A short one

Basic Beef Stew for beginners!

1 1/2 lbs Beef Chuck/Stew Beef

6 Cups Water

1 Tbsp Butter/Margarine

2 Large Potatoes

2 Carrots

Flour!

This is a very basic stew. Follow these directions and add what you would like at any point.

Melt butter in large pot. Cut beef into 1/2 to 1" cubes and place in zip lock bag with flour to coat. Sear beef on medium heat. Add water and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer for 2 hours. The longer you simmer the more tender the meat.

After 2 hours add potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes and carrots cut into thin slices. At this point I usually add green onions and garlic. Add anything else you want at this point. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

If the stew is too thin you can use butter/margarine and flour to create a roux. Add stew liquid into the roux pan until completely dissolved and mix in with stew. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

This stew is great with sourdough bread bowls. The longer you simmer the stew the better. I let this simmer for 6 hours once and the beef fell apart when I picked it up off the spoon. I have to credit my father in law Chester with helping me out. I really screwed this up the first time and he saved me!

Enjoy and please comment on any successful additions!