Beef Stew For Two

Alright guys, as promised we are making beef stew today. I love anything that requires little effort, lots of inactive cooking time, and makes your house smell amazing for hours, so beef stew is the perfect dinner on this gloriously dreary October day. I'm adding chanterelle mushrooms to give it a really nice earthy flavor, and to really make it taste like fall.

As most of you know, there are only two people in my household, but I still wind up cooking enough to feed a small army. (Case in point, the giant tub of butternut squash soup I have left over in my fridge right now. I'll post that recipe soon). That's why I'm calling this recipe beef stew for two; I'm trying to make a conscious effort to cook smaller portions of food. I always tell myself I'm going to take the extra to work when I make a giant portion, but I am a total space case about things like that and it ends up just going bad in the fridge, and I end up throwing my money in the garbage. (Not to mention being super wasteful, yuck.) 

So here we go, a combo deal of good cold weather comfort food, and my attempt at not making too much food: Beef Stew for Two. (Of course if you are making this for more people the recipe can be easily multiplied, and the cooking times should be the same.) 

Ingredients:

1)2/3 pound chuck, cut into cubes (sold at most supermarkets as stew beef) 

2) 1/2 cup flour

3) one half onion, diced

4) three cloves garlic, minced

5) one carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds

6) One cup chanterelle mushrooms, sliced 

7) one sprig rosemary

8) two Yukon gold potatos, peeled and cut into one inch dice 

9) 1 cup red wine

10) 1.5 cups beef broth 

Directions

1) Place flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, and coat beef cubes in flour.

2) Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven on medium heat and brown beef cubes on all sides. Don't worry if you're getting lots of brown bits stuck to the bottom, this will give you good flavor. 

3) Remove beef from the pot, and set aside. Add one more tbsp olive oil, and sauté onion, garlic mushrooms and carrot about three minutes. 

4) Add wine and stock to the pan, and using a wooden spoon, scrape those brown stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan (deglazing!)

5) Place the beef back in the pot along with that sprig of rosemary, place the lid on and allow to simmer on low heat for two hours. 

6) After the stew has simmered for two hours, add the potatoes and allow to simmer again for one half hour to one hour, or until the potatoes are cooked through and soft. 

7) Once the potatoes are cooked, you're done!! Serve this beautiful masterpiece with a crusty loaf of bread, and be sure to remove the rosemary before you serve it.

Thanks for checking me out once again, and I'm looking forward to sharing all of my favorite fall foods with you. 

Xoxo Megan