Christmas Eve Eve Beef Stew!

Today, while wallowing in the onset of another round of the "common cold" I decided on beef stew for dinner. I've mentioned before my love of soups in the slow cooker, but I've taken to making stews and chilies on the stove in a heavy bottomed stock pot as well. This beef stew (once again from PW's companion site tastykitchen.com) recipe took all of 10 minutes to prep, 2 hours to simmer and 5 minutes to devour the tasty.heartwarming.rib-sticking.awesome. Even my 3 year old ate it! The beef was tender, the seasoning was perfect.-- And there's a super special secret ingredient *raised eyebrow* ....

Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 pounds Beef Stew Meat
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 clove Garlic, Diced
1 whole Onion, Sliced
2 whole Bay Leaves (I use fresh bay leaves)
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Salt
½ teaspoons Paprika
¼ teaspoons Pepper
⅛ teaspoons Allspice

1 can low sodium Beef Broth

1 cup of roughly chopped carrots
5 whole Red Potatoes, chopped (or any kind of potato, really. Whatever you have on hand is perfect. If they are large potatoes -- like russets or baking-- cut this down to 2 whole ones)

2 Celery ribs, roughly chopped

... AND 1/2 cup coffee!  (I know, you don't believe me, but its true. I did it, .. I was scared, but it was really delicious!)

Step 1. 

Heat up the olive oil in your stock pot. Toss in the beef, onions and garlic and sear for about 5 minutes, or until browned on all sides. 

Step 2. 

Add the broth, the coffee (yes.. do it, I'm serious) all the spices and the bay leaves and simmer on medium-low for an hour - hour and a half.

Step 3. 

Toss in the veggies and cook for another 30 minutes, or until tender. 

Step 4.

Make about 1/4 cup of a flour slurry (that's flour and water mixed together) and briskly stir it in to the stew to thicken the broth. 

Step 5.

Enjoy the tender wholesome goodness with your favorite crusty bread in your favorite comfy spot and ride out the winter evening! 

<3