You may notice that I used baby potatoes in this stew. I usually just peel and chop regular potatoes, but i had these on hand and it was super easy because I didn’t even peel them. Wash and add.

It’s my day off today and I decided to make one of my favourite stew recipes. It was given to me several years ago by, Pat, a great family friend and my spiritual Mama! She was one of my mom’s closest friends and has always been there for me since my mom passed away over 15 years ago. I love this recipe because it is quite different from the traditional brown stew my mom served when we were growing up. I loved my mom’s stew as well, but I was intrigued by the flavour in this tomato based stew.

Pat’s Oven Stew Recipe:

• 2 lbs. of stewing beef, trimmed of fat and cut into 1″ chunks
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes, puréed (I use one 28 oz. tin because we by this size bulk at Costco)
• 2 Tablespoons of beef bouillon mix
• 2 teaspoons of sugar (or to taste)
• Seasoning Salt
• Mrs. Dash (regular) or pepper
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• Vegetables of your choice, peeled and chopped  (potatoes, turnip, celery, onions, carrots)
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• Optional: 3/4 cup of BBQ sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place the puréed tomatoes in the bottom of a roaster.
3. Put the stewing beef on top and stir to cover. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir.
4. Cover the roaster and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the vegetables, stir and cover. Cook another 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If the vegetables are done before the two hours are up, remove them from the oven.)
6. Dissolve the bouillon mix in 1 cup of boiling water.
7. Place a colander into a large bowl. Drain the juice into this bowl; add the sugar and beef bouillon mix to the juices. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary.
8. Set the drained meat and veggies to the side.
9. Make a roux with the flour and melted butter in another pot. Slowly add the juice. Cook and stir until you have a nice gravy.
10. Add the vegetables and meat into the gravy mixture. Stir and serve.

I love this recipe and wouldn’t adjust a thing. However, I did come across a similar recipe one time that included BBQ sauce. I decided to mix it in with the tomatoes and it was a nice addition, so I included it as an option. Either way is delicious!

Dumplings:

Dumplings are the selling feature in my family. My kids absolutely love them and they are pretty easy to make. My recipe comes from my Grade 7 Home Economics cookbook “Recipes for Young Adults”. I have to say, I still use several recipes from that book.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 Tablespoon of butter
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk or water (I use milk)

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Cut in the butter and crumble by rubbing it with the flour between your hands. Slowly add the milk (or water) and mix. Drop by spoonfuls onto the top of the stew. (I usually get 4 blobs from one batch, but I always double it because my family loves stew and dumplings.) Cover. Place in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Don’t lift the cover during cooking. I don’t worry about the stew over cooking. I just crank it up for the last 10 minutes and it seems fine. The dumplings rise beautifully and are a yummy addition to any stew. (If you are making a stove top stew, just cook the same way – drop on stew, cover and cook for 10 minutes or so.)