French Onion Beef Stew
PIN IT!Woooh, it’s a little dusty in here. I might have even spotted a few tumbleweeds in the corner. And yep, there’s a few cobwebs over there too. I’m not going to make up any excuse as to why it’s been almost 3 weeks since I posted because I don’t have any.
Simply put, life got crazy. As many of you know, I spent 10 days in Fiji, one day in LA and three days in Cleveland the first two weeks of October. That meant I had two weeks worth of work to get done before I even left on October 1st. That means each day I had 3 – 6 recipes due a day versus the manageable 2 – 3. That makes it hard to focus on blogging (or showering, eating normal meals, etc).
I want to say I’m sorry but I’m kind of not, to be honest. When I started this blog, I never wanted it to take over my real life. I never wanted this thing I loved to turn into something that left me stressed when I was on vacations or weekends (I have a full-time job for that!) I always wanted this blog to be my place of solitude, a small corner of the internet where I never had to worry about deadlines or traffic.
And it’s remained that. Although I have no intentions of leaving you hanging for that long again (no more waffles, Tracy!), I can’t say it’ll never happen again. But I can make you promise, when I do come back I’ll have a ton of new recipes to make up for it.
Which is why you’re looking at an amazing little bowl of stew this morning! French onion soup is one thing I can never get enough of (ask my mother about the time we went to Paris and that’s all I ate). I also love beef stew. So one morning, I had the crazy idea to mate the two together to create one insanely delicious flavor packed stew that’s complete with a crispy, cheesy crouton on top.
Holycow. You guys, this stew. I can’t believe I managed to keep it secret for three weeks because I’m already planning a remake this weekend. I hope this stew makes up for my absence, if not, don’t worry, I have plenty more recipes and stories that should 🙂
French Onion Beef Stew
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 4.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:Â
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 4 cups sliced onions
- 6 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 4 medium red potatoes, sliced
- 1 cups mushrooms
- 1 1/2 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 4 slices of french bread
- 4 slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Â Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onions, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Mix in 4 cups of broth and 1 cup of beer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from direct heat after but keep warm.
- Meanwhile, dredge the beef stew meat in flour and shake off excess. Heat olive oil in another pot over medium heat. Add the beef stew meat in batches and cook until browned on each side, about 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set in another bowl.
- Add beef to the same pot and stir in the remaining 2 cups of broth. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or mixture is thickened.
- Gradually mix in the onion and beer/broth mixture, mixing well. Stir in the carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms and italian seasoning. Cover the mixture and simmer for another 30 – 45 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
- Preheat broiler. Fit a slice of bread over four ramekins or bowls. Add a slice of cheese to the tops of the bread. Broil for about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. Serve warm.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories:Â 675
Fat: 24 grams
Carbohydrates: 44.5 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 32 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 14
Claire
Tags:beef stew recipes, fall recipes, french onion recipes, soup recipes, stew recipes
I think you and everyone else in this world deserves a break. I completely agree with taking time away from the blog to not get stressed out about it.
But I'm really glad to see you came back with this wonderful stew. Saw it on Fb and I'm loving it!
And stew?! I made stew today for the first time in 5 years and a picked a really boring recipe. I wish I would have seen this first!
p.s. - Fiji!!!!!
This stew, oh man, this stew is making me want to run into the kitchen and whip a batch up. But I'm a hotel, so, you know, maybe not so much.