| When cool weather starts to drift in at our Alabama | | | | * 4-5 medium white potatoes (peeled and diced) |
| home, I go through my recipe books and start pulling | | | | * 1/2 cup cold water |
| out all my favorite soup and stew recipes. These | | | | * 1/4 cup flour |
| hearty comfort foods stir up deep rooted memories | | | | Here are the steps you will take: |
| from my childhood. This is a beef stew recipe from | | | | 1. Place flour in a bowl or container. Season with |
| my mother's collection that I've used for many years. | | | | Lawry's and black pepper. |
| A simmering stew fills our house with a warm, | | | | 2. Place meat chunks in flour and roll around until |
| comforting aroma, and everyone knows that | | | | dusted evenly. |
| whatever is stewing in the pot is going to fill their bowl | | | | 3. Place 1/2 of the oil in a non-stick kettle or stew pot. |
| and their stomach soon with something good. | | | | 4. Heat on low to medium. |
| My mother had to stretch a food dollar a long way to | | | | 5. Place meat chunks into pot. Do not crowd. |
| feed seven. That was hard in the 60's when most | | | | 6. Brown on all sides. Remove to plate. |
| women stayed at home and families survived on one | | | | 7. Add rest of oil, brown remaining chunks. |
| income. This stew is economical and usually feeds my | | | | 8. Return all meat chunks to the pot. |
| family two or three meals. | | | | 9. Add rehydrated onion flakes, garlic or garlic powder, |
| This recipe is simple, yet delicious. You can always add | | | | boiling water, salt, lemon juice, pepper, paprika, |
| other things to it if you like, but I recommend trying it | | | | Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and allspice. |
| just once exactly the way it is. The ingredients are | | | | 10. Using a wooden spoon, stir thoroughly, using the |
| inexpensive, and it is delicious served up with soft | | | | spoon to "loosen" any browned bits from the pan |
| white bread slices and a glass of cold iced tea. | | | | bottom. |
| Here are the ingredients you will need: | | | | 11. Cover the pot. Do not leave lid ajar. Simmer for two |
| * 1-1/2 pounds of beef tips (stew meat can be used, | | | | hours. Stir occasionally. |
| but beef tips are excellent; if you use stew meat, trim | | | | 12. After two hours, peel and dice potatoes. Add to |
| fat and gristle before cooking) | | | | stew. |
| * flour, black pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt | | | | 13. Peel and dice carrots. Add to stew. |
| * 2-1/2 TBSP vegetable oil | | | | 14. Add small white onions if you are using them. |
| * Rehydrated onion flakes (placed dried flakes in small | | | | 15. Cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. |
| amount of water for about 5 minutes) | | | | 16. Discard bay leaves and garlic clove ( if you did not |
| * 1 clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder | | | | use garlic powder). |
| * 4-1/2 cups very hot or boiling water (I microwave it) | | | | 17. Mix 1/2 cup cold water with 1/4 cup flour. Blend it |
| * 1 TBSP salt | | | | thoroughly. |
| * 1 TBSP lemon juice | | | | 18. Add to stew, and boil gently for a 2-3 minutes. |
| * 1 tsp sugar | | | | 19. Remove stew from heat. Allow to sit covered until |
| * 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce | | | | ready to eat. |
| * 1 tsp pepper | | | | Again, I serve this with cold sweetened ice tea and |
| * 2 bay leaves (remove before eating stew) | | | | soft white loaf bread. The bread is delicious dipped in |
| * 1/2 tsp paprika | | | | the gravy. I also like a few dollops of Louisiana Hot |
| * dash of allspice (cloves will work as well; we prefer | | | | Sauce on my stew to add a little spice. Leftovers are |
| allspice) | | | | delicious. If stew thickens more than you like, you can |
| * 5-6 carrots | | | | thin it with some tomato juice or a little bit of water. |
| * 1 pound small white onions (optional) | | | | |