Beef Stew

This is one of my all time favorite meals. It just screams homey and the warm and comforting taste is like a big hug on a bad day. And I'm not even overstating this. I really like beef stew haha. I made this because while visiting my cousin Alexa in boulder we talked about food and this meal came up. My other cousin, Jenna, wanted it too and since I was home this past weekend I decided to make it for her and some other friends who were over. The pressure was on this time though because two friends who hadn't tasted my food before were trying it and I wanted to impress. I believe I was successful at this since there wasn't any stew left after the meal and I made a double portion!

I love this dish because it's cheap but filling. You buy cheap meat, add lots of veggies, and then rice which is just dirt cheap. Feel free to add more veggies if you want to stretch the amount of beef stew. You can add zucchini (cut into half moons), green beans, or broccoli florets. Just add these in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they don't get soggy.

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 pound of beef stew (it may also be called beef for stewing, it'll be cut into chunks)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2-5 cloves of roughly chopped garlic (2 if you like garlic, 5 cloves if you LOVE garlic!)
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 32 oz box of beef stock (the box is best because you can reseal it if you don't use all the stock but if you want to buy cans go for it, you'll prob need 2 14 oz cans and if it's not enough to cover beef, add some water)
3 medium size russet potatoes, cut into bite size chunks
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds/half moons

Directions:

1. Brown beef in olive oil in a large, deep pan, over medium high heat. You want the outside to be really caramelized and this will take some time. As you brown beef, liquid will come out. allow this to evaporate and keep cooking until all sides of beef chunks are deep golden brown. Stir every minute or 2 so sides don't burn.

2. Slice onions and garlic while beef browns and when beef has enough color, add both to pan. Allow onions to caramelize down for about 5-10 minutes, this adds more flavor to the sauce.

3. Add can of tomatoes and allow to cook for a minute.

4. Add beef stock. You want all the beef to be covered with liquid. (that last sentence is basically the definition of a stew). Allow liquid to come to a simmer then cover and lower heat to low.

5.Let the beef cook for a minimum of 1 and ½ hour. The longer the better. You want the meat to be really tender, falling apart even. If beef becomes uncovered with liquid, add more stock or water until beef is totally submerged again.

6. After your happy with doneness of beef, add potatoes and carrots. Allow these to cook for about a half hour. Once you add the potatoes and carrots, start making the rice. This way they should both be done about the same time.

7. Once potatoes and carrots are tender, add extra veggies (see above note) if your going to and cook an extra 5 minutes.

8. Serve by putting a good amount of rice into a bowl, season with salt, then spoon beef stew over top. Make sure to add lots of the stewing liquid because rice will soak it up and this adds more flavor.