Simple Beef Stew

Sometimes the most comforting foods can be the simplest to make. I had stew meat in the freezer. I didn't have carrots or whole potatoes on hand, but I did have mashed potato flakes that the hubby bought when he went shopping last week. He also got some of that macaroni in the blue box! I know! Anyway! I dressed it up with sweet peas that I had on hand. My son rolled his eyes when his girlfriend, Aly mixed the stew, potatoes and peas all together, but I like it that way also! To each his/her own!

1-2 pounds of beef sirloin, cubed
flour
salt, pepper and garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 pkg onion soup mix
beef broth or water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix about 1 cup of flour with a generous amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat the cubes of beef with the flour mixture. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Brown on all sides. If there is oil left in the pan, move the meat to the side and add a little flour to absorb the oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough broth/water to cover the meat. Stir in the onion soup mix. Cover and put the skillet in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the meat can be cut with a fork. Remove from the oven and place back on the stove top. If the gravy is watery, make a slurry of water and flour (about 2 tablespoons flour and just enough water to get rid of lumps) and add to the pan a little at the time, stirring constantly. Bring the stew to a boil. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Soups, Stews, Bread and Cornbreads... Oh My!

In this crazy Polar Vortex of a winter, I think we all need a little something to warm up our bones. Yesterday/last night, our temperatures dropped 34 degrees. Not dropped to 34 degrees, but the temp dropped BY 34 degrees back into the 20s. That's a shocker down in the deep South in March with "Spring" arriving in about 15 days! I've put together a group of my bone warming recipes in this post. Choose what looks good to you and click the link below the picture...

15 Beans Soup with Ham

Tuscan Soup with Italian Sausage

Baked Potato Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

 Beef Stew

Mama's Catfish Stew

Hush Puppies

 Vidalia Cornbread

Cornbread Recipes

Italian Herb and Cheddar Bread Loaf

Red Lobster Biscuits

Beef Stew

This is a wonderful dish for this time of year. Tonight it's chilly and rainy. This is a perfect comfort food recipe for tonight. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes!

I used two very cheap cuts of shoulder steak. You can use pretty much anything you want. I don't buy the stew meat any more, because you are just paying and enormous amount of money for someone to cut your meat for you! LOL

Cut whatever meat you want to use into 1 inch cubes. Toss them in seasoned flour. (I used garlic, salt and pepper.)

Place 2 Tablespoons Oil in a large skillet. Heat to medium-high heat and add the cubed meat. Brown the meat on all sides. If there is excess oil, add a little flour and stir. Add 2-3 cups of beef broth. Add cubed vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

If the stew is too thick, just add more broth until it is the consistency you like.

Grocery List:

2 Sirloin, Chuck or Flank steaks
2 potatoes
2 carrots
2 onions
1 clove garlic
Beef broth
Flour
Oil