beef stew

I also made beef stew on Wednesday. This recipe is from my mom. It was always a favorite of ours growing up. I joke that its such an unexpected "American" recipe coming from my Lebanese mother - that she probably found it in some sort of family magazine. I guess I was right. I made this on the stove, but its generally better if you throw all of the ingredients into the crock pot for 7-8 hours. SO yummy. And even better as leftovers! You can also easily alter this recipe for more or less servings. Just use about 8 oz of beef, 1 potato, and a carrot or so per person.

Beef Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 lb beef stew meat, cubed
(roast, sirloin, stew.. whatever you want to use is fine here, really)
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4(ish) carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces (or a handful or two of baby carrots)
1 packet onion soup mix (Mrs. Grass, preferred)
1 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons flour
Pepper

Monica's Extra Ingredients
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon Tobasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 tablespoon Open Pit BBQ Sauce

Instructions
A. Throw all of the ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on auto for 7-8 hours.

-OR-

B. Brown meat in a large pot for 6-8 minutes (in about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil) with 1/2 of the sliced onion. Mix together onion soup mix, water, ketchup, flour, tobasco sauce, and BBQ sauce and pour into the pot. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour.

Add potatoes, carrots, and the rest of the onion. Simmer on low until potatoes are tender and the beef is literally falling apart (another hour or so).