Beef Stew

It is finally Fall!
So of course this means serious comfort food. It's time for some unrestrained, no holds barred home cooked deliciousness.
It's beef stew time.

I tried to show off a little bit with this one, but the puff pastry boats I made to hold the stew came apart in the oven. (I'll be tackling those again soon.) Of course this didn't stop me from cutting the puff pastry into little triangles and serving it with the stew. If it tastes good and looks decent, no one will know you made a mistake. Everyone loved the puff pastry triangles.

The stew was perfect, homey, rich and everything was on point... well except for one thing.
I forgot the carrots.
I had beautiful organic homegrown carrots in my fridge and I didn't realize I'd forgotten them till halfway through my second bowl.
So the recipe isn't very exact, and I know that one my scoff at my use of Beef Stew seasoning mix, but seriously that stuff is awesome. I want to put it in everything I make, it's pure deliciousness.

Beef Stew
4lb beef stew meat (you can buy the precut stuff, but I found some nice cheap steaks on sale and cut them up myself)
1 packet beef stew seasoning mix
48 oz can of beef broth
2.5 lbs of (any kind of) potatoes
most of a 1lb bag of frozen peas
most of a 1lb bag of frozen corn
1 medium onion
2 carrots, peeled, diced
flour
salt/pepper
1 box frozen puff pastry, thawed



Coat meat in flour and salt/pepper. Get a large pot hot and add a few teaspoons of oil.


Sear the meat in batches, browning the outside, but not cooking it through. Remove all the meat.

Add the onion and carrots to the pot (I left my in large chunks for the picky eaters). Add the beef broth, beef stew seasoning mix and the meat (and all the juices that have acumulated on the plate) and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot for tasty bits of cooked on flavor.

Add the potatoes. Simmer on medium for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly cooked through.

Add the corn and green beans, simmer for another 10 minutes.

Now taste the stew. Enough salt? pepper? Is it thick enough? If not dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of corn starch in 2-3 tablespoons of water in a cup then add to the stew and heat it to a boil. It should thicken up perfectly.

The puff pastry triangles require basically no instructions. Thaw the pastry then unfold it, cut in along the folds and lay the pieces out on a baking sheet. Bake as instructed on the packaging.

Then cut into triangles and serve with beef stew.