chunky beef stew
Ingredients:
1 lb of beef stew cubes
6 carrots
5 stalks of celery
1 large white onion
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 cups of water
4 potatoes - cut into large chunks
3 tbsp flour
1. Cook up your beef cubes in a frying pan until browned, then transfer both the beef and juice to a large pot (or slow cooker, which is what I used).
2. Cut carrots, celery, and onions into chunks. Add to pot (or slow cooker), along with garlic, bay leaf, cloves, salt, black pepper, and 3 cups of water.
3. Cover, and simmer on low fire for 3-4 hours.
4. Add potatoes to the pot. Simmer for one more hour, or until potatoes are softened.
5. Scoop out a bit of the broth into a small bowl. Mix in 3 tablespoons of flour. Then pour the mix back into the pot and stir well. Remove cover and cook on medium fire for another 20 minutes to slightly thicken the broth. Add in more salt and pepper if needed.
6. Serve hot by itself, or get some nice crusty bread to soak up all the goodness (I used a bit of cheddar bread, so good!)