Cold Weather Beef Stew Homestead Style

All ingredients are in the crock pot.
Now to slow cook all day.

Summer is over. Officially over. Our highs this week hovered around freezing. Thursday the weather reporters put out the word a hard frost was heading our way. That means get the rest of the vegetables out of the garden. My good friend Sharon and her husband brought me a bunch of produce from their garden. I am so grateful that my friends think of me when they have extra bounty. There is nothing quite as good as home-grown fruits and vegetables. Today I am using the rest of the green beans up by adding them to my stew. The great thing about stew is that you can add this and that, customizing your stew each time you make it.


Here is my recipe for a good, hearty winter stew:

1 lb Small Red Potatoes
1 lb Bag of Baby Carrots
1 - 2 Onions, chopped
1.5 lbs Stew Beef
1 10 oz can chopped Tomato (or add fresh if you have them)
6 teaspoons of Beef Bullion
1/2 cup Lima Beans or peas
1 handful of string beans, cut into sections
Herbs of your choice (Rosemary is one of my favorites)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the meat. Add it and all the ingredients to the crock pot and cover with water. Give it a stir with a wooden spoon and let her slow cook all day.  Enjoy the lovely aroma of warm and hearty food cooking.

Just before serving add a thickener if so desired. I add a 1/2 cup of water mixed with corn starch to thicken my stew, but I have also added powdered/freeze dried mash potato flakes (as is my plan tonight). Serve with warm biscuits or fresh, hot bread with butter.

Winter is the perfect time to experiment with hearty and filling foods. It can only get better when you are using fresh veggies from the recent harvest.

Stay warm!!