Picture from joyouslydomestic Image Credit: Angela |
Slow
Cooker Beef Stew - Prepped the Night Before
“I use a
combination of beef and chicken stock in my stew. If you'd like, you can use just beef stock or
broth. And, of course, this can be put together in the morning on the day you
plan to eat it. If doing so, just follow
the directions all of the way through from starts to finish.” Angela
Ingredients:
½ - 1 pound
beef stew meat (mine was about 3/4 of a pound)
½ cup all
purpose flour
1 tablespoon
seasoning salt
2 tablespoons
olive oil
½ teaspoon
black pepper
1 large
onion, diced
2 bay leaves
¼ cup
Worcestershire sauce
2 - 3 cups
stock or broth (depends on how big your potatoes - I use around 2 - 2 1/2 cups)
2 beef
bouillon cubes
6 potatoes,
washed and cut into chunks (you can leave the peel on or remove - your
preference)
4 large
carrots, peeled and sliced
1 stalk
celery, diced
Handful of
button mushrooms, washed (these can be left whole, cut in half or sliced - your
preference)
½ - 1 cup
frozen peas (optional)
Preparation:
Shake the beef stew meat in a resealable
plastic bag with the flour and seasoning salt until
evenly coated.
Heat the
olive oil in a skillet.
Add the
floured stew meat to the pan and brown on all sides.
Remove using
tongs.
Place into
the bottom of your slow cooker.
Season with pepper.
Sauté the
diced onion and mushrooms in the same hot skillet for a couple of minutes. Don't
worry about cleaning the pan out in
between - that's added flavor! If
needed, drizzle in a little more oil to the pan.
Transfer into
the slow cooker.
Pour into the
pan the Worcestershire sauce and broth/stock.
Add in
bouillon cubes.
Whisk until
mixed ... making sure you scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the
pan.
Simmer until bouillon cubes
dissolve.
Turn off the
heat and set aside.
Allow to cool while you prep the other
veggies.
Add the carrots, celery and bay leaves to the
slow cooker.
Pour the
broth/Worcestershire mixture into the slow cooker, as well. Combine.
If you're
making this the night before, this is when you'd place the entire slow cooker
insert (with
lid on) in the fridge. (Say
goodnight, beautiful stew-in-the-making!)
I keep my potatoes separate overnight by
submerging them in cold water (after washing and
cubing) in a large bowl and
covering. (I find that if I add them to
the slow cooker with everything
else overnight, they become overly discolored
from the brown liquid.)
Do not add
peas, if using, the night before.
In the morning, drain water from potatoes and
add them into the slow cooker.
You can add
in peas at this point, if using, or wait until the last couple of hours of
cooking (this
retains a little more of their freshness and color).
Push the
potatoes down into the liquid as much as possible with a spoon when you begin
cooking. You don't want them to oxidize
from not being submerged.
Cook stew on
low for 8 hours.
Remove the
bay leaves before serving.
Taste and
adjust seasoning ... you may find you want a little salt added or more pepper.
If you find
that you'd like your liquid a little thicker at serving time, you can always
mix a little
cornstarch with water and blend it into the liquid.
You can
combine this amazing recipe with some others from our collection.
Serve 4.
Enjoy this
recipe and many more visiting joyouslydomestic
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