MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - BEEF STEW FOR…

these chilly evenings. It is described as ‘the most delicious beef stew of all time’. I don’t know about that, but it certainly was delicious and the first one made since last winter. Gregg got a great deal on chuck roast from Costco. It meant him buying a bigger than normal amount. We only have a small freezer at the bottom of our fridge, but fortunately we had done a good job of using up enough to accommodate his latest purchase. We used half of it today. 

I have several similar recipes on here for you to compare at this link, if you want to.  I was surprised at how many. I always enjoy trying new ones, even if it is the same kind of recipe. 

The Most Delicious Beef Stew of All Time - 6 servings

Today’s recipe can be found here at ‘thekitchn’. More to choose from at this link.

You will need:

3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 medium yellow onions, diced (3 cups)

3 medium stalks celery, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (1-1/4 cups)

4 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup dry red wine

1 (32-ounce) carton low-sodium chicken or beef broth (4 cups)

3 sprigs fresh thyme, rosemary or a combination of both

1 dried bay leaf

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

1-1/2 pounds baby potatoes, halved or quartered if larger than a golf ball

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional) 

Toss 3 pounds cubed beef chuck roast, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper together in a large bowl until evenly coated. 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. 

Add about one-third of the beef and sear until browned on two sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Using tongs, transfer the beef to a large plate. 

Repeat browning the remaining beef in two more batches, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot before each batch if the pot is too dry. 

Transfer all the beef to the plate.

To the same pot, add 2 medium diced yellow onions, 3 medium chopped celery stalks, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt to the pot. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

Stir in 4 minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. 

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour all over the vegetables, and stir until there is no more visible flour and the vegetables look evenly coated. 

Cook for 1 minute to cook the floury taste out.

Pour in 1 cup dry red wine and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Cook until the wine is reduced and thickened slightly, about 1 minute. 

Return the beef and any accumulated juices on the plate to the pot. 

Add 1 (32-ounce) carton low-sodium chicken broth, 3 fresh thyme sprigs (or rosemary or a combination of both) and 1 dried bay leaf. 

Bring to a simmer. 

Reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. 

Cover and cook, stirring every 30 minutes or so for 1-1/2 hours.

Uncover and stir in 3 peeled and sliced medium carrots and 1-1/2 pounds halved baby potatoes. 

Cover and cook until the beef and potatoes are fork-tender, stirring halfway through, 45 to 60 minutes total.

Turn off the heat. Stir in 1 cup frozen peas if desired. Remove and discard the thyme stems and bay leaf. Taste and season with more Kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley leaves if desired. 

Below is the address written out in full, for you to copy and paste if you prefer doing that to the link above. 

https://www.thekitchn.com/beef-stew-recipe-23846522?

Website’s notes:

You can use yellow or gold potatoes, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces. These can be substituted for the baby potatoes.

Make ahead: this stew can be made up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated. Reheat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

Storage: refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

(Nutritional information can be found at their website.)    

Our thoughts? 

Definitely a keeper. It was delicious, and as mentioned in the notes on storage, even better the next day.

We thought of having rolls on the side, but this is a stand-alone meal and extras were not needed.

You can always change around the veggies.  

That’s all I can think of right now. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. 

Thanks for visiting and 

I hope your day is a great one. 

Bon Appetit!

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POTAT0 FACTORY

 My two favorite guys spent some father/son time together today (6/23/26). They always send me a few photos. This is where they had lunch.

On Friday and Saturday it is open until 2.00 a.m. and other days open until midnight. Their website is here and they are located at 8230 Old Courthouse Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182, down one of the small side roads in Tyson’s.

I am feeling like a jacket potato right now for some reason. Son said you chose any of their toppings to suit your own taste. Mine would be baked beans, which was a favorite meal of mine as a child and still is, though I enjoy Bushes Original Baked beans these days.

Son had the loaded French Fries and his dad had the Cheeseburger with Fries. They said both were excellent. Next time they want to try the Tornado Potato which is a spiraled potato swirled around on a stick and deep fried. These two always have fun finding somewhere new, to them anyhow. Son came across it by chance when taking a short cut through the area last week and suggested it to his dad today.  

And so important in my humble opinion, the gentleman who took care of them was very friendly, a real good guy they said. 

If you are ever in the area, they highly recommend it.

Thanks for looking and 

enjoy your day. 

