Mom's Beef Stew

The Mission:

Make beef stew. Because it's tasty and I like it. Also, beef was on sale a few weeks ago, and I have a lovely amount of stew beef all cut up and ready to go in the freezer. Mom's been using this recipe my whole life, so I find it to be extremely comforting. It can be made on the stove, or in a crockpot - which is nice! It makes a fabulous addition to my winter menus, since it's such a warm and invitingly aromatic comfort food. It's also great using venison.
The Ingredients:

• 2 lbs stew beef
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• few dashes allspice or cloves
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 medium onion - roughly chopped
• 3 medium potatoes - chopped into bite sized pieces
• 5-6 carrot sticks - chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 bag of frozen green beans

The Instructions:

Stovetop directions: Brown meat in batches in hot oil. Add boiling water, seasonings, and onion (if you like your onion less mushy, add onion when you add other veggies). Simmer for 2 hours. Add sliced carrots and potatoes, then stir in the frozen green beans. Cook for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are done. Thicken stew gravy by adding flour to cold water and whisking until all lumps are gone, stir flour mixture into stew and cook at least five minutes more. Crockpot directions: brown meat and then assemble all ingredients except beans into the crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Microwave green beans until they're done and add to stew in crockpot. Add flour mixture and cook on high for 20 minutes.

The Result: Let's see. Next time I will add more carrots. It just wasn't quite enough for me. My husband liked the stew and ate it happily. I served it with pillsbury crescent rolls this time. Not exactly the most healthy side dish, but yummy nonetheless. I obviously assembled this one in the crock pot. I actually prefer the stew on the stove, but for week-night meals, it's just easier to put it in the crockpot so it's ready when you get home.

The Reviews: Not much to say here. Obviously I love this recipe. My whole family likes it and looks forward to eating it whenever the weather turns colder. I've made it for a few friends before and they all go back for seconds :)