My mom never made beef stew or any of the classic "American" dishes when we were little. We mostly ate Korean food, and it was a very special occasion when we ate "American" foods like spaghetti or steak. However, things like stew never made it to our table unless it came from a can. Dinty Moore was a special "American" night, and still, we ate it over rice, and with kimchee. Well, now I'm determined to cook and eat all of those things that I never ate as a child, including beef stew (don't worry, I will never ever attempt to make spam from scratch).

The beauty of beef stew is that it's beef stew one day, and then can be "remixed" a few times through the week. For a busy lifestyle, this is incredible. You can still have the satisfaction of cooking from scratch all day on Sunday, and do a re-heat with a tweak to eat during the week. (Yep, that was totally meant to rhyme.) The stew I made is a classic recipe - nothing fancier than beef, carrots and potatoes stewed in broth, and yet, it beats Dinty Moore into the ground. Certainly nothing beats the food we ate as kids, even from a can, but at some point, we have to give up Campbell's, too, right?

Look out in the next few days for a few "remixes" of beef stew. Of course, if you have suggestions for this enormous pot of stew I have, please, suggest away.

Beef Stew, better than Dinty Moore

Cut 3 lbs. boneless beef for stew (chuck, short rib, round) into 11/2" chunks and season liberally with salt, pepper, and whatever are your favorite dried herbs. I used oregano and thyme.

Dredge beef in all-purpose flour, shake off excess, then brown on all sides in about 2 T. olive oil in a large pot.

You can drain off the fat from the meat in the pot, but honestly, the fat tastes pretty damn good. Add to the pot 1 cup chopped onions, and sprinkle 1-2 tsp. of dried herbs (again, your choice), and pour in 3 c. beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a soft simmer and let cook until meat is tender. Mine took about an hour. 

Add 5 large carrots peeled and cut into 1" slices, 3 large potatoes peeled and cut into 1" chunks, and 3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed. You may want to add a bit more beef broth if it has reduced down a lot. Season to taste with salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp. each). Cook with the beef until the carrots and potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.

I ate mine right out of the pot standing over the stove witha glass of red wine (I have no patience), but of course you might want to serve it in bowls with rice, pasta, or bread.