Ruth's Crockpot Beef Stew

Since I just make stew with whatever I have on hand and rarely use a recipe, I’m including my mother-in-law’s recipe here. It’s yummy! And I learned that the stew beef is best left in big chunks. When I cut it up small, the meat loses its tenderness.

NOTE: in a crockpot, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. In an instant pot  or pressure cooker, cook for 35 minutes and then natural release for 10 minutes. In the instant pot, plan on one and a half hours for the whole process.

2 lbs. beef stew meat       

1/2 cup flour (use almond meal to make gluten-free)

3 tbsp. shortening

Dredge meat in flour, melt shortening in skillet.  Add beef and sauté until browned.  (Or a quicker way is to put beef in crock pot.  Mix 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and pour over meat.  Stir to coat with flour.)

Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well:

1 medium onion, chopped           

3 stalks, sliced            

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bay leaves                             

1 tsp. sugar                

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. ground cloves               

1 tsp. lemon juice         

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 cans Campbell’s beef broth (add water with soup to make 4 cups liquid.)

I add as many carrots and cut up potatoes as can fit in the pot. 

Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours or on High 5-6 hours.  Stir stew before serving.  Remove bay leaves.