Savory Beef Stew

Stew is one of my favorite winter meals. It's an easy dish that only requires time for the meat to become tender.

This recipe was quick, easy and oh so delicious. I had leftovers today of this stew...and oh man ... that was almost worth just making to stew to have leftovers.

Savory Beef Stew
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 6

2 1/4 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into small chunks
1/4 c flour
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 c diced onions
2 T minced garlic
6 c low sodium beef broth
2 c chopped carrots
2 c peeled and diced russet potatoes
1 c diced celery
1 T thyme
1 T tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c cold water
2 T cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste

Toss beef chunks with flour. Heat 1 T oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear beef in two batches until it's browned on all sides. Adding 1 T oil as needed. Remove beef to a plate, and set aside.

Add remaining 1 T oil to pot, sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes.

Deglaze pot with 1/2 c broth, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add remaining 5 1/2 c broth, carrots, potatoes, celery, thyme, tomato paste, W sauce, beef, and bay leaves. [Jenn Note: I wouldn't add the potatoes at this time. They got too  mushy. When I make this again, I'll add the potatoes for them to cook right before I wanted to eat.] Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Whisk together water and cornstarch; stir into stew. Boil stew 1 minute. Remove from pot from heat, remove bay leaves and serve.