Beef Stew

My husband and I used to work together as science teachers at the same high school.   Students were frequently confused.  Especially at the beginning of the school year... "Did you know that they put 'Mr.' on the schedule?  Oooh, burn!"...  "Mr. Wilson is in the next building over.  You're in the wrong class."...  "Oh."...  *slink away*

This situation had its ups and downs.

Up:  We drove to work together so our gas bill was totally manageable.
Down:  I couldn't leave until he was ready to leave.  He's such a workaholic. 

Up:  We got to eat lunch together everyday.
Down:  We had nothing new to talk about.

Up:  We totally got to gossip to each other about people, and we always knew who the other was talking about!  I mean... we didn't gossip.  That's not nice.
Down:  We kinda gossiped about people, and we always knew who the other was talking about.  

Up:  Every year our Home Ec dept. would have a cookbook sale as a fundraiser and my hunny always bought one for me!

This recipe came from one of those books.  I've adjusted it slightly to suit my own preferences, but overall, its a good one, and I make it often. 

Start with some stew meat.  I buy a package of chopped meat labeled "stew meat."  This makes my life a little easier.

Put this in a crock pot and start layering the following ingredients right on top.

Some roughly chopped carrots

a can of diced tomatoes

peas (I use frozen, but the canned version would be fine)

chopped onion

a bay leaf

some red wine

(This is when my camera battery died... so no more pictures for awhile.  Oops.)...

also add some beef broth, salt and pepper to taste, some brown sugar, and some bread crumbs.

Give the stew a quick mix just to make sure its all settled nicely and turn the crock pot on low for 8-9 hours. 

About two hours before its done, chop up some potatoes and add those to the crock pot, too.

I used the previous 7 hours to see that my camera battery was indeed charged and ready to go.  It was. 

When its done, ladle yourself some stew and maybe serve it with some cornbread on the side. 

Beef Stew Recipe
2 lbs stew meat
1 c. chopped carrots
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 c. peas
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 c. chopped potatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 c. beef broth
1 c. red wine
1/2 bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Add all ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low heat for 8-9 hours.