Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Homemade Beef Stew with Egg Noodles

 "Whatever she did, it wasn't as bad as this is good. Right?"

Beef stew is one of those dishes that is deceptively temperamental. A little time, effort and patience are what separates a good Beef Stew from a great Beef Stew. This recipe, originally from my great grandmother is one that doesn't require so much effort as it does the ability to LEAVE IT ALONE. Beef Stew is a dish of mind over matter, the longer you cook it, the lower the temperature the more time you give it to sit and stew is directly related to just how good it will come out. Perfect for rainy days, dinner parties, a make up dinner after a fight with your significant other, or for those nights where nothing goes right, this beef stew has a magical quality to just kind of "make everything better". As a huge fan of chuck steak, this dish really makes this otherwise tough cut of meat the star of the show, and not to mention cuts down on the price of being one of those poor young adults who can't bare with the idea of not having meat because of its expense. So fret not young carnivores! You can have your fresh meat and afford it too!

Homemade Beef Stew with Egg Noodles:


1lb chuck beef (cubed)
2 cups baby carrots (halved)
7-8 red potatoes (diced)
1/3 cup red wine
1 1/2 onions (sliced)
4 cloves garlic (optional, but like, c'mon, duh)
15 baby bella mushrooms (halved)
2 quarts beef or mushroom stock
flour
oil
salt pepper to taste
  1. Add cubed beef into bowl and add about 1 cup of flour, about a tsp of salt and tsp of pepper. Shake and coat the meat with the flour until it's covered.
  2. Heat oil in a large pot and add the meat and flour mixture. (don't worry about excess flour, just add it to the pan!) toss in the pan until browned, let some of the flour stick to the pan and get crispy.
  3. Once the meat is browned, but not fully cooked through, add wine and allow the alcohol to burn off. Next add the stock, carrots, potatoes, onions, crushed garlic and mushrooms. You may want to add water here to see that the contents are submerged.
  4. Bring to a low boil and then let simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours, covered or uncovered depending on the thickness you'd like. As always, You can also added sifted flour to thicken the stock.
  5. Serve over lightly buttered egg noodles or with fresh bread. But honestly, wherever can add noodles to any recipe, do that.
The best part about this dish is that just like the soup, the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets. So if you can save a little bit so you can see what I'm talking about.

-Juju xo

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