Very Meaty Beef Stew

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The weather here started to cool off and you can feel the change in the air. I started to crave a home-made beef stew like my grandmother used to make. I decided to try to make this stew very meaty. Since my kids are picky about what goes into the stew, for instance, no green beans, no peas, no mushrooms, no this – no that, I had trouble deciding what to put into the stew besides the meat. I came up with beans, poblano peppers, potatoes, and carrots. They said this is the best stew that I have ever made. If you tried my butternut squash stew recipe and didn't like it, you will probably like this recipe. There isn't any funky new taste - just good ole' homemade stew - like Grandma used to make.

Ingredients

3 lbs chuck roast cut into bite size pieces
2-3 Tbsp cooking oil (olive, or canola, etc)
3 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 tsp minced garlic
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2-3 cups beef broth
2/3 – ¾ cup chopped carrots
2 medium-large russet potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 chopped roasted poblano peppers
1 can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
½-1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

Chop up your meat. Coat your meat with the flour and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Prepare a stock pot by drizzling a little oil in the bottom preferably olive or canola, or I, myself use Smart Balance which is a blend of oils (it is delicious and my B/P and cholesterol have never been better) and let this warm up before adding the meat. Add the meat and let the meat brown on all sides at a Medium to Medium high setting. Don’t be tempted to stir it a lot either, leave it alone and let it brown real good, then stir it. You don’t want it to burn, but the longer you leave it the better. After the meat is browned all over, take 2 Tbsp of tomato paste and blend it into the meat. Now add 2-3 cups of beef broth. Adjust the heat so that when you put a lid on – the meat is simmering. I usually have mine at Medium High, then Medium and then between Medium and Medium low. Stir every now and then to get everything off the bottom of the pan. Let the meat cook like this for a good while. Say about an hour or so. The potatoes and carrots need to go in after an hour. You can use more potatoes and carrots, but I wanted this to be a meaty stew. After you put the potatoes and carrots in, you can prepare the poblano peppers while the stew continues to cook.

How to prepare the poblano peppers:

Turn your oven to broil. Place 2 poblano peppers on a cookie sheet. Let the peppers broil for 2-4 minutes per side. When they start to turn black, take a pair of tongs and turn them over. After they have blackened in the oven, place them in a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place in the frig or freezer for a couple of minutes til they cool down. Using your knife, cut around the pepper below the stem in a complete circle (horizontally) and remove the top as if it were a cap – usually most of the seeds will come off in this manner. Then cut a slit all the way down the side (vertically) and lay the pepper open. Then remove the skins which should peel off easily rinse them and discard any seeds and skin. Then chop them into small pieces.

Add the chopped poblano, peppers and the beans, last but not least, season your stew with the oregano and basil. Add any salt or pepper if needed. Now enjoy!

Note – I didn’t need to add any additional water to my stew, but if you feel it is too thick, then add more broth or water to the stew.

Beef Stew with Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes

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I saw Giada make this on her Food Network show “Everday Italian” (click here to visit that link)and thought I would give it a try. I did not follow her recipe to the “T”, but I did make mine with the butternut squash and sweet potatoes like she did. It is different.

Ingredients

1 chuck roast about 1.75 lbs cut into bite size pieces or 1 package precut stew meat between 1-2 lbs
1 small to medium butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
1 bag baby leaf spinach
1 can Northern beans
Chicken bouillon cubes or chicken broth
Beef bouillon cubes or beef broth
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
1/4-tsp red pepper flakes
Minced garlic
1/2-cup light brown sugar (optional)
3 TBS flour
3 TBS oil
3 TBS corn starch

Take your meat and mix it with about 3 TBP flour and season it with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little oil in the bottom of a stock pot – add your meat. Put it in the pan and leave it alone. But don’t let it burn. Mix it til all sides get evenly browned. You don’t want to keep stirring it. Let it cook on it’s own. Add your minced garlic – I used 2 teaspoons to 1.75 lbs of meat. Either prepare beef broth yourself using bouillon cubes (in another pot 3 cups of water heated with 2 beef bouillon cubes) or pour 3 cups of beef broth into the meat. Put a lid on it and bring it up to a boil then back down to Medium and let it simmer.

Now prepare your squash and sweet potatoes. Peel them and cut them into small cubes. Discard the seeds to the squash. In a separate pan prepare your own chicken broth (3 cups of water heated with 2 chicken bouillon cubes) or pour 3 cups of chicken broth into the stew meat along with the squash and sweet potatoes. You need to bring this up to a boil and then back down to a simmer.

Season with salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper. Let the stew cook for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

I add about 2 cups of chicken broth to a pan and add almost a whole bag of baby spinach to it. This will cook down. Then add it to the stew, you may not want to add the broth if it will make it have too much liquid. Stews are supposed to be thick. To thicken it up – I take 3 TBS of corn starch and the same amount of cold water and stir til smooth and add it to the stew.

When you notice that the squash and sweet potatoes are done, you probably want to make sure the heat is not above Medium-low or else the stew may turn into mush.

About 15-20 minutes before serving, add a can of beans and your light brown sugar to taste. I noticed that without the sugar, the stew is a little bit tart, but a little brown sugar gives it a nice flavor. If you’re not sure if you want to add the sugar, put some stew in a bowl and sprinkle a little brown sugar on it to see if you like the taste before you add it to the whole pot.

I personally think the squash and sweet potatoes would make a delicous soup if pureed and cooked in chicken broth and seasoned with brown sugar.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this stew. I wanted to make something different than the same old stew with carrots, potatoes, and peas.