Beef Stew

It is a rainy day out and I don't feel like going to the grocery store. So I need to make a dinner with ingredients that I already have at home. Lucky for me, I bought veggies and wine to make a beef stew last week. I love this recipe. I made it a couple of months ago and it is just so great. I always like the second time I make a recipe because I now know how to tweak it to make it just how I like it. For example with this recipe, I added more veggies to it then the recipe called for. Also, a friend at work told me about adding a little orange juice to the stew to give it a little extra zing -- and it did! This recipe is also great because it goes right into the slow cooker after you prep it and it is done. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Hearty Beef Stew
Recipe by Woman's Day magazine
Serves 8 - Prep 30 minutes - Cook time 4 hours (low)

Ingredients:
½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3-4 lb beef chuck, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces (I used 2 extra carrots)
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp peppercorns
1 bottle (24 oz) hearty red wine such as Burgundy
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp orange juice

Directions: Stir 3 Tbsp of the flour, and the salt and pepper on a plate. Toss beef pieces in mixture, shaking off any excess. Melt butter with oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary, add beef and cook about 10 minutes, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add carrots, celery, onion and peppercorns to same skillet. Cook about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring ofter, until onions and carrot begin to brown. Pour in wine and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir tomatoes, broth and orange juice into skillet and bring to a boil. Stir in remaining flour and the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, about a 1 minute, until mixture has thickened. Return beef to skillet and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer beef and wine mixture to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on Low, 4 hours, stirring occasionally, until beef is very tender. Serve with egg noodles, brown rice or veggies.

Beef cut into small pieces and then browned.

All the vegetables cooked and ready to go into the slow cooker.

We are watching our carbs so for dinner, I served the stew with sauteed spinach.