I don’t know about you, but as soon as it’s not 90 degrees outside, I start to get cold. So basically for me winter starts in the fall. And as soon as I start to feel cold I just start pulling out the thick, cozy socks, heavy blankets, and immediately start whipping up hot tea lattes and lots and lots of steaming soups and hearty stews.
When it comes to both soups and stews, like a lot of dishes, there are a million ways to make them. Even with similar ingredients, there are so many different methods to get to the same delicious dish – and it doesn’t mean one way is right or wrong.
As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made beef stew the very same way, yet I always seem to wind up with something I love (and something others love too :)). For this stew, I actually prepared the beef separately from the stew and I was really happy with how it ended up. I guess that’s why I chose to share the recipe – it was really yummy. It didn’t hurt that I added beer to the broth and that always seems to make me happy.
Can Comfort Food Comfort?
When I think of comfort food, a steaming hot bowl of anything sounds perfect. Well, and nachos kind of do the trick too. Do you find yourself reaching for a favorite food when you’re feeling down? I do, and I think most of us do. The thing is, if we do that too much it ends up delivering the opposite of comfort. It can actually make us feel worse. You know, like that really full feeling when you don’t feel like doing anything but binge-watch your favorite show, or well, eat more comfort food like chocolate cake. haha. I’ve been there – and who hasn’t?
Comfort has been a lot on mind, especially since I recently went through an experience that hurt my heart pretty deeply. When emotional pain strikes, it can have an impact on almost every part of our lives, and even make us feel sick. So it’s vital for us, especially women, to take care of every part of ourselves by being really, really, REALLY good to ourselves.
Hey, I’m in no way an expert on what it takes to get back on our feet after a failure or heartbreak, or whatever it is that gets us in those hard places, but over time I’ve learned that surrounding ourselves with people who truly love us, spending time doing the things that bring us joy – and leaning heavily into the truth of who we are, and WHOSE (thank you God) we are, will bring our souls a whole lot of comfort and joy.
And I guess it never hurts to indulge in our favorite comfort food followed by a giant piece of chocolate cake (in moderation of course).
xoxo Garlic Girl
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 pounds chuck roast cut in large cubes
- 8 ounces beer Light or dark
- 3 carrots cut in 1-inch pieces
- 3 ribs celery cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1 large onion cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups cabbage roughly chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1/8 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 cup stewed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups beef bone broth homemade or store bought
- 2 cups potatoes cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
Braise the Meat
- Cube the meat, season with salt and place in greased shallow baking dish. Pre-heat broiler to high. Place baking dish under broiler for about 5 minutes until meat begins to sizzle and brown. Turn the pieces of meat over and brown on the other side. Cover with oven proof lid.
- Adjust rack to place in center of oven and heat oven (not broiler) to 275° F. Place baking dish back in oven and continue to bake for 2½ hours until tender. This will braise the beef and make it tender and tasty.
- Remove baking dish from oven and add 4 ounces of the beer to deglaze the pan. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, making sure to not break up the meat. Set aside.
Make the Stew
- In heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and heat to medium.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 6 minutes until a little tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute and then add the cabbage and mushrooms. Continue to cook for another couple minutes until you start to see the bottom of the pan beginning to caramelize.
- Sprinkle to flour to the tops of veggies and gently combine until you don't see any more flour.
- To deglaze the pot with the veggies, add the stewed tomatoes and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add salt to taste, thyme, black pepper and cook another couple minutes until it starts to simmer.
- To the simmering pot, add the remaining beer and the beef stock and stir. Make sure to continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure the browned bits are incorporated into the broth. Bring to a simmer. Add the beef with all the juices, then add the potatoes. Add the bay leaves. Taste the broth and add more seasoning if needed.
- Add parsley to the top of the stew, cover and simmer on very low heat for one hour.
To Serve
- With a slotted spoon, pick out several pieces of beef, potato and a variety of the veggies to each individual bowl. Don't forget to fish out the bay leaves from the pot. Using a large spoon, drizzle the broth over the meat and veggies in each bowl. Garnish with more fresh parsley if desired.ENJOY!
I made this a week ago. We still have leftovers! going into the freezer.
Sounds like you enjoyed it! I love to freeze food! 😊