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

This is a good recipe, you should also try this one http://yobler.com/action/viewvideo/209/How_to_make_beef_stew/ Here is a link that might be useful: Beef Stew

Just seeing this now. Sounds great!

I made a goulash type soup yesterday using the method of covering the ground beef with water without browning it first. Yes, I believe that you do lose some flavor by not browning first, but talk about SIMPLE! I didn't really use a recipe, I just threw a bunch of stuff in there, some diced celery, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and some diced potatoes. OH and I put beef stock and a can of tomatoes paste in the water, I wanted a tomato base. It was absolutely delicious and I ate two bowls! :)