Hearty Beef Stew & Biscuits

Hearty Beef Stew & Baking-Powder Biscuits

This recipe was found under the B tab for beef. 

It's time to spice it up! I'm going to branch out and tackle more recipes than just desserts in the coming months. I've always been a fan of stew since it's such a stick-to-your-bones comfort food. There are many different variations of stews, but this one has a healthy dose of veggies and beef. 

The original recipe is part of a large newspaper page that displays about eight various recipes. I noticed this one had a recipe for biscuits attached as well so why not give it a shot? It's fairly easy to make, but does need about 2 hours total cooking time so be sure you are aware before beginning. Let's get cooking! 

Hearty Beef Stew

2 Tablespoons shortening

2 Pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 Cups water

4 Beef bouillon cubes

2 Teaspoons instant minced garlic

2 Bay leaves, crumbled

3 Teaspoons salt

4 Medium onions, quartered

8 Medium potatoes, pared and cut into 1-inch cubes

8 Medium carrots cut into 1-inch pieces

2 10oz. packages frozen green peas

1 Cup water

4 Tablespoons flour

1. Melt shortening in a large (at least 8-quart) saucepan. Brown meat thoroughly.

2. Add 6 cups water, bouillon cubes, garlic, bay leaves and salt. Heat to boiling,

stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is almost tender,

1 to 1-1/2 hours.

3. Add onions, potatoes and carrots and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and

simmer 20 minutes. Add peas and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15

minutes.

4. Shake 1 cup water and he flour in a covered jar until smooth. Stir into stew. Heat

to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. If a thicker broth is desired,

repeat the flour-water mixture.

5. Serve with biscuits.

6. Serves eight. 

First, start by making sure you have all the ingredients. I didn't have the instant minced garlic so I used minced fresh garlic and it turned out great! You will need a large sauce pan. I used a dutch oven and it worked fantastic. I also like mushrooms in mine so I picked up a package of pre-cut mushrooms while I was at the store. If you don't have bouillon cubes at home you can usually find them by the spices in the store and possibly the soup section. 

Once you have all the ingredients you are ready to begin! Start by melting the shortening in the saucepan over medium heat. 

When the shortening has completely melted and is a clear liquid you can go ahead and add the 2 pounds of beef stew pieces. 

Keep an eye on the meat while it cooks so it doesn't burn. Stir it occasionally until it has browned completely. 

When the meat is browned, add 6 cups of water, the bouillon cubes, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. 

Stir the new ingredients into the beef and keep a watch on it. Stir the mixture until it starts boiling. 

When it comes to a full boil you can reduce the heat to low and put a cover on it. Set your timer for 1 to 1.5 hours of cook time. You can stir the stew occasionally to be sure nothing is burning on the bottom. 

While the stew is cooking itself you can begin the prep work for the veggies. I started with the 8 medium carrots. You want to wash them and then peel them. 

When they've all been pealed you will need to chop them into 1 inch cubes. Be sure that these are around the same size so they cook evenly in the stew later on. 

You can put these aside in a separate bowl for now. Next up, the potatoes. Start the same way by washing and peeling them. 

Cut the potatoes into the same sized cubes as the carrots. 

When those are done you can place them into the bowl that already has the carrots for later use and move on to the onions. Onions can be tricky if you've never worked with them before. I recommend removing the outside skin then cutting off the top and bottom. 

When the onions are ready to be cut you can go for it! I usually just try to do it quick and be done with it so I don't turn into a tearing mess! If you have special goggles for cutting onions or any other onion cutting tricks more power to you! Cut these into quarters. They will fall apart when they cook in the stew. 

When the stew has been cooking for at least an hour you can check the beef. I used a sharp knife to poke a piece to see if it was tender yet. I didn't think mine was tender enough so I let it cook for another half hour before adding the veggies. When the beef is tender to your liking go ahead and add the onions, carrots, and potatoes. 

Mix the veggies into the stew, turn the heat up to medium high, and let it come to another rolling boil. 

When it has reached it's boiling point turn the heat to low and cover it for another 20 minutes. 

After the 20 minutes go ahead and add the frozen peas (and mushrooms if you like them). 

Mix them into the stew well and then cover it and let it cook for another 15 minutes. 

While that is cooking you can start the flour mixture. The recipe recommends using a glass jar to mix the flour, but I used Tupperware and it worked well. Start with a cup of water in the jar and add 4 tablespoons of flour. 

Place the lid on the container and make sure it is sealed tight. Shake the mixture together until it looks like a milky liquid. 

When the peas (and mushrooms) have been cooking for 15 minutes go ahead and add this flour mixture to the pot. 

Stir the flour mixture into the stew constantly until it reaches a boiling point. The stew will become thick. If it's still not thick enough for your liking you can always do the flour mixture again. 

At this point your stew is ready to eat! But what about those biscuits? If you're a multi-tasker like me you can start them while cooking the stew otherwise you can let the stew cook longer while you make the biscuits. Let's get started!

Baking-Powder Biscuits

2 Cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 Teaspoons baking powder

1 Teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup shortening

¾ Cup milk

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a mixing bowl. Cut

shortening in with pastry blender until mixture is coarse. Add milk,

mixing lightly until dough holds together.

2. Set oven at 425 degrees.

3. Knead dough lightly on floured board. Roll out, cut with a biscuit

cutter and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned.

5. Makes 16 to 20 biscuits.

These are really easy to make and you should already have the ingredients in your kitchen ready to go! 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees then start by sifting the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl. 

Cut the shortening into the flour mixture while the mixer is on. 

Mix until it has become a coarse texture. 

Add the milk while the mixture is on low. 

The dough is ready when it has stuck to itself and created a moist ball. 

Before taking the dough out of the bowl be sure to have a floured board ready to knead on. Then place the dough on the board and add some flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. 

Knead the dough a short while until it has become a round shape and is ready to be rolled out. 

Flour your rolling pin and begin in the middle and work your way out while rolling to smooth out the dough. You can make them as thick or thin as you'd like. 

Use a biscuit cutter or any round cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits. 

When they're ready to be cooked go ahead and place the biscuits on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

Place them in your oven for 12 minutes. Mine took only 12 minutes, but your may take longer. You know when they're done when they are slightly browned on top. 

Yummy! 

When your biscuits are ready to go then you are ready to eat your stew! 

To avoid that grey-ish colored broth you can always add Gravy Master to it. (It's a brown colored liquid that will make your broth look more 'beefy'). 

I gave this recipe a 4 out of 5 on the yummy scale! 

The stew has great flavor and really fills you up, but the biscuits were boring and dry! Maybe if you make them thicker than I did they won't be so hockey-puck-ish. Overall I definitely recommend making this over the weekend for a warm winter dinner!