Beef Stew

First, I want to wish my daughter Rachael a Happy 15th Birthday! And where does she get to spend her special day? At school then at a cheer dinner for her sister and other girls she coaches. Each year, the kids usually plan their own dinner menu and I make whatever it is they want. She wants me to make Country Chicken (I'll upload a better picture after Thursday!) with some rice, a salad and an ice cream cake.  So due to this cheer dinner (and the fact that my husband is MIA on a business trip until later tonight),  we're going to have to move it out one day but wanted her to know how special she is and how much she is loved every day. xo


And now for today's recipe...Do you have a certain meal you only make every now and then or only on special occasions? Well, the only time I seem to make Beef Stew is the day after Thanksgiving. Early on in my marriage, we lived in a townhouse and we decided to splurge and buy an artificial Christmas tree. Mainly because the first year we were there, we were cleaning up pine needles well into the middle of February due to the heating vents. Anyway, since we didn't have to worry about our tree drying out, we started to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and I decided to make a beef stew for dinner. This way, we could spend the hours it took to put up all of the decorations and when we were done, dinner would be all ready for us. Maybe it's because after so much poultry, I just craved beef. I don't really know but I guess it took about 3 years of doing this to realize that it had become a habit or tradition. So, here we are, 16 years later and I once again, made this stew the day after Thanksgiving. And, since we're waiting a week to put up the decorations, I think I make it to have something else other than poultry! This meal takes about 20 minutes to prepare, then just let it cook and do it's thing. I serve it over egg noodles but you could also use rice if you prefer that instead. 

Beef Stew
3 1/2 lb. Beef Bottom Round Roast (or Beef Cubes)
1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp. Canola Oil
2 c. Carrots, chopped
1/2 c. Spanish Onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
3 Stalks Celery, chopped
1/2 c.  Chianti Wine
1 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1 Sprig Fresh Thyme
3 1/2 c. Low-Sodium Beef Broth
4 Medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper


Cut the beef into 1" cubes, then coat with flour. Add oil to a Dutch oven or large pot and add beef. Brown meat on all sides, remove then set aside. In the same pot, add the carrots, onion, garlic, celery and rosemary and saute for approximately  5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bits from bottom of the pot, then add in the beef broth. Next, add the beef. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 20-25 minutes. Add in the potatoes and let simmer for another hour. Season with salt and pepper and serve over egg noodles or rice. Serves 10. 


Points+=9 (not including the egg noodles or rice)


Also, if you haven't noticed, I added a poll to the page this week. I'm curious to know what time of day most of you actually read blog posts or go online for that matter. So if  you wouldn't mind, cast your vote so that I can plan my posts so that it is more convenient for all of you~Thank you! <3


Enjoy!