Easy-Peasy Semi-Homemade Beef Stew Recipe

We have been getting snowstorm after snowstorm here in New England over the past few weeks and my poor hubby has had more than his fill of snow - even for a New Englander.  Getting chilled right through to his bones has him craving hot, hearty dishes like beef stew. Unfortunately, 4 feet plus of snow has made getting to the grocery store nearly impossible. Especially as we live on a steep hill that hasn't been plowed very well - yet (she added hopefully).

So, I went through my freezer and pantry to see if I could find a way to make beef stew for him, and I could!  Luckily, I had a few packages of stew beef in the freezer.  I had some baby carrots in the fridge, some canned sliced potatoes (I always try and keep canned sliced, diced and whole potatoes in my pantry. They come in very handy!) and a few jars of savory beef gravy (purchased the last time my local market had a big sale).  Now, I know how to make stew without jarred gravy. Indeed, I know how to make gravy from scratch very well. But, there are sometimes when the jar comes in handy, like with meatloaf or chicken fried steak (sorry, can't stand that white, cream, pepper stuff some people call gravy. To me gravy should taste like meat, not flour. yuck!). But I wanted a quick and easy way to make some stew and this fit the bill.

All done in the crockpot - prepped in less than 5 minutes!

Anyway - I took out the meat the night before and let it thaw. (I had about 3 pounds of meat).Then I put everything in my trusty crockpot.  First, I cut any large pieces of meat in half. Then I tossed them in the pot with a little salt and pepper.  Then I added a couple of handfuls of carrots (just what looked like enough for the 4 of us). Then I added 3 cans of sliced potatoes and 4 jars of gravy.  I added 1/4 tsp of ground rosemary, gave it all a stir and set it on high for 4 hours.  During the last 20 minutes I threw in a little frozen corn.

That was it. Could it be any easier? Prep time was less than 5 minutes!  You could make this before work and leave it on low all day and have a nice, hot meal when you come home.

Now, I know - where are the green veggies? Well, my fussy family doesn't all like the same veggies, so we usually heat them up separately in the microwave and everybody adds what they want to their stew individually. Naturally, you can add whatever you want to this. Green beans, peas, pearl onions, mushrooms - whatever your family likes.

We had the stew with hot, buttery crescent rolls - something else I always try to keep on hand :) It was SO good. Even my super picky daughter ate a whole bowl and she usually hates beef and any kind of gravy. My husband went back for seconds - no shock there.

Have leftovers that don't quite make enough to fill everybody up? Get a ready made pie crust and turn the leftovers into a pot pie! Add some more veggies, potatoes - even some egg noodles. Serve with a side salad and you have another hearty, satisfying meal.

Enjoy!

Hamburger Macaroni Goulash

Until yesterday, I had only heard of Hungarian goulash, which is a sort of beef stew. But a friend said she was looking for a recipe to make a hamburger goulash like her grandmother used to make. After some looking around, it seemed to me that this was something very near what I know as American Chop Suey, with some different seasonings used.

So, after asking my friend a few questions and getting some clarification on what she remembered from her grandmother's recipe, I created my own version and made it for dinner this evening.  It was a hit!  I was a little nervous as I smelled the paprika throughout the downstairs that the kids might not be too crazy about it. We are very boring people who don't like things spicy. But they loved it.

Below is my recipe.  Debbie - I don't know how close to Grandma's it is, but I hope it at least brings you close enough that you can get there with a few tweaks. :) And thanks again for the suggestion!

BTW - this is a great example of how you can take something ordinary and change it around by just using different spices. If I used basil and oregano instead of paprika and so much pepper, it would taste like my regular American Chop Suey. But despite having pretty much the same ingredients, this tastes like a different dish.

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large 29 oz can tomato sauce (unseasoned, not spaghetti sauce)
30 oz of tomato paste
1 medium shallot or 1 small onion
1 box elbow macaroni or small pasta
1/2 tsp salt, plus 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp pepper - plus 3/4 tsp
3/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
butter
olive oil

Directions:

Cook box of elbows according to package directions.  Use a large pot because you will be putting all of the other ingredients into this pot after the macaroni is cooked.  Drain and set aside when cooked al dente, about 12 minutes. (Which means don't let the macaroni get too soft. You'll be cooking it again in the sauce so make sure it still has a bite to it).

Finely chop shallot/onion. Saute in a frying pan with a touch of butter and olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add ground beef. Break up, add 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/2 of the tsp black pepper and mix up with the onions.  Cook until meat is browned.  Remove from heat and drain. (You need to season the ground beef before it's cooked to get the best flavor from it)

Add the beef mixture to the pan of elbows.  Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste, add the rest of the salt and pepper, the garlic powder, paprika and nutmeg.

Mix until everything is combined.  Cover and place on low heat, (or put in a crock pot on low). Let simmer for at least an hour to meld flavors. But you can make this early and let it simmer all day as long as you keep an eye on it and give it a stir now and then to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serve nice and hot! Hubby and son had grated cheese on theirs.

NOTES: As you can see, this is a recipe that is wide open for options. You could add chopped bell peppers. You could use ground turkey, or sausage or any kind of ground meat, or even a combination.  If you added a can of beans this would be a sort of combination goulash/chili.  Or, if you wanted a vegetarian version, use beans and veggies instead of the ground meat. This will be very thick. You can thin it out by adding beef or chicken stock, more tomato sauce or even canned diced tomatoes. It's all a matter of preference.

Oh! And this will make enough for 6 - 8. Depending on how many teenage boys are in your group lol! You can easily cut the recipe in half if you don't need so much.

Enjoy