"Leftover" Beef Stew

“Leftover” Beef Stew

I love my slow cooker.  I use it at least 2 or 3 times a week usually.  Earlier this week, I made pot roast with carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, and a yummy gravy made from the leftover juice in the slow cooker.  No one except my husband really likes to eat leftovers, and I hate seeing good food go to waste, so I try to make use of whatever is just going to sit in the fridge and go to waste by reincarnating it into an entirely new dish.  So today, since I had that leftover pot roast, and since it’s chilly out and the whole family has a cold, I decided to make “leftover” beef stew in my slow cooker.  Of course, you could use fresh beef in this recipe, but I think the extra flavor from the pot roast that was imparted during it’s first cooking makes the stew even better.

I’m cooking for 6 people, and my family eats enough to feed a small army most nights, so this will make a HUGE pot of stew.  Feel free to adjust the ingredients depending on how many you are feeding or what you might like to add in there. 

I started out with about 3 pounds of leftover bottom round pot roast.  I like my stew to be chunky and substantial, so I just roughly cubed the meat, being sure to remove any big chunks of fat that were left after the first time I cooked it.  I also like using a pot roast because the fat that will be rendered during cooking adds lots of taste and helps thicken the stew a bit.

Next come the veggies.  Again, since I like something to chomp on, I keep the veggies big. That also helps them stand up to the hours of slow cooking.  In this particular recipe, I used about a pound of baby carrots, just cut in half; 5 large Russet potatoes, again, cut into large chunks; 4 plum tomatoes, cut in sixths; a large yellow onion, cut into chunks (it will separate as it cooks, no need to go crazy trying to cut it small and make yourself cry); a pound of fresh green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces; corn (I cheated and used a 10oz. package of frozen Bird’s Eye Shoepeg corn); and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine.

Once all my veggies we prepared, I layered the meat and veggies in the slow cooker.  Next comes to tasty stuff. 

While you can certainly use beef broth, I really like the concentrated bouillons that you find in the store now.  So I use maybe 6 tablespoons of the concentrate, which will become some of the richest broth ever once you add water and everything starts cooking down.  I also like to use about ¾ cups of red wine to add some depth of flavor.  I had some leftover pot roast gravy, so that went in to the cooker as well. 

Next, I add this little concoction to thicken the stew, as well as bring a nice flavor to the broth.  This is just butter and cornstarch mixed together.  Yep, butter and cornstarch.  Trust me, it’s good.  Just dump it in the cooker, and it will melt and spread it’s deliciousness around as the stew simmers.

Then the seasonings!  I really never measure my herbs and spices, so I’m just going to say season to taste.  I used sea salt, black pepper, basil, rosemary, and a smidgen of nutmeg.  I then filled the slow cooker to the line with water, then put the top on, cranked it up to high, and walked away!  Before long, the house had that warm, cozy smell that alone can make any cold a little less rough. 

6-8 hours later, you have delicious beef stew!  Fresh-baked biscuits go along with it perfectly.