Hearty Beef Stew

Swanson

Vegetable cooking spray

1 lb. beef for stew, cut into 1” pieces

1 ¾ cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

3 medium carrots, cut into 1” pieces

2 medium potatoes, cut into quarters

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

¼ cup water

Spray 6 qt. saucepot with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for 1 min. Add beef and cook until well browned, stirring often.

Stir broth, bay leaf, thyme and black pepper into saucepot. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 hr. 30 min.

Aesthetically, the stew has its moments.

Add carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook 30 min. more or until vegetables are tender.

Stir flour and water in cup and stir into saucepot. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Discard bay leaf.

But the end result? Kind of a let-down.

My Rating: 2/5 "This stew was just ok. Nothing really to write home about, which was doubly annoying since it took so long to cook. The veggies were not remotely tender by the end of the half-hour, by the way, and I had even cut the potatoes smaller than the recipe recommended because I didn't know how we were going to politely eat a whole quarter of a potato with a spoon. The thyme is nice, but it doesn't add much, and the flavors in here don't blend together very well. The end result is just some potatoes, carrots, and beef in a bowl with some broth."