Beef Stew

I made a delicious beef stew last night, and I thought I would share the recipe before I forgot it. This could easily be made vegetarian, by replacing the beef stock with vegetable stock (and removing the meat, obviously.)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 lbs stew beef, cut into pieces
salt & pepper

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced

2 Tbsp tomato sauce or ketchup
1 Tbsp good mustard
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Cup good red wine
1 Tbsp powdered onion soup mix

2 bay leaves
1 tsp sage
salt & pepper

Unsalted beef stock

Peel and chop:
1 large sweet potato
4 small potatoes
2 large carrots
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1. Pat meat dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil in dutch oven or soup pot on med-high heat
3. Add meat, brown on all sides
4. Remove meat from pot, leave all juices and brown bits (great flavor!)

5. Reduce heat to med-low
6. Add up to 2 Tbsp of olive oil
7. Add onions, cook for a couple of minutes
8. Add garlic, carrot, and celery; cook 5-10 more minutes, stirring regularly

9. Reduce heat to low
10. Add tomato sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, and soup mix; stir
11. Scrape up any browned bits that are still stuck to the bottom of the pan
12. Add bay leaves, sage, and salt & pepper
13. Add meat and enough beef stock to cover; cover and cook for about 1 hour

14. Add sweet potato, potato, and carrots; add more beef stock or water, if necessary
15. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes
16. Adjust salt & pepper as needed
17. Enjoy!

This stew only gets better the next day, so feel free to make ahead! I served it with fresh bread and a salad. Yum!