Red Wine Beef Stew

Red Wine Beef Stew Ingredients

·        Sweet red wine ( 1 wine glass)

·        Stewing Beef (about 4 lbs.)

·        3-5 Golden potatoes (diced)

·        Beef Bouillon (approximately 1 or 2 table-sized spoons full. This allows me to cut back on salt later)

·        Sweet or Yellow Onion (chopped)

·        Celery (chopped)

·        Carrot (chopped)

·        Frozen peas

·        Minced garlic

·        Tomato paste ( approximately 2-3 table-sized spoons full)

·        Olive oil (approximately 2-3 tbsps)

·        Salt, pepper

·        Garlic powder

·        Onion powder

·        Dried Thyme

·        Dried Rosemary

·        Worcestershire sauce

·        2 Cups Water

·        Cornstarch

*I use cornstarch instead of flour because it helps the sauce thicken better. I highly recommend using cornstarch, but flour is also acceptable. Don’t skip this vital step. It will also help your meat hold flavor!

·        Chop all of your veggies and potatoes. You will want this step done first so you can throw them all into the pot when the time comes

*Also, choose a waxy starchy potato like Yukon gold potatoes, not a russet or baking potato.

·        In a large bowl, season the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well

·        Add cornstarch to the beef. Coat, and mix well

·        Add vegetable oil to a frying pan. Once heated, brown the beef. You DO NOT want to cook the meat thoroughly. Just enough to brown the outside. Add to the crockpot

·        Turn crockpot on to either low or high setting ( High to cook for 4 hours- low to cook for 6 to 8)

·        Mix spoonful(s) of beef bouillon with 2 cups boiled/hot water( you want the water hot enough to dissolve the powder). Add to crockpot

·        Add potatoes to the crockpot, stir, and cover

·        In the skillet, add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook over medium heat until they start becoming tender.

·        Add Tomato paste to the skillet and mix to coat veggies well. Transfer to the crockpot leaving a small amount of paste and veggies in the skillet.

·        Pour the wine into the skillet and cook for a few minutes to scrape up brown bits and allow the flavor to mix with the paste and veggies. Transfer to the crockpot

·        Stir all of the ingredients in the crockpot well and add thyme and rosemary. Cover

·        Check the stew a few times throughout the cooking process and stir. Add salt and garlic powder as needed for taste

·        Towards the end of cooking (around 30-45 minutes), add the frozen peas to the pot and stir

·        Your stew is done when the potatoes are soft enough to cut through.