Beef Stew

So, for some reason, last week Joe and I ate dinner around 9:00 p.m. almost every night. In case you don't know, for Midwesterners, this is unusual. Midwesterners eat dinner around 6ish, possibly even 5. I tried to spin it and say I was trying to bring some culture into our household and eat dinner like a European, but the reality was I had chosen meals that took a long time to make. Especially when I would usually get home around 7:30 from my fusion fitness classes. Well, that, and the fact that I had chosen one crock pot recipe, and had failed to wake up early enough in the morning to prep for it. That extra 20 minutes in bed just proved too tempting.

The recipe in question was a beef stew recipe. Last week in Kansas City was unseasonably cold. I figured while it was still cold, I would make those cold weather recipes that usually don't seem right to make from about March until October. I had found this Beef Stew and Butternut Squash recipe, that sounded too good to pass up. Being that I couldn't find any Butternut Squash at my local grocery store, it turned into just a Beef Stew recipe. One that we ate around 9:30. It was still yummy, however.

Given that is is supposed to be 38 degrees here in Kansas City tomorrow (I thought Missouri was supposed to be warm), and snowing up in my home state of Minnesota, I though people could use some cold weather recipes to warm them up.

Crock Pot (or not, whatever) Beef Stew
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

1.5 lbs. beef stew meat, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbs. canola oil
5 small red potatoes
3 large carrots, sliced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
10 oz. sliced mushrooms
4 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 cup flour

Toss the chopped beef in the flour. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the beef and garlic, and continue to saute. Once the beef has browned, transfer the contents of the skillet into a large pot. Add the mushroom, carrots, potatoes, and the bay leaf, and then cover in the beef broth. Now add the Worcestershire sauce, the soy sauce, the sugar, and the paprika.

Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 3 hours.

If you instead want to use a crock pot, once the beef has browned add all the ingredients into the crock pot in the same order. Cook for 8-10 hours.

You can eat your beef stew on the table like a civilized person, or...

... under the covers like a woman who has already put away all their winter clothing.

Enjoy!