Hearty Beef Stew

Beef stew made from leftovers may sound bland and unappetizing, but I assure you, this beef stew is anything but that.  With the remaining gravy and garlic cloves from Garlic Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy as a base and surplus Pan-Roasted Harvest Vegetables,  you've got the start of a beautiful friendship.  It's so appetizing that I'd make it on its own if I could.

HEARTY BEEF STEW
Printable version of this recipe

Leftover roast beef
Leftover mushroom gravy
Leftover roasted vegetables
Water
Seasoning:  1 beef stew seasoning packet or 1 onion soup mix packet

DIRECTIONS

Chop or shred remaining roast beef into small, bite-sized pieces.  Smoosh any garlic you might find into a paste and leave on the roast beef.  Pick through the roasted vegetables, discarding any Brussels sprouts you might find.  (Once they've been roasted, they'll turn the stew bitter if used again.)  Chop into smaller pieces, if necessary.  You should end up with about 3 cups of leftover vegetables, although  more is just fine.  Place all in a large stockpot and pour leftover gravy on top.  Stir thoroughly to coat with gravy.

Add water as necessary to produce a stew-like consistency.  I find that it usually takes around 3-5 cups of water.  Heat to a simmer and taste.  You'll probably find that the stew has hints of flavor but tastes quite thin.  I've had great luck stirring in one pre-made beef stew seasoning packet at this point.  A packet of onion or onion-mushroom soup mix would also be very good.

Simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Note:  Dumplings are a fine complement to this stew.  If you wish to add them, bring your stew just to the boiling point and then drop the dumpling dough into the stew.  Cover and simmer until dumplings are light and fluffy, usually around 10 minutes.  Dumpling-making ... truthfully, that's a whole 'nuther post.  Stay tuned.

Pan-Roasted Harvest Vegetables

The ideal accompaniment to roast beef or chicken?  A pan of perfectly-roasted vegetables.  This particular recipe comes from my brother, Kurt, with a little help from Cook's Country.

PAN-ROASTED HARVEST VEGETABLES
Printable version of this recipe


7-8 small red potatoes
1 purple onion
1 fennel bulb
1 rutabaga
3-4 large carrots
9-10 Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
1 t. thyme
1 t. Rosemary
1 t. Lemon pepper

Note:  fresh herbs can be used at an equivalent of 1 T fresh to 1 t dried.

DIRECTIONS

Scrub potatoes and cut into small chunks.  Remove outer layer of onion and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Cut off the green, leafy fronds of the fennel and discard, keeping only the white bulb.  Core fennel and chop into 1-inch pieces.  Scrape carrots and cut into 2-inch pieces, and then cut those pieces in half.  Cut ends off of rutabaga and remove outer layer; chop into 1-inch pieces.  Peel off outer leaves of Brussels sprouts.  Place all in a large bowl.  (Note:  this can be done several hours ahead.)

Choose two heavy, rimmed baking sheets and line with foil. (The foil isn't really necessary, but makes for easy clean-up.)  Sprinkle the vegetables with 1-2 T of olive oil.  Stir thoroughly and if more oil is needed to give a light coating, add 1 T more.  Add the thyme, rosemary, and lemon pepper; stir together.  The measures for the herbs are approximate; to be honest, I just open the container, give it a thorough couple of shakes, and stir.  I know it's enough if I like the amount of herbal coverage I've got on the vegetables.  (Very scientific, I know.)

To roast, heat oven to 400 degrees.  Spread vegetables out in a single layer on two sheets.  Cluster the Brussels sprouts together in the center of one sheet as this position helps them to cook evenly.  Place in the oven.

I find that I have to monitor the vegetables carefully.  At the 15-minute point, the top tray of vegetables was already showing signs of charring, so I gave each tray a stir and then switched their positions.  The top tray, at least in my oven, cooked far more quickly.  All told, it took about 45 minutes for the vegetables to roast completely.  Your mileage may vary :-).

Best if served immediately. 

Original recipe source:  Kurt (and thanks!)