Jacky's Beef Stew

Our friend made this for us recently. It's just good old wholesome yummy food that's easy to make and great in the lunch box the next day!

1 ½ lbs of cubed beef stew meat
½ cup of flour
1 ½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of basil
3 ½ cups of beef broth
 ¼ cup of vegetable oil
1 onion –chopped

Potatoes, carrots, celery- I just put however much I like of each ie. two stalks of celery with the tops on, 3-4 potatoes (but again, depends on the size), and maybe a half cup chopped carrots (I really should measure!) I also throw about a half a cup of frozen peas in near the end, but you can add/take away anything you like from the recipe.

Put flour, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Put the meat in the bowl and thoroughly coat with the flour mixture, then lightly brown it in the frying pan.

Place browned meat into large pot, add the beef broth.

Combine the remaining flour from the bowl with the chopped onion in the frying pan that you browned the meat in. After the onions are cooked, add the flour and onion mixture to the large pot. Add the spices. Add all of the vegetables. 

Simmer for several hours in the pot on the stove OR put in all in the crock pot for approx. 4-5 hours and the meat will be nice and tender.

Beef Stew

If you need something to stick to your ribs (although do any of us really need that), stew is a good choice. Amounts of each ingredient are really up to you. Start with some stewing beef cut into cubes. Shake beef in a bag with some flour.  Brown the beef in a frying pan and add it to a large pot. Add a tin of canned tomatoes and/or beef broth (I prefer beef broth to tomatoes). Add chopped celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms (other veggies can go in as you like, hold off on the potatoes till later). Simmer on stove for at least 4 hours, more time is better.  Add potatoes (cubed) 1 hour before serving. Salt and pepper to taste. Thicken with a small amount of flour.

Beef Stew

Roast Beef

Roast beef with mushrooms, gravy and a side of potatoes.

Here is one case where I prefer something different from what I got in my childhood. Bone dry roast beef just doesn't work for me. With this method even cheaper cuts of beef can turn out great. The secret is the cup of beef stock in the bottom of the roasting pan.  There seems to always be juice left for over for gravy and the meat stays moist (well, unless you cook it well past "well done").

Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a roasting pan:
beef roast - thawed
one onion, cut into chunks
one cup of beef stock (an OXO packet/cube in a cup of warm water)

A couple of different seasoning methods for the meat work here, here are two:
1) season liberally with "Montreal Steak Spice" (a great all-in-one seasoning)
or
2) garlic powder (or fresh garlic/minced) and salt and pepper

If you'd like an all-in-one meal you can add potatoes (peeled and cut in half), large chunks of carrots and/or celery. I like the potatoes this way, the carrots less so.  Fresh mushrooms also turn out particularly well when done with the roast.

Cover the roasting pan and bake at 450 F for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 F.  A meat thermometer is really the only proper way to get the meat cooked to a desired doneness (if you don't have one, go get one - now, before you ruin another piece of meat!).  Monitor temperature, 170 F - well done, 160 F - medium, 145 F - medium rare, 140 F - rare.

Remove the roast from the pan, put it on a platter and cover with aluminum foil, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes and carrots to a bowl (if you had added them). Remove the onion and discard. Put the roasting pan on a burner on high.  Add a cup or two of water if not much juice is remaining and bring to a boil.  Scrape the pan to remove some of dried juices and stir frequently.  Mix a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch into a small amount of water (just enough to get it dissolved) and slowly stir in small amounts of this into the gravy juices. When the gravy is of a desired consistancy, remove from heat. Serve.

Meatloaf

Cheap, easy and great for lunch the next day. A favourite of mine and my kids.

Meat Loaf (note the gap on the right side to catch oil and
grease from the meat - drain before serving)

1 can tomato or golden mushshoom soup or a cup to a cup and a half of ketchup
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or crushed soda crackers
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

Mix 1/2 of the soup (or ketchup), beef, beef, crumbs, onions, egg and salt.  Shape into loaf pan.  Leave a gap of about an inch at the end of the loaf pan. While the loaf cooks a lot of the grease and fat from the ground beef will pool here and can be drained off after cooking. Pour the remaining soup (or ketchup) over the top of the loaf and then bake at 375 F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.