

 The hubs was very happy with his first evening of favorites!  So much so that he took it for lunch again the next day! 

 This recipe will served 6-8 people.