• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Peanut Blossom
  • Welcome
  • Family Recipes
  • Let's Celebrate
  • Book Club
Home » Blog » Family Recipes » Comfort Food » Easy weeknight beef stew

Easy weeknight beef stew

Sep 21, 2011 by Tiffany Dahle

1.1Kshares
  • Share
  • Yummly
  • Tweet

Today I'd like to welcome Carrie from Diet and Ridicule! When Carrie announced she was starting up a new blog, I jumped for joy. I've missed her absence from the blogging world while she took a creative hiatus and I'm so glad she's back in action. When she asked if she could post my beef stew recipe on her blog I knew she'd be perfect guest writing here for a day.

I grew up in the 80s, which meant more processed and quick foods (at least it was that way for a lot of families I knew) than I currently eat now. Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese was always my favorite--and I'd make it almost daily as my summer lunch. But second to the Mac was Dinty Moore Beef Stew. It was Alpo-like in appearance, but served over noodles, it quickly became a favorite meal of mine. I still eat the DM ocassionally on my own, but it's never a dinner meal since my husband is grossed out by it.

Still, needing beef stew from time to time to soothe my cold winter soul, Tiffany introduced me to Paula Deen's wonderful Old Time Beef Stew (and surprisingly no butter!). It was loved instantly in our home the first time I made it, and the suggestion of serving it over mashed potatoes (instead of my beloved noodles) transformed it into a huge hit in our gluten-free household!

Old Time Beef Stew
courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients:

  •  2 lb. stew beef
  •  2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  •  2 cups water
  •  1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  •  1 clove garlic, peeled
  •  1 or 2 bay leaves
  •  1 medium onion, sliced
  •  1 tsp. salt
  •  1 tsp. sugar
  •  ½ tsp. pepper
  •  ½ tsp. paprika
  •  Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
  •  3 large carrots, sliced
  •  3 ribs celery, chopped
  •  2 tbsp. cornstarch

Method:

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer.

To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine ¼ cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly. (Or be lazy like me and just toss that cornstarch in and hope for the best! Whichever works for you.)

Best served over mashed potatoes and freezes fantastically! This is one of Peanut Blossom's original "Stock your Freezer" recipes.

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Previous Post: « Disney, Here we come!
Next Post: Sometimes, it is the camera »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. carrie

    September 21, 2011 at 5:43 am

    Love this post, Tiff! 😉

    Reply
  2. Barbara Maldonado

    September 21, 2011 at 10:04 am

    Can't wait to make this recipe! Thanks for the post!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Stock your fridge for fall! » Peanut Blossom says:
    July 5, 2012 at 5:10 pm

    [...] Beef stew with roasted smashed potatoes: Found this recipe for potatoes over on Pinterest. Reason enough you should join me there! The leftovers make fantastic breakfast potatoes with eggs in the morning. [...]

    Reply
  2. Freezer Meals for the Busy Holiday Season - Inner Child Food says:
    December 16, 2013 at 8:06 am

    […] The Meal Plan: 1. Lighter Chicken Pot Pie 2. Sweet & Sour Meatballs with bell pepper & pineapple 3. Chicken Spaghetti 4. Perfect Chili 5. Old-fashioned Beef Stew […]

    Reply
  3. 30 Days of Mommy Meals » Peanut Blossom says:
    March 26, 2014 at 6:16 am

    […] Old fashioned beef stew, french bread […]

    Reply
  4. 30 Days of Veggies: helping picky eaters eat better says:
    October 20, 2015 at 10:13 am

    […] Old fashioned beef stew: the gravy makes the veggies soft and easy to eat for kids who hate the […]

    Reply
  5. Stock your fridge with simple ingredients for these delicious fall recipes says:
    November 2, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    […] Beef stew with roasted smashed potatoes: This is an easy weeknight dinner, believe it or not.  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Tiffany! I'm a mom to two sweet peanuts and author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids. I love to celebrate the seasons and make time for monthly book club fun.

More about me →

Popular

  • The best book club picks for 2021 for busy women who want FUN books
  • 10-minute Trader Joe's meals: the best busy night dinners in a hurry!
  • Make ahead breakfast burritos are magic on busy mornings
  • The only homemade chicken soup you need this flu season

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2021