Sweater Weather Stew!

Now that fall seems to be here to stay, I have decided to make a hearty beef stew. Beef stew can warm your belly on a cold autumn night while filling it with nutrients essential for your body, mind and soul. This particular beef stew is simple to prepare and doesn’t hurt the wallet. I produced about 11 liters of stew and only spent 42 dollars. Now if we assume the average person requires half a liter for one serving then this stew costs less than 2 dollars a person. This stew also makes a great gift. Who doesn’t like a liter of homemade beef and lentil stew as a present?

Now that I’ve sold you on the idea of a hearty stew in the fall, let me tell you how to cook it.

Ingredients

4 sticks of celery

6 large carrots

2 white onions

6 cloves of garlic

2 cups of button mushrooms

1 medium sized butternut squash

1 rutabaga

2 cups of green beans

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 inside round beef roast

4 cups lentils

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 twigs of fresh rosemary

5 or 6 sage leafs

1-liter chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is easy to prepare because you just need to add everything except the lentils into a large pot and let it cook for about 1 hour. You should start with the firmer vegetables like the butternut squash, rutabaga and carrots etc. Add the beef after these have cooked for about 15 minutes and just continue to add everything except the lentils and green beans. Bring this to a boil and then let it simmers for about 30 minutes or until beef is tender and vegetables are soft. Cook the lentils in a separate pot. The water the lentils cook in generally doesn’t taste that great and that is why I suggest cooking them separately. Add the green beans right at the end as they only take a short time to cook.

The finished product freezes nicely so you can make it in bulk and save some for busy times and cold nights. I promise you, next week we’re doing ham and pea soup.