Beef Stew Is The Best Winter Time Meal!

Using A Wood Stove For Cooking and Heating Water!

One nice thing about the cooler temperatures is the fact that I can simmer foods on the wood stoves all day. The cook stove is used all year long, but right now the wood heating stove is a big addition to our food preparation. It is a good use of energy, heating the house, heating water and cooking our food. What could be better than that? Saves money by not using the propane stove unless we have to.

Choosing Good Quality Produce!

One nice thing about the cooler temperatures is the fact that I can simmer foods on the wood stoves all day. The cook stove is used all year long, but right now the wood heating stove is a big addition to our food preparation. It is a good use of energy, heating the house, heating water and cooking our food. What could be better than that? Saves money by not using the propane stove unless we have to.

Stew Beef from MaineSource Food and Party Warehouse

I like to put a lot of beef in our stew. Usually a pound is what most recipes call for. I double that. The day I made this batch, I think I used about three pounds. Stew can be made from just about any meat you choose, or even no meat, for all the vegetarians reading this. Another reason I make so much is that right now I have three hungry men here and I like to have leftovers. This is my basic recipe, though I eliminate the onions  because my husband does not care for onions........matter of fact, he HATES them. So I go without even though I love onions myself. What I do for that man!

Dredge the beef cubes in flour.

Homemade Beef Stew

3 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt/ optional

1 1/2 lbs. stew meat

2 tbsp. oil

1 medium onion, chopped, optional

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. thyme

3 c. vegetable juice cocktail

2 cups seasoned beef broth/bouillion (no msg)

10 dashes Tabasco sauce

4 medium potatoes, cubed or chunks

1 1/2 c. sliced celery and leaves

1 1/2 c. sliced carrots, 2" pieces

Browning the beef cubes on the wood cook stove.

Mix the flour and salt (if you are adding it, I don't.). Add the meat cubes a few at a time and mix to coat. In a heavy skillet, brown the meat, a half at a time, in the oil on medium high. Put all the meat in a Dutch oven or large pot.Then add the onion, garlic, thyme, vegetable juice, broth, Tabasco sauce and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/4 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir in the potatoes, carrots and celery. Cover and simmer 30 minutes more. Thicken with flour or cornstarch like you do for gravy. It does not have to be thickened.  It is more like soup if you don't thicken it. Serves 6.

Browning the meat.

After the meat has browned, I add the water or juice. Sometimes I do not add the tomato juice but use beef broth and water. Another thing is that I don't really cook by a recipe much anymore. So this recipe is more basic. You can add what you want to it, or substitute other ingredients. It is all up to you and I know I say that about every recipe I post here. But that is how I cook.

Potatoes & Carrots Added.

The nice thing about cooking on the wood heating stove is that once the food is simmering, it is all done until you are ready to eat. I like to let it simmer overnight. Most stew recipes tell you to add the potatoes and carrots when it is almost done. I don't do that. I make sure everything is in the stew so it simmers overnight together. The potatoes and carrots still come out firm and not mushy. I like them to hold their shape and not fall apart in the liquid.

Celery leaves floating as it simmers

I sometimes add home canned corn or green beans. Sometimes, both. There are a variety of vegetables that can be used, and it is a good use of root vegetables. For winter time eating, nothing tops a homemade stew in my book. It is also one of my favorite ways to serve venison. If you make a really big batch, it is perfect for canning. Having jars of homemade beef stew in the pantry is the BEST way to get through winter! Yum yum!

Cooking all day and night!

I am writing this post because MaineSource Food and Party Warehouse requested my help in showing their customers how to shop in bulk to save money and time. They do not discuss with me, what I will be writing about or alter my opinions in any way! My loyalty to my readers will always come first.  See my FTC Blogging Disclosure on this blog.

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole