5-Hour Beef Stew

 

Don’t get me wrong…I love summertime. Road trips, swimming, and being tan (I know, I know) make me so happy! It never fails, though, as soon as I see the leaves starting to change, I’m ready for Fall to come. I’m looking out my office window right now and I can see the golden hues creeping into the trees on our street; the warm + humid weather is telling me a different story, though.

Even though the actual temperature isn’t cooperating with my Fall-loving heart, I’m still in hunker-down + hibernate mode. There’s something about the cooler temps (or thoughts of them at least) that make me want all the soups and all the breads. Lucky for me, a friend shared her 5-Hour Beef Stew recipe with me a few years ago and it goes on regular rotation this time of year!

I mentioned in my last food post that I’m not a food blogger…and I mean it! I do love food, though, and the wonderful connections + feelings it brings into our lives, so I want to share my favorites with you. Since it’s not my intention to be a food blogger, my posts are going to have a bit of a different feel. Instead of sharing the step-by-step photos with you, I want to share a story of the “why” of the recipe and then the recipe itself. I mean…you don’t need to see endless pics of my mixer or sauce pans. Ha! Plus, it’s the connections that come from the food that’s the real beauty in all of this.

My friend Katie (the gifter of this recipe) and I met my freshman year at college. I was so homesick and not at all prepared to be in college, let alone actually thrive and make friends there. Somewhere into the 1st semester, Katie (who lived in the room next to me) officially met and she took pity on me and welcomed me with open arms into her group of friends. They were exactly what I needed in that moment and I finally felt like I belonged—in that place and in college at all!

I ended up transferring schools after that first year, but Katie and I managed to stay connected for several years after that. Eventually, I got engaged and, in that way that happens too often, I let our friendship fall to the wayside. Many years later, a little social media platform called Facebook allowed us to reconnect and I’m so happy it did!

Katie and I (try to) get together about once a month and there’s always too much food involved + usually some sort of purely girly time…pedicures, shopping, or sometimes crafts. She apparently comes from a family of amazing cooks because she invariably has a new-to-me recipe that I must have. I don’t know when or why the 5-Hour Beef Stew came up, but I’m so glad it did.

 
5-Hour beef stew in a white bowl | hprallandco.com

This recipe makes a lot, but I usually double it!

"If you're going to make the mess, make it worth it!" via hprallandco.com

When I cook, I like to make enough for left-overs, to put some in the freezer for a lazy Sunday, or to share with friends! Once you try this recipe, you’ll always make more because it’s so easy + delicious!

5-hour beef stew from hprallandco.com

5-hour beef stew from hprallandco.com

What You’ll Need:

*2-2.5 lbs. stew meat

*2 medium onions (chopped)

*4 cups potatoes (chopped)

*2 cups carrots

*1 cup celery

*2 T. instant tapioca

*1 tsp. salt

*Pepper to taste

*1 can tomato soup

*1/2 cup water

 

Prep + Cooking Instructions:

I cut all the vegetables to about the same size so they cook evenly; bite-size is perfect because then you can get a little bit in every spoonful!

Put all the ingredients into a slow-roaster + stir.

Cover + cook at 250 F degrees for 5 hours. When I double the batch, it takes about an hour more to get all the veggies tender.

I know you’ll love the beef stew as much as I do and I hope you’ll invite someone over to enjoy it with you! I have 2 containers left-over in my fridge right now, so I need to find some friends to share it with!

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