Brrrrrr and Beef Stew!!

Sundays are usually my grocery shopping/meal planning days. This week I made out my meals and got everything together on Sunday as normal! I remember a couple of weeks ago I had bought some beef tips and froze them so I thought this would be perfect for Beef Stew. Since having a baby my crock pot has become my best friend! Being able to start something for dinner in the morning and not have to worry about it till time to eat (ok, you should probably check on it occasionally) dinner just takes one stress away!

Ok Ok, back to the Beef Stew. So this morning I was washing bottles and I glanced at my menu for the week (if you don't have one you should get one) Well, I had forgotten to thaw the beef tips last night.. So I quickly filled up the sink and let them thaw while I was putting the baby down for his morning nap!

I had found this recipe several months ago and I have made it a couple of times. I am a very "follow directions" type of cook. So, I usually follow everything to a T! Today, I was slipping a little bit, aka forgot some things! I thought this would be a good time to share "my version" of this recipe. The original is great, I have made it word for word, but my spin off still had the husband saying "dinner is great" SCORE!!!

The original recipe for The best Crockpot Beef Stew. We are not an onion eating family so, the recipe calls for onions, I skipped that! Also, skipped the celery.
Ingredients:
2lbs of beef stew meat (cut them up into small pieces)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped (didnt use this!!)
2-3 gloves of garlic, minced ( I used the jar of minced onion
6oz can of tomato paste
32oz of beef broth
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 cups of baby carrots
4-5 small red potatoes cut into bite sided pieces
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup of water

So today, I couldn't find the oregano! oops
My Style : I used frozen carrots, peas and corn. It doesn't make any difference which you use, I was just feeling lazy and didnt want to waste time cutting up carrots! So basically get out your crockpot and mix the beef chunks, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and tomato paste into the crock pot.

Today I used tomato sauce because I didnt have any tomato paste --- could tell no difference. 

Once you put it all into your crockpot, stir it up and leave it on high for 6-7 hours. If you are really an over achiever, you can put it on low for 10 hours. But who has time for that? Not me! around 3:30 I turned it to low for about 45 minutes and then just to keep warm. 

The recipe says to add the frozen peas and corn at the end and cook for 30 minutes, Im not sure why because it has made no difference, so I just put it all together. It also calls for adding flour and water to thicken it up, I have made it once with and once without, the consistency change was minimal. Do as you wish!:)

I whipped up some cornbread muffins and dinner was on the table at 5:45! This is a great meal to cook ahead and freeze too! 

Remember the original recipe can be found here, or you can just throw in your own items and make another spin off of my spin off! At the end of the day, it's a warm meal perfect for this brrrr cold weather we are having!