"draupnir - you can safely leave out the onions. Since they are low-acid anyway eliminating them from the recipe poses no safety issues. But leaving them out does NOT allow you to increase or substitute other ingredients. Follow me? Keep everything else the same, just leave out the onions. ;) " Although this argument is frequently used, I'm not entirely sure that it is correct. By way of example, a stew recipe with 1 cup each of meat, carrots, onions, and celery would be 25% meat 25% carrots 25% celery 25% onions. Each of these ingredients has a certain size, density, heat penetration rate, pH, etc which contributes to the overall density, heat penetration rate, pH etc of the finished product. Now suppose we remove the 1 cup of onions but leave EVERYTHING ELSE THE SAME as is frequently urged. Our stew is 1 cup meat, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery or 33% meat, 33% carrots 33% celery. Clearly the relative proportions of the ingredients have, in fact, changed; and their relative contribution to the overall density, heat penetration rate, pH, etc will also have changed. For example, our new "onion free" stew has a higher proportion of meat. Perhaps the meat is the component of the original stew which heats most slowly. We now have a greater relative amount of the slowest heating ingredient. On the other hand, perhaps the onions have the greatest contribution to overall stew heating rates. Then our new "onion free" stew would, probably be (slightly or more) overprocessed as all the other ingredients would now heat more quickly without the slowly heating onions. As is frequently said, we just don't know what such a substitution - or deletion - or addition - will do without testing the new stew recipe. I am not saying that the OP cannot safely remove the onions. However, I am giving us all food for thought about changing recipes without having them tested, and assuming that some changes will be ok based on assumptions rather than empirical evidence. Sharon

I used one pound of beef to two cans of sauce... and one can of beef stock. I like it to be kind of like chili.... I want the sauce to be red and thick. The soup is quite thick... not liquidy at all! I used corn, carrots, 1 onions, garlic, thyme, 3 potatoes, 1 basil leaf, salt, and pepper... so I'm sure there was something in there that reacted with the tomato sauce to make the orange bubbles. I found out that my tomato sauce was fine. I was just being paranoid. I went to the store and bought more of the same brand. Opened it up and the brand new one smelled the same as the one I had in the pantry. I think I'm used to smelling tomato sauce after it's been cooked and mixed with other ingredients and since I haven't worked with it in a while, I forgot what it should smell like. I didn't want to waste the "test" sauce, so I put it in a sandwich bag and froze it... will it still be OK to use in things?

I made up this recipe for stew one year during Milwaukee's Summerfest, so I call it Beef Festival. It's not quite traditional, but we like it. Beef Festival 2-3 Lbs beef chuck roast, cut into bite sized chunks. 2 good sized cloves garlic 3 or 4 onions, large dice 2-3 healthy sized tsp of Paprika, if you have smoked, you can replace some or all of the paprika with that. 1 healthy sized tsp of Bouquet Garni (Penzey’s) 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp plus a coupla shakes of Worshestershire salt to taste pepper to taste 1 or 2 bay leaves beef broth or water, about 4-6 cups, depending on how thick you like your stew 4 or so strips of bacon 3-4 good sized potatoes, cut to whatever size you’d like 8 carrots, cut in good sized chunks to cook at the same speed as the potatoes 4 ribs celery, large dice parsley Brown bacon, remove from pan. Then brown beef in bacon fat with the paprika, onion and garlic till the onion is just getting limp. Toss into a pot with the broth and add veggies and spices. Cook till everything is tender, adding water or broth to make it as soupy or thick as you like it. Thicken with flour/water if you prefer. This also works fine with pork. **If using a pressure cooker, cut the veg into larger pieces and leave the garlic whole. Bring to high pressure and cook for 15-20 minutes, less if your beef is cut into smaller chunks, more if it’s bigger. Turn off the heat and let the cooker depressurize naturally. This will result in a more tender beef. I know, this is contrary to Johnliu’s recipe for pressure cooker stew, but after reading and a little experimentation, I’ve found it to be a system that works for me. If the potatoes end up a little mushy, it really doesn’t bother me, but if it might bother you, cut them bigger or add them in stages. Reduce your broth if desired, or add thickener after pressure is released. Stew is such an individual thing�"I like lots of veggies, and I don’t care for peas. So there are lots of carrots and potatoes and no peas in mine. :-) I’ve been known to chuck in some green beans, cabbage, or whatever is in the fridge after the pressure is off, during broth reduction. Cj

Just because someone is vegan doesn't mean that other members in their family are. And I think she is upset about the recall because it isn't advertized more.... If there is a contamination and she didn't find out until she went on a web site then she or other people she knows could be feeding their family or eating contaminated meat and not know it. I don't like to eat meat alot that is why I come here to find some great recipes to make for myself. my husband is a meat and potatoes guy so I have to buy it for him so this could be why she is "upset" just my 2 cents.