beef stew with mashed potatoes

okay.  so here's an iphone photo of the beef stew i made a while back. i mentioned it HERE. then i stumbled upon a post by the pioneer woman, who also made beef stew with mashed potatoes and i wrote about that HERE.

and today is snowy...and i'm NOT going to drive to the mountains to see my friend kylie...sad!...and i just so happen to have some beef stew meat thawed in the fridge...so i'm going to make beef stew again today...and i realized i hadn't yet shared the recipe with you! shame!

so here it is. loosely based on this recipe from the pioneer woman.

bacon grease (if you have it or you can use olive oil)
2 lbs beef stew meat
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 beef bullion cubes
4 cups water
2.5 tbsp cornstarch
carrots, cut in 1 inch pieces
celery, cut in 1 inch pieces
mushrooms, quartered
mashed potatoes

heat bacon grease or oil in a large pot. saute the stew meat until brown on all sides but NOT cooked through. remove from pot and set aside. add a bit more grease or oil, if necessary. add in the onion and saute until softened and golden in color. if using mushrooms you can add them in now and brown/caramelize them on all sides. add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant. stir in paprika, ketchup, parsley, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, sugar and salt. add in 4 cups of water + 4 beef bullion cubes. stir. add beef back in and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. after a couple hours, remove a bit of the beef broth and mix it together with 2.5 tbsp cornstarch to make a slurry. add the slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce. at this time you can add the carrots and celery (or any other vegetables you like). simmer for one more hour our until the vegetables are cooked through and the beef is very tender. serve over mashed potatoes.

**you can add in more water + beef bullion cubes at any point if you feel like the stew needs it.


this recipe makes my husband a very happy man. i hope it makes you and your husband giddy too!