Angel's Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Awesome! Very easy and VERY, VERY good. After reading previous reviews, I took many suggestion to great success. I used to 2 choice round steaks and cut them up. Added 2 more teaspoons of salt. Reduced Pepper to 1/2-teaspoon. The browning of the meat is definitely important, do this with care and make sure you get a nice crust on the meat without burning. Also added to great delight fresh herbs - thyme, sage, rosemary and 2 dry bay leaves as well as 1 can of crushed tomatoes + 2 tablespoons of Worchestire. Warning...you will need a big pot, this makes alot. Another suggestion, brown meat and onions in another large saute pan and deglaze with a little of the broth and butter. I didn't have beef broth so I used beef boullion and boiling water instead and it still turned out great. Also, used corn starch mixed with water instead to thicken. It was all gone and even my mother loved it to my surprise. A definite WINNER and REPEAT recipe. Thanks Angel.

When I see FIVE STAR recipes reviewed by this many people, I expect the recipe itself to stand on it's own, with little or no modification. As is, this recipe is a TWO STAR; unless you like somewhat bland mashed potatoes with beef chunks, then I suppose it might be a FOUR STAR. I agree with many of the other reviewers that this DOES need spiced up. I, too, tried the stewed tomatoes, sage, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and worcestershire sauce. After those rather major modifications, I still cannot give this recipe a FIVE because, putting the potatoes in when instructed, I ended up with "tastier mashed potatoes with beef chunks". Being new to cooking stews, I had no idea that the two hour time would be excessive for potatoes. Everyone I've talked to since, including good old mother, said they normally add potatoes the last half hour or so of simmering. Which, makes sense since at about a half hour into the two hours, I got a bit nervous when the potatoes were done, but the carrots were not... AND the flavor had not had enough time to cook into the stew. Since I'm a novice chef and am more apt to "go by the book" rather than invent ideas on my own, I'd request anyone who got the PERFECT combination of spices and time frames together to improve upon this recipe to create a brand new (and improved) entry on this site.

This is a very delicious and hearty recipe. It will definitely fill you up! I also took much of the advice of OLIVERCADO. You can find the review by searching under most helpful.