Beef stew is total comfort food for me. When I was a kid, my mom would cook stew all day in the crock-pot and we would eat it with plain bread and butter. This is one of those recipes that I really love because it's very easy to make, it reminds me of my childhood and it makes the house smell so good. I love to cook the meat, onion, garlic, tomatoes and broth in the oven for about 4-5 hours then add the fresh vegetables and cook for another hour on the stove top. I serve with a tossed salad and fresh bread with butter. This is my daughters very favorite dinner and is a huge hit in our house - especially on cold and rainy days.
- 1 lb stew meat (I use lean round cut into small chunks)
- 1 sweet yellow onion chopped into large pieces
- 6 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1-2 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups of beef stock
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 cups diced baby red potatoes (skin on)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees (you can also use stove top or crock-pot). Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add stew meat and onion then cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, seasonings and stock. Cover and cook in the oven for at least 4 hours. Remove pot from oven place on stove top over medium low heat.
