Hearty Beef Stew

Derrick must have been pretty optimistic about the threat of evacuation. He started a crock pot cooking that morning. Well, that calmed my nerves!

Here is Derrick and Alexandra making Hearty Beef Stew Friday night when our friends were still here. Fun memories.

And here's the recipe, it was delicious.

Hearty Beef Stew

(If you’re going to be away from your crockpot for more than 10 hours, cut your vegetables into 1 ½ -2 inch pieces. This entire recipe requires a large slow cooker, Derrick cut it in half for the crockpot we had at the beach. He also used celery in place of parsnips because we couldn’t find any.)

5lbs. boneless beef chuck eye roast, cut and trimmed into 1 ½ in cubes

Salt and pepper

3 T Veg oil

4 med onions chopped fine

1- 6oz. tomato paste

2 C low sodium chicken or beef broth

3 T. soy sauce

1 lb. carrots cut into 1 in pieces

1 lb parsnips cut into 1 in pieces

1 lb. red potatoes cut into 1 in pieces

1 ½ tsp minced, fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

2 T. minute tapioca

2 C. frozen peas, thawed

1. Dry beef with paper towels, season with salt and pepper. Heat one Tablespoon oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add ½ of beef and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker, repeat with remaining beef. You shouldn’t need to add more oil.
2. Add 1T oil, onions, and ¼ tsp salt to empty skillet and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook stirring well for 2 minutes. Add broth and soy sauce, bring to simmer and transfer to slow cooker.
3. Toss carrots, parsnips, potatoes and ½ tsp thyme and remaining 1T oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap vegetables in foil packet that will fit in slow-cooker. Stir bay leaves and tapioca into slow cooker, set veg packet on top of beef.
4. Set slow cooker to high, cover and cook 6-7 hours or on low for 10-11 hours.
5. Transfer vegetable packet to plate, carefully open, watching for steam, stir veggies and juice into stew. Add remaining tsp thyme and peas and let stand until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.