Beef Stew

Beef stew just screams "comfort food" to me. I'm not sure why, but I haven't made it in years. I stumbled across this particular recipe on Allrecipes.com about a month ago and it was to die for! The beef literally melted in your mouth and the vegetables remained slightly crisp...far from being overcooked. When I've made beef stew in the past, I've found the meat to be rather dry and tough and the vegetables to be mushy. I read through a great number of the reviews, prior to making it, and I did take a few suggestions, in addition to tweaking it a bit on my own. The original recipe did call for 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed, but my family prefers it served over mashed potatoes, so we omitted them in the stew. If you prefer to add them while cooking, they would be added to the pot the same time as the other veggies. As written, this recipe should easily feed 5-6 people.

1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 lbs cubed stew meat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
32 oz beef broth (or 4 beef bouillon cubes, dissolved in 4 cups water)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces (or 1 lb baby carrots)
6 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons cold water

Combine flour, garlic powder, pepper and onion powder in large ziploc bag or bowl. Add cubed stew meat and shake to coat.

In a large pot or dutch oven, cook beef in oil over medium heat until brown. Add beef broth to pot. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

Stir carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Dissolve cornstarch in 4 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. Cover and simmer 1 hour more.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com