Even though I think of a hearty beef and vegetable stew as a 'winter' food, for some reason I really, really wanted to make this yesterday. It worked out perfectly though as it's about 100 degrees out this week and I was able to put this in the slow cooker and forget about it while it cooked away on the countertop and didn't heat up my kitchen. I also used my solar oven to bake a loaf of bread so our dinner last night was not only delicious and filling but it cooked without my help or using the stove or oven!
This recipe is SO TASTY. I apologized to my family a bit when I served it... I said, "I know stew is an old Grandma style recipe but...." and I need not have bothered. It was met not only with great enthusiasm, but the dish was scraped clean!
I did not have fresh carrots on hand - only about 1/4 cup leftover of the carrots I had dehydrated last month so that is why my photos don't show large, brightly colored carrot disks in them. I also used my dehydrated sliced mushrooms and added them at the beginning of the cook time and we don't use corn very often in our home so I left that out. Substitute as you need to or want to.
Beef and Vegetable Stew
3 c cubed, peeled potatoes
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, cubed
2 lb. steak or other beef, cubed or cut to about 1" pieces
2 T oil
3 T flour
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 c boiling water
1/4 c white vinegar
1/4 c ketchup
1 T prepared horseradish
1 T prepared mustard
1 T sugar
1 c peas
1 c corn
1 c fresh sliced mushrooms
Place the potatoes, carrots and onions in a slow cooker. In a large skillet, brown the beef in oil. Lay on the vegetables in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with flour. In a bowl, dissolve the bouillon cubes in the water and stir in the vinegar, ketchup, horseradish, mustard and sugar. Pour over meat in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high about 5 hours. Add the peas and corn and mushrooms. Cook an additional 45 minutes. Makes about 5-6 servings.
