Beef Stew

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. chuck roast, trimmed and cut into cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 cups beef broth
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoons flour
Heaping 1/3 cup frozen peas

Serve over mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS:

In large pot or deep skillet set to medium-high heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add chuck roast and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Add onions, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Cook another 5 minutes. Pour in beef broth. Cover and simmer 2-4 hours, until meat and vegetables are tender.

When ready to serve, remove bay leaves. In a small bowl, stir softened butter and flour together until smooth. Stir butter mixture into the stew. Add frozen peas. Once the gravy thickens slightly, it's done. Serve hot over mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

TIP
Instead of a large pot, you can use a slow cooker. Just brown the meat in a large skillet first, then add the meat along with vegetables, spices and beef broth to the slow cooker. Simmer on low for 2-4 hours.

Irish Lamb Stew

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced 6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped

1 can beef consumme, 1 can beef broth 4 cups diced carrots 2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces 6 potatoes 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 cup white grape juice

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2.	Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3.	Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with grape juice and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, and beef stock. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
4.	Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender. (allrecipes.com) I used 2 Costco packages of lamb chops, cooked them with bone on, then removed meat from bone at the end. I found this actually was a little thin, and at the end I added a roux of flour, butter, and broth to get it to the thickness I wanted in a stew.

Chicken Stew with Olives and Lemon

1 pound boned, skinned chicken thighs (or breasts) rinsed and patted dry

2 T all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp salt, pepper

2 T olive oil

2 large minced garlic cloves

1 T capers, drained and minced

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 ¾ cups chicken broth

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

1 package (8 oz) thawed frozen artichoke hearts, quartered if large

1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

 1 cup pitted medium green olives

lemon wedges

Cut each chicken thigh into chunks. Add (in a Ziploc bag) flour, salt, and pepper. Shake to coat chicken.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken (discard excess flour) in a single layer and cook. Transfer to a plate.

On medium heat, add garlic, capers, and lemon zest and stir about 30 seconds. Add broth, potatoes, and chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes, covered.

Add artichokes to pot and stir. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, lemon juice to taste, and olives. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, with lemon wedges on the side.