On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:07:49 -0700 (PDT), "
> wrote:

>Beef Stew
>
>This has been done every which way since men figured out that cows
>were tasty. Since I am currently unemployed, I went cheap with the
>ingredients – all purchased on sale. This made 9 bowls of stew for
>me, which seems boring but is cheap eats. Figure $12.50 for 9 bowls
>of stew. Add $0.99 for a loaf of ralphs value wheat bread, and you
>have 9 good plates of food for maybe $1.50 per plate.
>
>2 lbs stewing beef - $5
>2 packets Kroger beef stew powder - $1
>1 bottle Charles Shaw cab - $2
>½ cup AP flour
>6 cups water
>1 8oz can tomato sauce - $0.50
>4 bay leaves
>1 TB garlic powder
>1 TB onion powder
>1 TB cracked pepper
>3 med carrots, peeled and chopped - $0.50
>3 med onions, chopped into rings - $0.50
>8 oz sliced mushrooms - $1.50
>4 red potatos, peeled and chopped - $0.75
>2 cups white rice (measure is before cooking) - $0.50
>
>in a large stock pot, combine water, kroger packets, bay leaves,
>garlic & onion powder, cracked pepper, and tomato sauce – bring to a
>boil
>coat beef cubes in the flour
>in a large fry pan, heat some veg. Oil and brown the beef in batches
>after each batch, use 1 cup of red wine to deglaze the pan, and pour
>the wine (with the good caramelized bits all in it) into the stock pot
>simmer the beef for approx 1 hour in the stock pot
>add chopped vegetables, simmer 1 more hour
>
>I made a pot of jasmine rice. I ladle the stew over the white rice
>and enjoy with an ice cold beer. Except for the first night – I
>polished off the rest of the wine with my first bowl of stew.
Not bad, I've been eatin on the cheap since I went on social security and with
variations this is what I've been living on for years:
You'll need a big stewpot.

Leftover Stew


3 lb. leftover Meat
4 large carrots quartered
3 medium onions cut in eighths
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
5 lb. small red potatos cut in quarters or smaller as desired
2 cups strong beef stock (or boullion)(boullion in beer worked GREAT)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce or to taste
1 can lima beans
1 can green beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can sweet peas
2 tbsp flour in water to thicken (optional)

Simmer 3 hours or untill the spuds are cooked through.

Note: Strong beef stock is 7 Tbsp bulk bouilion in 2 cups of hot water.

Note2: leftover meat is just about any cooked meat except fish.

My most recent change has been to replace the canned and fresh veg with 3 lb bags of
frozen from the local restaurant supply (Gordon's) with one each of Mixed Vegatables
and Snap Bean Stirfry and eliminate the meat. (Yep, doctor told me no more beef or
pork.)