By Miranda
1.5 lbs stew beef
1 Tbs oil
1 med-lg onion chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup red wine
2-3 cups stock
3 carrots, chopped (1 inch chunks)
8 oz. mushrooms
s+p
2 Tbs butter
2-3 Tbs flour (depending on how thick you prefer the broth)
1 Tbs fresh thyme or 1.5 tsp dried
Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes (look at my pasta recipe if
interested in making it from scratch)
Heat oil in large oven-safe heavy bottom pot over medium high heat. I use my cast iron stock pot. (If you dont have something like this you can transfer it into a crock pot and cook on low). Brown the stew beef pieces in small batches so you don't crowd the pan, so they are nicely browned on all sides (dont move them or stir them- just let them brown then turn them over).
Cover the pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees for about 5 hours. Again, if you do not have an oven-safe pot you can put this in a crock pot on low for the same amount of time. This gets the beef super tender and delicious!
After 5 hours, add in the carrots and mushrooms (really any combination of vegetables would work- butternut squash or green beans would be good too) and continue to cook for 1 hour, covered.
10 minutes prior to eating, melt the butter in the microwave and whisk in the flour until smooth. Stir this into your stew to thicken, and season with salt and pepper. Put it back into the oven to cook for the remaining 10 minutes. Serve stew over noodles or mashed potatoes. Yum!