My canned stuff is mininal here. I detest canned gegetables, and much prefer frozen. I have a full 20 cu ft freezer, as well as using the very old, and somewhat erratic freezer my dad bought some 30+ years ago. Seems like you may have to re-train him... FS bags will also work in boiling water, ro in the microwave to quickly thaw the contents. I make egg 'mcmuffins' using fresh english muffins I toast, add some Egg Beaters as well as some powdered egg, and home made sausage patties. Each sandwich also gets a slice of cheese. A single serving is put in a FS 6 inch bag, sealed and frozen. To thaw and heat, I just toss in the microwave and let the bag swell up some, while I flip it over once or twice during the heating. Its usually hot once the bag bursts (no real mess either, just a 'pop').

I love stew. I think there are a few essential things to do,then the rest is up to you and what you like - like leaving out parsnips if you don't like them! 1) make sure you trim the meat well. I hate finding nasty bits of fat or gristle on the meat. 2)toss the meat in a little flour and brown well in some oil, then soften the onion. Do you like garlic? If so, add that now to the onion. 3) do you like wine in your stew? You can add wine, water or stock. 4) decide on which herbs you like. Bay, thyme, parsley...... 5) you can continue to add veggies at stage 2 like celery or carrots. 6) you can fry off som bacon chunks and mushrooms and add them to the stew half an hour before the end of cooking. Have fun inventing your "stew style"!

Here's the recipe...Her website no longer exists. It was one of my favorite recipe sites. BEEF BURGUNDY . This is a delicious recipe inspired from one of my "great-Chef- loopie-buddies", Cheryl, on AOL. This aromatic dish will have you drooling during cooking time! . 2 pounds round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 1/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 cup beef broth 3/4 cup Burgundy wine 1 tsp. beef bouillon granules 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt 1/4 tsp. marjoram 1/4 tsp. thyme 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water . 1. Combine flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper; coat beef in flour mixture. 2. Heat oil in large skillet; brown beef on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Drain beef. 3. In crock pot, combine beef, beef broth, wine, bouillon and seasonings. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours, until meat is tender. 4. Turn control to high and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook for 15 minutes. Serve over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes. Yield: 4 servings. . Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness www.stephskitchen.com Here's her Beef Stew Recipe BEEF STEW . This comforting stew recipe comes from Dons Aunt Mary (with just a couple of touch-ups by me), and has been thankfully passed around his family. Not many dinners come easier than this, since you throw all of the ingredients into a pan, bake and forget about it until it's time to eat. I serve this with fresh bread and butter for dipping. This dish signals Fall to me, my favorite season. . 1 pound lean beef stew meat 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 small onion, cut into small chunks 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce 2 cups beef broth, red wine, or water (or a combo of the three) 3 tsp. dry tapioca Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup frozen peas . 1. Combine all ingredients except peas in a small roasting pan and cover with lid. Cook at 350º for 3 hours. Stir in peas the last 15 minutes of cooking time. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. . Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness www.stephskitchen.com Here's another one I've made a few times. FRENCH RAGOUT . This dish is similar to beef stew, only cooked on the stove and much quicker. I always serve this with piping hot bread for dipping. Reminds me of Halloween as this is the perfect warm dish to serve the eager trick-or-treaters before their eve of fun. . 1 lb. beef stew meat 2 tbsp. cooking oil 1 medium onion, sliced 3 tbsp. butter 1 beef bouillon cube 1-1/2 cups water 1 cup beef gravy 1 lemon slice 2 cups diced potatoes 1 cup sliced carrots 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 tbsp. cornstarch .. 1. In a large skillet, brown beef in hot oil. Drain and set aside. 2. In same skillet, cook onion in butter until just tender. Add beef, bouillon, water, gravy, lemon, potatoes, carrots, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer 25 minutes. 3. In a small bowl, blend 1/4 cup cold water with the cornstarch. Stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring contstantly. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Remove lemon slice. Yield: 4 servings.

haus proud - "Stew" is as varied as the folks who make it and you've covered the many options very well.... Here's my take on it after doing some testing and looking at some of the science (probably after a reading session of "On Food and Cooking" - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen - by Harold McGee). I personally made it the traditional way forever and always and when I tried a different recipe and method, I fell in love with stew all over again and never returned to the traditional method. Traditionally, you wanted a bit of fat on stew meat, or the finished meat would be dry. Traditionally, stew meat is dredged. It seemed to take a lot of extra fat in the pan to brown dredged meat. I don't follow either of those methods and like my stew much better now that I don't. But as we all know, all taste is subjective and cooking is about choices. I use chuck, because a good butcher will tell you there is a little more fat (even though it's considered a lean cut) and more connective tissue, which add both flavor and tenderness during a long, slow cooking process, as Joe pointed out. When you purchase a package of "stew meat", it can be cut from almost anywhere - more of a mystery meat. I cut my own stew meat and avoid as much visible fat as possible, and cut it into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes. It's a personal thing - I don't like to wrestle a large 1-1/2-inch cube of beef in my stew. I never dredge the meat because I think it interferes with the browning process and tends to make the bottom of the pan a sticky, disgusting mess. But as with most cooking, dredging is a choice - it's neither is right or wrong. I also don't salt the meat before browning. Salted meat exudes more juices and dries out. Adding the salt to the stew after the meat is browned produces jucier meat. I use a small amount of fat for browning the first batch of meat (probably less than a tablespoon), fairly high heat, and brown only in small batches, removing each batch from the Dutch oven and setting it aside, until the entire 2-pounds of meat is browned. Not a lot of fat in the pan, but if there is, I'd dab it out with a paper towel, careful to leave the "flavorful cooked-on goodies". I don't constantly stir the meat while it's browning, but let it sear well, then turn or stir it, until all sides are well-browned. I usually don't add any fat for the subsequent batches of meat I brown, so that saves some added fat. If you brown the meat all at once, you end up stewing the meat pieces because there's too much moisture from the large amount of meat pieces. Browning, without dredging, will render a darker, richer, brown stew with more flavor. I also add a t. of lemon juice while simmering the meat, which is a tenderizer. I remove some of the potatoes and a cup or two of the liquid and blend it in a blender or food processor and return to the pot to avoid the starchy taste of flour/water slurry, which congeals when refrigerated and separates when frozen and reheated. So, to each their own, for whatever reasons... -Grainlady