Hearty Beef Stew

It's that time of the year when the weather is turning cooler and the days are getting shorter.

To me, that means serving up more (healthy!) comfort food.

To be honest, I am looking forward to winter this year. I felt so busy this summer that I am looking forward to ending my evenings early and cozy-ing up on the sofa under a thick blanket with something warm to drink and the fire crackling.

In fact, that's what I'm doing right now as I write this :)

I made a huge pot of this hearty beef stew tonight and it was delicious! I've tried making beef stew several times before and it never turns out too well. But this recipe was excellent! A definite keeper. It was easy as well- there was just some prep work involved with peeling and chopping the vegetables. I purposely created a ground beef stew recipe because I think ground beef is easier to cook (I'm not left wondering if it's chewy or tough) and it's less expensive too.

I served this with French bread and butter, but a salad would go very well. This recipe doubles and triples easily and is on the table in one hour!

The Recipe: Hearty Beef Stew

Serves: 3 to 4 Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 tbsp ghee or olive oil (I used ghee)

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into slices

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion chopped

1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces (about 2 potatoes)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2-3 cups beef stock

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 packet brown gravy mix

optional 2 tbsp flour

Instructions

Brown the ground beef in a large pot, strain, and set aside.

Add the ghee or olive oil to the sauce pan. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies just begin to soften.

Add the garlic, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Stir.

Add the potatoes, beef stock, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

Reduce to a simmer. Add the ground beef back to the pot, stir, and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes until vegetables are fork tender (be careful so they don't get mushy).

In a separate bowl whisk the gravy packet, optional 2 tbsp flour, and 1/2 water until no lumps remain. Stir into the pot of stew and cook for about 5 minutes until broth thickens.

Remove bay leaves. Serve and enjoy!