Mom’s Slow-Cooked Beef Stew

November 4, 2013

You guys! Real talk, this is one of my most favorite meals my mom makes ever! I am so excited she gave me the recipe to share with you. It is the perfect time of year for a good slow-cooked stew. It is just chilly enough where you can have your oven on for hours and not even care.

But, I mean with the smells coming from this cooking away in your oven, why would you care if your house was a little toastier than normal? Seriously!

Growing up, my mom would only make one dish of stew and it would feed all five us. However, as we got older, my poor mom would have to make two separate big dishes of this stew just to get through one dinner.

I mostly blame my brothers and dad for that. They would shovel down serving after serving of stew as if frickin’ Goldie Locks was beating down their door trying to get her little hands on their food. Savages.

Ok, maybe I put a good dent in the stew too. I would do my share secretly though. I would come home from school and see the stew cooling on the stove. I would quietly peel back the foil. Let the steam clear, then pluck out a green bean or potato or two with my fingers, and shove it in my mouth quickly before my mom heard or saw me. I’d place the foil back on and go on my merry way. I may or may not have suffered a burnt finger or tongue in the process.

Well worth it though!

You know what is awesome about this stew? You just do some peeling, chopping, and measuring, then throw this baby in the oven, and let the oven do the rest. It is that easy! Plus it freezes and reheats like a dream. My mom always says it tastes even better the next day.

Oh! My second favorite thing about this meal is that we would always eat the stew with big seedy slices of rye bread and butter on the side. You know that for me, it’s all about the carbs!

Mom's Slow-Cooked Beef Stew

Course Entree
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings 4 -6
Author Sarcastic Cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 Pounds Beef round steak, stew meat, or tenderloin
  • 6 Small Potatoes peeled*
  • 1 Yellow Onion peeled and chopped
  • 3 Carrots peeled and sliced
  • 3 Stalks Celery chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • 1 14.5 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 13 oz Can Tomato Sauce
  • 1-2 Cups Low-Sodium Beef Stock
  • 1 Can Whole Green Beans drained*
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Add beef chunks to a large glass baking dish, preferably around 9x13-inches. Season the beef with salt, pepper, and corn starch. Toss to evenly coat.
  3. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions to the dish. Arrange in one even layer as best you can.
  4. Pour in the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beef stock. Only use enough beef stock to cover the beef and vegetables.
  5. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for three hours.
  6. After three hours, remove the dish from the oven, remove the foil, and add the green beans. Place the dish back in the oven for another thirty minutes.
  7. Let the stew cool for ten minutes at least before serving. Dish will last up to four days in an airtight container stored in the refrigerator or up to a month if frozen.

Recipe Notes

*You can substitute peeled and chopped sweet potatoes and thawed frozen green beans if you like.

 

You Might Also Like

  • Linda~ Monkey Bizness
    November 25, 2013 at 7:48 pm

    Winter is coming and this dish looks so great to make, yum! Hope you don’t mind but I shared this link(post) with my face book fans, I love to bring them good reads. Have a great night!

  • Wendy | Around My Family Table
    November 5, 2013 at 10:41 am

    This recipe looks like it would be worth the tongue-burning if you snitched a piece. Yum!

  • Stephie @ EYHO
    November 5, 2013 at 12:56 am

    I HAVE to make this soon. A certain man will love it, that’s for sure. Yummmmy.

  • Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
    November 4, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    aw!!! I love that this recipe is from your mom! It looks so comforting and delicious!

  • Tess @ Tips on Healthy Living
    November 4, 2013 at 4:48 pm

    This is perfect after coming in from the chilly weather. How high did you have your slow cooker on? I’d love mine to cook in 3 hours (or less).

    • Stefanie
      November 4, 2013 at 4:54 pm

      Actually you cook this in the oven. You could try and make this in the crock pot. I would suggest cutting the amount of tomato sauce and beef stock in half so it is more hearty and not watery. I would try cooking it on high for three hours and see how that goes. Let me know if it works out.

  • Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
    November 4, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    This looks like a perfect, comforting Winter meal! We received our first dump of snow the other day and the temperatures are downright cold. This is just the kind of thing I look forward to eating when I get home from a long day.

  • Julia
    November 4, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    Man–we are totally on the same wave length! First our tomato and white bean soups and then today we both post a recipe from our Mom’s! Great minds think alike. 🙂 This looks like a great slow cooker recipe–love it!

  • Lee
    November 4, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    This looks amazing and I’m making it TODAY! What should the oven be set to?

    • Stefanie
      November 4, 2013 at 2:45 pm

      325 degrees F.

  • Nicole~ Cooking for Keeps
    November 4, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    Most of my favorite recipes are classics from my Mom also, aren’t they the best? This looks awesome!

    • Stefanie
      November 4, 2013 at 2:02 pm

      Mom’s seriously know how to make the best comfort foods!

  • Erin | The Law Student's Wife
    November 4, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Boys seroiusly eat SO MUCH. I never cease to be amazed. I feel like I want to make 2 pots just so we’ll have plenty of yummy leftovers.

    • Stefanie
      November 4, 2013 at 2:01 pm

      They are like bottomless pits! I have been making one and a half portion of this stew the last few years. I can’t get myself to go all the way to two because it is just for me and my husband.

      • Susan
        November 9, 2013 at 8:18 pm

        All in the same pan? 9×13 And the crushed tomatoes I get are more like puree. Should I go with that or whole tomatoes I crush myself? I like the way you can see some tomato flesh in your photo. I had a favorite stew recipe for probably 30 years and have lost it. I know it had celery salt in it, so I’ll throw some in and see what happens. Thanks for the recipe!

        • Stefanie
          November 9, 2013 at 9:01 pm

          Yep, all in the same pan. And I would suggest using canned diced tomatoes if the crushed ones are more like a purée because that won’t make it too saucy/watery.

          • Susan
            November 9, 2013 at 9:40 pm

            Thanks. Perhaps it was the brand I bought and I should just try another if I can remember. Hope you’re feeling well and most importantly, sleeping well!

  • Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen
    November 4, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    This looks really similar to how my mom always made beef stew, minus the green beans! It’s definitely one of my favorite cold weather foods!