by Susan Keeping

Created on: September 22, 2007   Last Updated: April 14, 2008

I consider stew to be a great comfort food. Stew brings back memories of watching my mother prepare Sunday dinner for the family. Of course, when my mother made stew she used all fresh ingredients. I lived in Scotland as a young girl and we didn't have a refrigerator. My mother would make daily trips to the butcher shop and the green grocer's. My mother also did not believe in using canned vegetables if she could help it. I think it was a reaction to her having lived through World War II and having had to live through rationing for a few years.

But, times have changed. Now the pace of my life is so quick that I don't often have time to make everything from fresh. Canned potatoes and frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh for a stew and make cooking a breeze.

I call this my quick and easy stew. Anyone can make it; it takes practically no skill other than mixing it up and turning on the crock-pot. It makes a wonderful meal and since I am a single person it can feed me for a week. I mix up how I have the stew; one day I will have it as it is, the next I might serve it on top of a slice of bread. I might even wrap it in a tortilla if I am so inclined. The thing is, it is a very versatile food that can be served in any number of ways.

Place one package of stewing beef in a crock-pot, and coat the meat with one quarter cup of flour. Add one can of potatoes, one cup of frozen carrots, and half a cup of frozen onions. Next, add a dash of Worcester sauce, two tablespoons of rosemary, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of pepper, and one tablespoon of garlic flakes. Finally, add enough red wine or water to cover the meat and the potatoes. Stir. Cover, cook in a crock-pot on high for 8 or 10 hours.

Ingredients

1 package stewing beef (you can substitute lamb or pork)
1/4 cup of flour
1 can of potatoes, drained
1 cup frozen carrots
1/2 cup frozen onions
A dash of Worcester sauce
2 tablespoons rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon of dried garlic flakes
Red wine, enough to cover the meat and potatoes (or you can use water)

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