Beef and Potato Stew

Today was a chilly day with snowflakes swirling in the air. The temperature took a nose dive from this week end's balmy mid 70s to barely reaching 40 today. There seems to be no end to the weirdness of the weather this season. Well, it was a perfect day for meat and potatoes!

A good friend of mine recommended this recipe to me. She says it is one of her family's favorite dishes, and her family is very similar to my own (4 kids). This is so easy to put together. I didn't even peel the potatoes! I cooked it in the slow cooker, but you can cook this in the oven too with minor adjustments. However you cook it, I am certain that you and your family will enjoy this dish. My 5-year old asked for seconds which rarely happens. That speaks volumes as to how wonderful this dish is. Thanks Kristin for sharing this one! It will definitely go in the favorites category.

Beef and potato Stew

3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

(Or buy any stew meat on sale already cubed like I did!)

1/3 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound medium onions (that's about 2), cut into 1-inch chunks

1 pound small white or red new potatoes, well scrubbed, halved if large

1 pound carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths

6 garlic cloves, smashed

2 bay leaves

2 cups water

Directions for the slow-cooker:

Place beef in 5-quart slow cooker. Distribute tomato paste, vinegar, and flour over beef and season generously with salt and pepper. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves. Add water. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or on the low setting for about 8 hours. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning.

Oven directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a dutch oven (5-quart), combine ingredients as above adding 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until meat is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves.

Serve with bread. Enjoy!

Serves 6 well

(Original recipe from Everyday Food, October 2006)