I’m making stew for dinner tonight. I haven’t made stew in oh … a decade or more! LOL

My mother used to make stew for dinner regularly and everyone loved it except for me. I always hated stew. Oh it was always a little better the next day, but I still didn’t like it very much. For some reason though, my mom could get me to eat canned stew (Puritan Irish stew). I thought it was great.

I think my taste buds have evolved in the last while – or at least I’m hoping that they have because it seems like I’ll eat dishes and foods that I wouldn’t touch when I was a kid or young adult.

Anyway … I’ve been using our slow cooker quite a bit this year. I’ve made at least three slow cooled roasts and I even made barbecued back ribs once. Now I’m trying a tasty sounding stew recipe that I found on the Canadian living website.

I’m throwing in lots of root vegetables – a small store near us has veggies that are always fresh in fact they’re way fresher than the ones we get in the grocery store!

Here’s the recipe that I’m trying out this evening:

Slow-Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

• 1-1/2 lb (750 g) stew beef
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes
• 2 onions, cut in wedges
• 2 cups (500 mL) chopped peeled sweet_potatoes
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) italian herb seasoning
• 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) beef stock
• 1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour

Trim and cut beef into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown beef in batches. Transfer to plate.

In 18- to 24-cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker, crush tomatoes with potato masher. Add onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, celery, bay leaves, herb seasoning and beef; pour in 2 cups (500 mL) of the stock. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender.

Add peas, salt and pepper. Whisk flour with remaining stock, stir into stew. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaves.

** I also added about a cup of red wine, four carrots and 6 garlic cloves and I’m cooking this recipe on high in the slow cooker instead of low. **

Hopefully this stew tastes fantastic. I was drawn to this recipe because it had sweet potatoes in it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a stew with sweet potatoes in it and I love them … so it should be good.

I’m making white rice as well. We’ll probably serve the stew on top of the rice.

Do you ever make beef stew and or use a slow cooker to prepare meals for your family? If you do use a slow cooker what are your favorite recipes?