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - BLUE CHEESE STUFFED POTATOES

Today's recipe was found at Our Best Bites hosted by Sara Wells. The original recipe can be found at this link. I had potatoes and blue cheese, plus a couple of ingredients in the fridge I wanted to use up. I typed the ingredients and a request for a recipe in the Google search engine, and this the first one that popped up. There were dozens of others, but I was more than satisfied with the sound of it. If you find Blue Cheese too strong, you can always use your favorite.  I have made this with Cheddar, Swiss and Parmesan. Mozzarella would be nice also.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

4 servings - approximately 272 calories per finished potato.

4 medium baking potatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1 ounce (1/4 cup) crumbled bleu cheese

1/4 cup buttermilk or milk

4 tablespoons real butter cut into chunks

3/4 teaspoon of salt

A few dashes of pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

8 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Wash and dry potatoes. Rub them lightly with a bit of shortening or vegetable oil (helps crisp the skin so you will be able to scoop them out later without breaking. There is note about this below the recipe). 

Place potatoes directly on oven rack, or a cookie sheet. Bake for one hour or until potatoes are done. (See my note below.)

When you take the potatoes out of the oven after roasting, leave them for a while so that they are cool enough to handle, or use an oven mitt if you want to get on with it. If they are large potatoes you can cut them in half for 8 servings. 

Scoop out the insides and place them in a bowl. Add butter, sour cream, bleu cheese, milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

Beat with a hand mixer until fluffy (we used a potato masher as we like a little more texture in ours). Carefully spoon the mixture back into potato shells. 

Place in a baking dish and return to the hot oven. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Remove and sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese over each potato and bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Sarah's notes: 

You can make ahead, though these are best right out of the oven. Cook your bacon and shred your cheese. Bake potatoes and whip up your filling. Fill the potato skins and store them, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, until ready to bake. They may need a few extra minutes when baked straight from the fridge. Just wait until they are nice and hot to top with cheese and bacon as described above. 

Store leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator up until 3 to 4 days.

You may have some extra filling, especially if making a large batch. You can either store in the fridge to bake up later, or pop into a small, oven-safe dish, top with cheese and bacon, and heat in the oven with the rest of your potatoes.

Changes we made: we forgot to add the cheddar cheese at the end but this did not detract from the taste. They were very yummy!

I hadn't made twice-stuffed potatoes in a long time. Our potatoes were cooked but it would have been better to leave them in for 10 minutes longer. You might not need this but our oven runs on the cooler side. When we scooped them out the first shell we filled, it broke in half. No problem, we 'glued' it together with extra filling.  It would have been easier if the potatoes had been cooked longer, however.

When mixing the potato, add a little of the buttermilk/milk at a time, to gradually get it to the desired consistency. We did not use all of it and had a small amount of liquid left over.

The taste of bleu cheese was in the background and didn't overpower the dish.

We served it with a cob of sweet corn and sweet peas.

Here is the full address in case you would like to copy and paste instead of using the link at the beginning of the page.

https://ourbestbites.com/stuffed-bleu-cheese-potatoes/

It's definitely a keeper. We both forgot how much we enjoyed eating potatoes prepared this way. It made a very nice change.

I have actually frozen twice-baked potatoes in the past, but I would have to look that up to refresh before putting any instructions for the freezer on here.

As always, if you have any questions or tips of your own, let me know in the comment section and I will be happy to answer if I can.

Thanks for looking, 

have a great week and Bon Appetit!

MY USUAL MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST ON TUESDAY - CHEDDAR CORN CHOWDER - 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

Soup weather and we love soups. I found this one at a favorite, Ina Garten at the Barefoot Contessa website, original link for the recipe is here.

Cheddar Corn Chowder - 10 to 12 servings

8 ounces bacon, chopped

1/4 cup good olive oil

6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

12 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)

10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 pound sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated

In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about five minutes.

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. 

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and butter to the fat. Cook for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric. Cook for three minutes. 

Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cobs and blanch the kernels for 3 minutes in boiling, salted water. Drain (if you are using frozen corn you can skip the above step.)

If using frozen corn, add it to the soup, then add the half-and-half and Cheddar cheese.

Cook for 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Our verdict was that this was an excellent soup. In the photo above, I went overboard on the bacon but it still tasted great. I left bacon off the second night and liked it just as much, maybe even a little more.

