Get ready for some goodness.  This was awesome.  Here’s the original recipe from Recipezaar.  I made a small batch of this beef stew using a 1lb package of stew meat from my local grocery.  I didn’t want to make too much then not like it.  I very much did like this dish and am looking forward to making a large batch to freeze in the coming weeks.  Okay, time for me to stop wasting time.  Let’s get to this recipe!

Here are the ingredients pictured: stew meat, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, thyme, oregano, and hoisin sauce.  The corn muffin mix is pictured as a great idea to go with the stew.  Unfortunately for me, I realized I didn’t have milk of any kind left in this house.  Since I wasn’t about to go to the grocery, I just ate toast instead.

Not pictured above are salt and pepper and the diced onions.  So, don’t forget those.  Also not pictured is basil.  The crushed tomatoes I had already had basil in them.  So, add a 1/2 tsp dried basil to your list.

Place a large, heavy pot onto your stove and set the stove on high-ish.  Heat up enough olive oil for the amount of meat you have.

Salt and pepper your stew meat. Then, place the meat into the heavy pot and cook until browned on all sides.

Now it is time for your diced onions. When the meat has browned, push it to the sides of the pot and reduce the heat on the stove to medium. Place another bit of olive oil into the pot. Throw your onions into that olive oil and cook until nicely browned.

If you’re like me, you’ll realize that you’re just cooking a small batch and there’s no reason to use the gargantuan pot. So you use a smaller one. However, there’s not enough room to move the meat to the edges of the pot. Never fear, do what I did. With a slotted spoon, Remove the meat to a dish , leaving all that juicy goodness in the pot to cook your onions in. I found I didn’t need any extra oil, but that might be a personal preference.

Another thing I quickly realized with this dish is that onions aren’t the only seasoning that might work well. I threw in some frozen bell peppers as well. This made for an additional great flavor. I’m thinking potatoes would be awesome too, but I have no clue where in this process you’d include them.

Once your onions and bell peppers (if you used them) are browned, then add the meat back into the pot.

Time to add the tomatoes. I prefer crushed tomatoes to diced, so that’s what I used. If you want some chunky tomatoes in your stew, make sure to purchase some diced ones instead.

Mix it all together.

Time to add in the seasonings. The recipe called for 1/2 tsp basil and oregano as well as 1/4 tsp thyme for 3 1/2 pounds of meat. Adjust these amounts for the amount of meat you are cooking.

Add in the hoisin sauce. The recipe called for 1/2 cup sauce for 3.5 lbs of meat. Again, adjust to what you’re using. Mix it all together very well. It might already be boiling and bubbling. If it is, reduce the heat to simmer, cover, and let cook for 30 – 45 minutes, stirring every so often. If it isn’t boiling and bubbling, let it get to that stage before the next step before covering the pot and setting to simmer.

Once it’s simmered for awhile, throw in some carrots. I just threw in a bunch of baby carrots until it looked like I had enough. Add more water if you need to at this point. Recover and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Okay, here’s where I really deviated from the recipe. I found that my stew was nice and thick enough for me. I think this was because I didn’t use wine and didn’t substitute a enough water to compensate for the lack of liquid. I just kept added a bit of water when it looked like all the water was simmering out of the dish. This ended up thickening the dish up for me all by itself. If your dish doesn’t look thick enough, uncover the dish and bring it to a boil. Allow to boil until the sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. While its heating up to a boil, mix 1 tbs cornstarch to 1 tbs water. When the sauce has thickened a bit, reduce the heat to medium. Add in the cornstarch mixture. Stir well to make sure it is fully incorporated. Then, reduce your heat to simmer and cook for another 15 minutes or so.

When finished, remove to a pretty plate and eat with toasted bread, cornbread, or over rice or egg noodles. I hope you enjoy this dish! I certainly did!