Stew-pendous

Mondays and Wednesdays are killer class schedule days. When it’s all said and done, I am in class until 6pm, with only about a 2 hour break in between. Jealous yet? Didn’t think so. By the end of the day, I come home tired and hungry, hoping that the magic food fairy has left me something quick, easy and delicious on the stove. It’s Week 4 of cooking at college, and I am beginning to lose faith in her “supernatural abilities”.

Yesterday, I decided to take preparation matters into my own hands and have something pop right out of the oven on my return. It was a 5 hour stew! Well, it actually turned out to be more of a 4 hour stew because I made a little less. Regardless, it was one of those warm winter meals that invites you to the table, and then sticks with you all night. With adequate planning, this meal is simple and savory. The few adjustments I made to the stew were that I added a clove of garlic – my rational: when have I added garlic and not had it come out better? [haha] The original recipe called for an entire can of both soups, and I kept that, although I cut down on all other ingredients. I like my stew a little more soupy. [Also, what do you do with half a can of cream of celery soup?] Also, 225 degrees may seem very low, even lower than most recipes online would call for, but since I was leaving my soup completely unattended I wanted it at a very low temperature so that the liquid wouldn’t all burn off or burn the dormitory down. [I feel like paying for damages would offset my budget a bit.] Sounds like a lot of modifications, and yes, some of them were more or less victims of circumstance, but this stew came out absolutely delicious.

…Maybe the little kitchen fairy was watching over my food after all :)

5 Hour Stew

Ingredients:

½ - 1 lb. stew beef, raw
2 med potatoes, peeled, in chunks
4 carrots, peeled and quartered
1 onions - thick chunks
1 clove garlic, diced
½ c frozen peas, cooked in ¼ c of water
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of celery soup
Instructions:

1. Peel and cut up vegetables and meat.

2. Mix all in dutch oven.

3. Bake at 225 (yes, low temp) for 4-5 hours.

Makes about 5 cups of stew. NOMS: 8.5