Soup, Again??

Last week Wart emailed belatedly asking for my Lion House recipe for Hearty Beef Stew; she and Ben wanted to have it Sunday for a friend coming from Utah. Unfortunately, I didn't get the email until early Sunday morning; too late to type the recipe and get it to them for that afternoon. (That'll teach her for emailing and not calling.)

Then, last week, much to my surprise, Macy's had chuck roast on sale. So what the heck, we'll have stew for the coming cold on Monday.
With daylight savings time ending "it is the longest day of the year," said Sparky. So I got up, cut up the roast into small bite sizes, and started the stew cooking. (It was also Fast Sunday, which added 45 minutes to the morning . . . no breakfast.)

Sunday morning was beautiful. The sky was blue; the fall leaves are red and yellow, timp was shining bright with its new layer of fresh snow, and Sparky said, "I'm going for a walk, wanna come?" Heck Yes! My momma didn't raise no dummy.

So, in between the walk, church and meetings I made stew. The recipe (per blogging protocol) is below, but I also added lentils and frozen peas. Plus I added extra potatoes and water. Surprising I was also able to retrieve the garlic on toothpicks, and with the spirit of "waste not, want not" I smashed them with a knife on the cutting board and threw them back into the pot.

I think every time I make this stew it seems like the type of soup pioneers would have made and kept warm on the back burner ready for Pa when he came in from the fields. :) As I did, you can just about throw in anything you have on hand.

One thing I don't know is what pot Wart was going to use to cook the stew, since she has my old set of aluminum cookware and I kept the 5 quart dutch oven. Oh well, that's her problem.

Hearty Beef Stew
2 pounds beef chuck, cut in cubes
2 Tbl shortening
4 cups water
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic (I used 2)
1 Tbl salt
1 Tbl lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (extra doesn't hurt)
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp paprika
2 bay leaves
Dash of allspice
6 carrots, cut in quarters
½ pound small white onions
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I did 5)
¼ cup flour

In heavy Dutch oven, slowly brown beef cubes in shortening. Turn often to brown meat on all sides. This should take about 15 minutes. Then add water, onion, garlic (on toothpick so you can retrieve it), salt, lemon juice, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, paprika, bay leaves and allspice. Cover with lid and simmer on low heat (do not boil) for 2 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

When meat is almost done, add carrots, onions, and potatoes, and simmer for 30 minutes more. Discard bay leaf and garlic. Pour ½ cup water in shaker and add ¼ cup flour; shake to blend. Either remove meat and vegetables from stock or move to one side in pan; stir in flour mixture. Cook and stir till gravy thickens and boils. Makes 8 servings.