Hearty Beef Stew

Guess I have been on a cooking spree lately...tonight I made another new recipe.  This recipe, called Hearty Beef Stew, came from the cookbook, "Farm Recipes and Food Secrets from the Norske Nook."  The flavoring was very tasty, although I made some changes to the recipe.  You can find the original recipe in the cookbook on page 29. 

Hearty Beef Stew

3 lbs. stew meat

1 Tbsp.  Curt's garlic extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. meat seasoning (recipe below)

6 medium carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

8 potatoes

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup water

1.  Place olive oil in a large skillet and add the meat. Sear meat until brown.  Reduce the temperature to medium.  Add the meat seasoning, stir and continue cooking 5 minutes longer. Add enough water to cover the meat and cook until the water begins to boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the meat is  tender.

2.  While the meat is cooking, prep the vegetables.   Peel the carrot and slice into 1" pieces.  Cut the celery in half lengthwise and slice into 1/2" pieces.  Next, dice the onion into 1/4" pieces.  Finally, peel the potatoes and dice into 1" pieces.  Place vegetables into a stock pot, cover with water and cook until slightly tender.  Drain water into a bowl.  Place the vegetables in an oven-proof 2 quart casserole dish.


3.  Preheat the oven to 350'F.  Leaving the juice in the skillet, remove the stew meat and add the meat to the casserole dish.

4.  Pour the vegetable liquid into the skillet with the meat juice.  Make a slurry with the flour and water.  Add to the juice.  Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wire whisk, until thick and smooth.  Pour thickened slurry over the vegetables in the casserole dish.  Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbling.

Meat Seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. onion salt
1 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in a tightly covered container.