 I have never added turmeric to anything but keep 

hearing good things about it and now have a few recipes where it is used, mostly in beverages at the moment. 

People add it to soups for both its flavor and its health benefits. It is said that it provides a warm, earthy and slightly peppery taste, and a vibrant golden color. Additionally, it is prized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, with its active compound of curcumin being enhanced when combined with black pepper. Anyway, it had a pleasant flavor I've never tasted before, hard for me to describe as it was in the background, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

I thought maybe next time I would reduce the amount of whole corn kernels and add an extra can of cream-style instead. This is just for our personal preference.

We served it with a crusty roll which was very good. 

We have lots and lots of leftovers so I won't be cooking for the next few days. Our main meal is set but we may end up freezing a few portions for another day.

We didn't make any changes as we had everything on the list of the ingredients. 

I wanted to show you what it looked like before the pepper. I added a good sprinkling as there are times I feel like it and other times not. Apparently, freshly ground black pepper activates the good properties in the turmeric. I have to read more on the subject.

The full address for this soup is below, just in case you prefer to copy and paste rather than click on the link at the beginning.

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/cheddar-corn-chowder

Thanks for dropping by and I hope 

your day is a great one.

Bon appétit!

MY MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST ON TUESDAY INSTEAD - SCALLOPED POTATOES

I am robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak, as this has been copied from my old blog. We again didn't make any new recipes this past week, eating lots of salads, and meals quickly put together. I remember liking these scalloped potatoes, so I am hoping you will too. Many of us probably have our favorites already.

So, anything written down below was actually written in April 2012.

On Sunday I cooked a pork roast and Gregg mentioned that he had a hankering for scalloped potatoes.  As I haven't made them in a very long time and don't really have a favorite recipe for this side dish, I went surfing and found one at Sweet Pea's Kitchen.  The actual recipe is here.

Scalloped Potatoes

Servings:                    4-6

Preparation time:        20 minutes

Baking time:               15 minutes

Source: Cook's Illustrated - March 2003

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, minced - about 1 cup

2 medium cloves garlic, cut fine, minced or pressed through garlic press (need 2 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1-1/4 teaspoons table salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2-1/4 pounds russet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

2 bay leaves

4 ounces grated cheddar cheese - 1 cup

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt butter until foaming subsides.  

Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.  

Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  

Add potatoes, chicken broth, cream and bay leaves and bring to simmer. 

Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender (paring knife can be slipped into and out of potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes.  

Discard bay leaves.

Transfer mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish (or 1-1/2 quart gratin dish) and press to an even layer; sprinkle evenly with cheese.  

Bake until cream is bubbling around edges and top is golden, about 15 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.

A delicious side-dish. We both enjoyed it very much and it has gone into our make-again folder. 

There are leftovers for another meal.

You can use any of your favorite vegetables for a side, or a nice mixed salad.

I used a low-fat milk instead of cream, only because the low-fat was in the fridge. I didn’t want to go up to the store for only one item. No complaints.

Thanks for looking, and have a great week.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - CABBAGE AND POTATO SOUP - APPROXIMATELY 8 SERVNGS

We are definitely going through soup weather. It's going to heat up later this week but in the meantime, it’s been chillier and I wanted to make it on such a day. It comes from a food blog called 'Simply Recipes' hosted by Stephanie A. Ganz. It looked so good I put it on our rotation and we made it a couple of days ago. You can find the original recipe at this link. 

Cabbage and Potato Soup - 8 servings

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced 

1 medium green cabbage, chopped (about 8 cups packed)

1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, large dice (about 4 cups)

6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

(If you would like to make your own stock, Stephanie's recipe can be found here.)

Salt and pepper to taste.

(Optional: Lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs like dill or parsley or chives.)

In a large Dutch oven over medium, heat the olive oil and add the diced onion. Cook until the onion is translucent but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chopped cabbage and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook the cabbage and onions, stirring occasionally to soften the cabbage and develop some golden brown color, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes, chicken stock, salt and pepper (It's okay to use a heavy hand with the salt and pepper our host said, “because you are seasoning two very neutral vegetables, and you want to bring out their subtle flavors”.

Cover and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and cook until vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. You can garnish with a squeeze of lemon juice and/or a few chopped herbs.

Serve immediately.

Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days.

Cabbage and Potato Soup is a favorite around here. We both gave this a 10 out of 10. It was even better the second day when the flavors were more enhanced.We doubled the ingredients, except for the cabbage as it was more than enough. We don't mind eating this every day until it is finished.

