Beef Stew

This recipe is based on The Pioneer Woman's Sunday Night Stew with a few tweaks to fit my taste :)

2 lb stew meat (chuck roast cut into chunks)

1/2 of a sweet onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz tomato paste

4 cups beef broth

Several dashes Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp honey

3 potatoes (red or yukon gold)

4 whole carrots, peeled and diced

3 celery stocks, diced

Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside. 

Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for 2 more minutes. 

Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and honey. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Cut the potatoes into medium chunks and add them into the pot with the meat. Cover and simmer for another hour.

After 1 1/2 hours, add the diced carrots and celery to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed! Serve piping hot in a bowl with a piece of crusty bread and toasted saltines.

**for toasted saltines - place saltine crackers in a cast iron skilled and toast in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.