This recipe is made for my friend Joanne. From her daily commute, to the hours that she spends at work, she is literally spending 12+ hours away from home. Does this sound like you? If so you need to get your self a slow cooker NOW. I've made beef stew once with my slow cooker, but this time I made sure to document the steps. My friend JoJo has been contemplating on getting a crockpot, well now she better get one. I mean it Jo. I know you will be seeing this post so the pressure is ON.

First things first. The night before, prepare EVERYTHING. For Jo, she's spending that much time away from home so I'm already assuming she will have no time to do so the day of. After all, one of the discouraging things about cooking is the prep work. But, if you actually do it ahead of time and be organized about it, you will realize how easy your life will become.

Recipe:

  • 4 pounds of beef chuck. Cut in Large chunks.
  • 2 large carrots. Cut 1-2 inches.
  • 4 celery roots + all the leaves from your original bundle.
  • 1 large white sweet potato. Cut into large cubes.
  • 1 large onion quartered. Not diced.
  • Literally, 10 cloves of garlic.
  • 1 cup of beef stock.
  • 2 Tablespoons of corn starch. (For last step to thicken the stew)
  • Salt.
  • Black Pepper.
  • Lawry's garlic parsley salt.

What? That's it? Remember! I want to make recipes that are within your reach meaning you should be able to whip up something quickly and not be intimidated. Don't underestimate yourself.

Whole Chuck

You can always get top round.. but I love fatty marbled meats. I always buy a large piece instead of little chunks because the meat will disintegrate if it's cut too small. Remember, if you have a career that's 8 hours of your day, and you live in Los Angeles, you are probably out of your home for 10+ hours of your day. Big chunks will make sure you will still have a normal looking stew. I seasoned the meat liberally with Lawry's garlic parsley salt. It's sold at your local grocery store, but a huge bottle can be found at Costco.

Sear this bitch on High. I used Thrive algae oil since it has a super high smoke point. All sides were nice and golden. After the beef is removed, I added about a 1/4 cup of water to scrape off the brown bits. It's all flavor sugah don't leave none of that behind. Let the beef cool, saran wrap, then throw this beast in the fridge!

 

The Layers

Ok, after coming home to his, I am changing the layers.
First layer should be onions & garlic, followed by potatoes, beef, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and celery leaves.

By leaving your meat on the bottom or mid layer, it will ensure you that your meat is submerged in sexiness till you arrive. Otherwise, it will get cold if your crockpot stopped at a certain hour. If your crockpot is off, turn it back on to mix 2 tablespoons of corn starch (dissolve with a little water before pouring the slurry) Cooked some spaghetti with it to arrive with:

Yum! Flavor PACKED! Amazing with spaghetti. You can always use a different starch, like rice, but I've been eating that almost everyday and wanted to break away from that (I used "Break away" because Kelly Clarkson "Break Away" is currently on). Use whatever you have! and remember if you have any leftover herbs that are almost at the end of their lifetime, go ahead and throw them in! Because.. who knows it might taste amazing.

If you let the stew cool completely in your fridge, you can make beef pot pie! Look at you all looking like a chef. I am so proud.

Get cozy with warm fuzzy foods.

Daisy

 

 

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