Hm Beef Stew ??

Floozie

I brown the cubes of beef in butter with a little oil added to stop the butter burning, then add onions and cook for a few minutes. I then add a spoon of plain flour to the mixture and cook for a minute stirring well. A tin of guinness is then added along with a stock cube and some water as well as thyme, a dollop of onion chutney, a teaspoon of marmite and a few drops of balsamic vinegar to lift the flavour as well as salt and pepper. It is brought to the boil and then left to simmer for two hours. At the end I throw in some frozen peas and then if needs thickening I sprinkle some gravy granules over and continue to cook for several minutes.
I serve this with mashed potatoes - comfort food!!!!!

bigmomma051204

Just need some pointers guys and gals!

I am making my first ever beef stew. I am 30 - it seemed like a good time to start thinking about making a good staple like that LOL!

I am making it tonight but eating it tomorrow. And possibly the day after (would that still be okay?)

It is basically beef, carrots, parsnips, onion, leeks, garlic, bit of red wine and thats it apart from obviously seasoning etc..

Am i right in thinking that if i am making it tonight, i will store it in fridge and then reheat on hob until piping hot? I reckon probably on a medium heat and let it chug away for a bit?? Am I also right in thinking it will probably thicken in a kind of glutinous (is that a word lol) way in the fridge... and in which case it is maybe better to thicken it (if it needs it) when reheating rather than doing it tonight before storing to avoid it just going ridiculously claggy.....??

Thanks peeps! I am ridiculously excited about my stew - it smells gorgeous! I havent been this excited about cooking since i made my first Lamb shanks in red wine sauce LOL... :j

kittycat204

It will be fine, better for sitting. It might need thickening a little in which case I would add http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-0b13599.html
Well done, keep it up.

hieveryone

Yum I love stew!

Storing it in the fridge for a couple of days will be no problem - but I like it even better when it has been frozen and re-heated afterwards! Makes it taste even better somehow :rotfl:Just remember to only re-heat the portion you are going to eat i.e don't heat it all back up then put some back in the fridge (if that makes sense)

It will probably thicken after being chilled so you can wait and see what it is like when you are re-heating.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

bigmomma051204

Awww thanks for the encouragement peeps!

I now have a handful of what i consider good, staple meals which i can comfortably make for my hubby and son ....

Lasagne
Shephards Pie/Cottage pie
Lamb Shanks in Red wine gravy
Chicken curry
Spaghetti Bolognese
Hunters chicken
Roast dinner (though i hate cooking these with a vengence lol)
Pasta bake (sometimes bolognese bake, sometimes tuna bake etc)

These may all sound basic and i probably look rubbish but i am actually proud that i can now batch cook things like this and make proper "family food"

My next nemesis is fish pie - so if anyone has any good recipes, tips or hints then please let me know! Hubby wont eat this as he hates fish lol!

Anyone have any other staple family recipes i should try?

I really want to make liver and bacon in gravy BUT the slippery liver scares me :eek:

May move onto proper old school puddings next - can do pancakes lol ... would like to try and make a proper crumble, and an apple pie

valk_scot

If you roll the pieces of meat in a little flour before browning them, it will help thicken the stew a little. If you want to thicken the stew after, mix a little cornflour or sauce flour with cold water, add it to the cold stew, stir it in well then bring it up to the boil.

I agree with only reheating the portion you're going to eat that particular night.

Steve059

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

<snip> My next nemesis is fish pie - so if anyone has any good recipes, tips or hints then please let me know! <snip>

Try this one of mine ...

FISH PIE

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 onion
250ml of milk
350g of white fish
250ml of white sauce
½ a tablespoon of parsley
1 quantity of mashed potato

METHOD

Peel the onion and chop it into tiny pieces.

Put the 250ml of milk, fish and onion into a frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until the fish is firm and opaque.

Strain the milk through a sieve or colander into a bowl. Put the fish and onion onto a plate. Break the fish into small pieces. Throw away the skin and bones.

Make the white sauce, using the milk the fish was cooked in.

Add the fish, onions and parsley. Mix thoroughly.

Make the mashed potato.

Put the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish. Level off the surface. Put the mashed potato on top. Spread to cover the fish mixture.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes until golden on top.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use cod, coley, haddock, hake, ling, plaice, pollack or whiting fillets.

Use smoked and/or dyed fish, because smoked fish tastes nice and dyed fish looks pretty. This includes kippers. Cook them according to the instructions on the bag.

Use 100g of frozen cooked prawns instead of 100g of the fish. Defrost them according to the instructions on the packet and add them to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie.

Add a chopped hard-boiled egg to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie.

bigmomma051204

Steve059 wrote: »

Try this one of mine ...

FISH PIE

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 onion
250ml of milk
350g of white fish
250ml of white sauce
½ a tablespoon of parsley
1 quantity of mashed potato

METHOD

Peel the onion and chop it into tiny pieces.

Put the 250ml of milk, fish and onion into a frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until the fish is firm and opaque.

Strain the milk through a sieve or colander into a bowl. Put the fish and onion onto a plate. Break the fish into small pieces. Throw away the skin and bones.

Make the white sauce, using the milk the fish was cooked in.

Add the fish, onions and parsley. Mix thoroughly.

Make the mashed potato.

Put the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish. Level off the surface. Put the mashed potato on top. Spread to cover the fish mixture.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes until golden on top.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use cod, coley, haddock, hake, ling, plaice, pollack or whiting fillets.

Use smoked and/or dyed fish, because smoked fish tastes nice and dyed fish looks pretty. This includes kippers. Cook them according to the instructions on the bag.

Use 100g of frozen cooked prawns instead of 100g of the fish. Defrost them according to the instructions on the packet and add them to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie.

Add a chopped hard-boiled egg to the fish mixture when you assemble the pie.

Will try this - thanks!!! Why the hard boiled egg?

kittycat204

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

Will try this - thanks!!! Why the hard boiled egg?

Because they taste good, you don't have to put them in. Recipes are flexible.

Omar_Little

Each to their own OP but personally I would substitute the parsnip for swede. Parsnip in a stew wouldn't work for me.