Grandma's Beef Stew

My grandma's beef stew is something that I feel most all of us women in the family know how to cook. Well, any one of us that has ever taken any amount of time to learn it that is. I was first given the recipe when I was just 19 years old and marrying my highschool sweetheart. My aunt had decided to do a special activity at my bridal shower where all the women wrote down recipes and any advice they may have for me as I embarked on this new journey in life. My grandma wrote down a couple of recipes that day for me that she knew I held dear to my heart that were from her kitchen but this one has always been able to make a rainy day seem bright and even a sunny day brighter. It is put together with love, care and all the aspects of a good cook. I believe every single one of us probably cook this dish a little differently, each adding our own flare to it but also somewhat sticking to the original recipe. My grandma likes to say that this dish is about emptying out your pantry and your freezer, anything that needs to be cooked can have a chance to get cooked within this dish. This dish is about family....So, without further pause you will need..

Serves about 6 people

The ingredients

Steak cubes(about 2 pounds)

Coat with flour or cornstarch(about 2 TBS)

A splash of red wine if you have it(it helps break down the toughness of the meat making it more tender and easy to chew but so does the flour/cornstarch so no worries if no wine)

Roughly 2 cups of beef broth

2 15 oz cans of tomato sauce

1 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes or 1-2 freshly diced tomatoes

A splash of Dale's Steak seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Any vegetables in freezer you want to throw in that you need to get rid of ex.

Carrots

Celery

Onions

Potatoes

Lima beans

You can even throw in some macaroni noodles if you want; all of this is just whatever you do or do not want to do and based on your preferences as far as amount as well.

How I prepare this meal...

I usually use my Dutch oven my mother got me for Christmas a Christmas or two ago if I'm in a hurry but the best way to cook this is actually in a crockpot as it gives both the meat and the vegetables plenty of time to simmer and cook all the way through ensuring the meat will be soft and chewy. So, no matter what you use you will first place your beef in the cooking vessel you have chosen. Be sure your cooking vessel is on a medium heat. Even in my crock pot I am able to brown meat and that it what you will need to do to your steak meat first and foremost. I usually will coat the meat with the flour or cornstarch as I toss it about in the pot and as it gets browned occasionally adding a splash of water if it starts to stick or if I have some red wine I will add the wine in this step. Once your meat has a good sear on it but not done all the way through because remember it still has some cooking to do with the vegetables and we do not want it getting too done, we want to start adding the salt, pepper, Dale's Steak seasoning, beef broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce. We let that simmer together a minute or two stirring it all together then add the rest of our ingredients which will be any vegetables we want in the stew. This stew is quite a bit based on preference so if you want the stew thicker add less tomato sauce or less beef broth or more if you want more of a soup texture. To be honest, I never measure anything with this so these are all estimations of how much I use.

I do hope you've enjoyed making this soup with me! It makes my heart happy to share one of the masterpieces of my family. One last tip, I used to add all kinds of extra spices to this and I kept noticing that although my stew was good it just didn't taste like my grandma's so one day, I watched her thoroughly as she made her stew. That's when I noticed she only used salt, pepper and Dale's Steak Seasoning for seasoning. She told me to keep it simple, it didn't need much. It just needs a little love and attention to reach perfection. A life lesson in cooking...enjoy!