I thought white beans would be a nice addition. 

My dear suggested shredded rotisserie chicken. 

Cooked diced ham could be another choice.  

I do, however, try to put meatless meals on the table and I would use vegetable broth for that. 

This has a very smooth, easy and delicious flavor. Nothing spicy added while cooking, except for the salt and pepper.

 When we sat down to eat Gregg added a little rice wine vinegar in his bowl the first night but I didn’t. I wasn’t too sure about that. The next night I was curious, so I drizzled in a couple of splashes. Much to my surprise I thought it added a nice, tasty little zing. If you want to try this I would go easy at first to make sure it is to your taste. 

I added a packet of oyster mushrooms cut into large dice. These were put into the pan at the same time as the onions. I am sure any mushroom would do. We enjoyed this addition very much.

Stephanie mentions that this would be an excellent soup to give someone who is under the weather. I agree as it is a very smooth, nourishing, mild tasting soup.

She suggested adding lemon juice, herbs like dill, parsley, or chives for a garnish. 

Another suggestion was a spoon of sour cream on the top. 

She has had this for breakfast with a poached or fried egg. 

Crusty rolls would go great but I didn’t have any and didn’t miss them.

Below are the addresses left in full, in case you want to copy and paste instead of using the link at the beginning of my recipe.

The soup recipe first.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/4-ingredient-cabbage-and-potato-soup-recipe-8716762

Stephanie's chicken stock recipe.

 https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_stock/ 

That's all I can think of but if you have any questions, please put them in the comment section. I will do my best to answer.

Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - PARMESAN ROASTED POTATOES - SERVES 6

 

Today's recipe comes from Spoon Fork Bacon, hosted by Terri and Jenny.  It looks like they used it as an appetizer, but I made mine a side dish and it was very yummy.  You can find the original recipe at this link.

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

Serves: 6

Calories per serving: 176 

1/3 cup pre-grated Parmesan cheese (see in notes)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons melted, salted butter divided

2 pounds baby potatoes halved lengthwise

salt optional

Optional garnish and serving suggestion:

2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives

2/3 cup sour cream

 

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

In a small bowl stir together cheese, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper.

Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter into the bottom of a glass 10”x14” baking dish.

Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over brushed butter, in the baking dish.

Press cut-side of potatoes into the cheese mixture (trying not to move the potatoes once they are set down).

Carefully brush tops of potatoes with remaining butter and season with salt if you want(but I found that the extra salt isn’t needed due to the salt in the butter and cheese).

Roast potatoes for 28-32 minutes or until tops have wrinkled and potatoes are just fork tender.

Remove from oven and break apart any Parmesan crisp pieces connecting the potatoes together.

Transfer potatoes to a platter and top with chives. Serve with sour cream for dipping if you want!

  

Notes:

Pre-grated Parmesan cheese that you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Do not freshly grate the Parmesan for this recipe. The pre-grated Parmesan melts and sticks to the potatoes the best and creates the best cheese blanket, which is just what you want!  (Denise's note: I grated my Parmesan using a microplaner similar to this one. I would be interested in using the pregrated product to see the difference, but I was very happy with the way mine turned out.)

Press the potatoes into the Parmesan mixture, don’t move them around. This will ensure a full and even coating of the Parmesan is crusted onto the potatoes.

It’s important to use potatoes similar in size for this dish to ensure even roasting.

Variations:

Add some herbs and/or other spices to the Parmesan mixture. we like adding cumin for a smoky kick or rosemary and thyme for an earthy flavor!

Add a teaspoon of honey to the remaining butter mixture for a sweet touch.

Serve the potatoes with ketchup, ranch, bbq sauce, or honey mustard instead of sour cream for dipping.

Reheating instructions

The potatoes really taste the best when they’re eaten fresh from the oven, but if you have leftovers, you can reheat them in the oven. 

To reheat the potatoes:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place Parmesan potatoes in a baking dish, cut-side down and cover baking dish tightly with foil. Roast for 10 minutes until heated through. Uncover and flip potatoes so they’re cut-side up. Lightly sprinkle with a little more Parmesan, salt and pepper. Continue to roast for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy!

