I have been craving fall food lately, especially beef stew. In NC fall is in the air early even though it’s 85 degrees. It should still be sweltering! But I’ll take it, because fall is my favorite time of year.
The lighting outside has changed, the air isn’t as humid and it feels cooler and the sun is going down so quickly. With all of this, it’s no wonder I’ve been craving beef stew and all of my fall favorites. My poor hubby went out last night and scoured the stores for beef stew since I was craving it so badly. I guess everyone else is craving it too, because he had to go to a couple of stores to find it. But he finally find it! We didn’t eat supper till 9pm last night, but it was so worth the wait! It felt like home and we all curled up on the couches with piping hot bowls of it, creamy rice and buttery cornbread. It was a cozy fall-to-be evening.
Paula Deen’s Old Time Beef Stew recipe is amazing and it makes your kitchen smell so good. I love when I add in the spices because it instantly smelled like fall. Try it out, I’m sure you’ll love it!
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds stew beef
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions:
Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.
* The only changes that I made were: I didn’t have allspice so I did a few dashes of cinnamon and a pinch or two of nutmeg. I omitted the celery (my family doesn’t like it) and added about 7 diced potatoes. I also used 3 pounds of beef stew and cut it into smaller bite size chunks. It will cook a little quicker and it stretches out the meat. I also kept a watch on the water to make sure it didn’t cook away and added more if needed. I also adjusted the seasoning about 20 minutes before serving and added more if needed.
Serving Suggestion:
I served this with creamy rice; you can pour the stew over the rice which is really yummy and it helps the stew go further and it’s just really yummy, along with a side of buttery cornbread. Truly southern and yummy!
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