We both found this recipe delicious!  I served them on the side with a rib-eye steak (we don’t buy huge steaks but they are big enough to portion into thirds.  We each have a small portion, leaving the remaining third to be sliced thinly and made into sandwiches the next day.  It is a good way of controlling portions).  My other side was slices of sautéed tomatoes.

Thanks for looking, have a great day and...

MONDAY RECIPE POST - BEEF AND POTATO STEW

This is our first beef stew of the season, always a favorite request.  I usually try different versions. This one added more potatoes (though you wouldn't know it by looking at those photos) and a few new twists at the end of the recipe, Balsamic Vinegar and Horseradish stirred in just before serving up (see my notes at the end of the recipe).  With the start of the colder months (even though the days are still very nice), the evenings are a little chillier and it felt like it was time to make a beef stew.

I found it at Eating Well and you can find the original recipe here.

Beef and Potato Stew – 8 servings

Serving size: 1-1/2 cups - 435 calories in each serving.

This beef and potato stew is slow-cooked (not slow-cooker as I first thought) to perfection, and you end up with a delicious gravy and the meat is very tender.  Very important for me, you can make it ahead of time.  I would have no problem doing this the day before.

3 lbs. pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

¼ cup unsalted tomato paste (we bought a 7 oz. can and used it all)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon (I used Meiomi Pinot Noir, which is a family favorite, not that we are wine connoisseurs, we just know what we like.  We usually pour ourselves a glass and serve with our meal)

4 cups unsalted beef broth

5 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 (24 ounces) package baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally (1-inch)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. 

Heat a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 

Toss beef with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

Add oil to the pot and swirl to coat. 

In 3 batches, add beef; cook until browned on 2 sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. 

Transfer to a plate. 

Repeat with the remaining beef. 

Reduce heat to medium and add onions and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened and starting to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. 

Add tomato paste and rosemary; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the tomato paste darkens, about 1 minute. 

Stir in flour; cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are coated, about 1 minute. 

Stir in wine and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until glossy and thickened, about 5 minutes. 

Add broth, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. 

Stir in the beef and any accumulated juices. 

Remove from heat and cover tightly with a lid. 

Transfer to the oven and bake until the sauce has reduced and the beef is mostly tender, about 2 hours. 

Remove from oven; stir in potatoes and carrots. 

Cover and continue baking until the beef, potatoes and carrots are tender, about 1 hour. 

Don't forget to take the thyme sprigs out and the bay leaf before serving.

Stir in vinegar and horseradish. 

Garnish with parsley, if desired.

To make ahead

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

If you are following such things, the nutritional values can be found at the original recipe, the link I have provided in the beginning of the recipe.  

We thoroughly enjoyed this beef and potato stew.  It was delicious!  

I ended up using a slow cooker, even though the above version was made for the oven.  This was because we didn't have a Dutch Oven big enough to fit all the ingredients, and the container for the slow cooker fit perfectly.  I looked at another recipe cooked that way, and they said put it on low for 7-8 hours.  We found that ours cooked faster, and after checking at 6-1/2 hours, everything was cooked perfectly.  So, if you end up using a slow cooker, I would check to see if it is done after 6-hours.  It worked for us and everything was very tender.

We cooked all the ingredients in a large frying pan up to the point of adding the already seared beef.  Instead, we put the meat into the slow cooker, and carefully poured all the other cooked ingredients over the top, and then turned on the slow cooker.

I added a container of mushrooms along with everything else.  On reflection I would have added two containers.  Also, my co-chef in the kitchen suggested we add more potatoes, more carrots and even more onions.  

This version doesn't have a lot of salt in it, which is a good thing if you are watching how much you use for health reasons.  We are trying to watch our salt intake and if you need more, you can always add it at the table.  Depends on your own taste.  

Don’t forget to remove the sprig of thyme and bay leaf. 

Neither of us felt like adding the Balsamic vinegar or the horseradish when suggested.  I added a dash of vinegar in my bowl at the table.  Both of us preferred it without as the broth was incredible.

I forgot to add chopped parsley at the end of the meal, which would have made it look prettier.  A little green goes a long way.  I wasn't really satisfied how it looked in my photos, but at least it tasted great.

One more thought, adding a little extra flour to make a thicker broth/gravy.

We added a nice crusty roll for dipping.

A big thumb's up from both of us and we are enjoying the leftovers, which only seemed to get better.

That's about all I can think of.  If you have any suggestions of your own, I would be happy to hear them.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your week 

and Bon Appétit!