In true masochistic fashion, I always tend to go grocery shopping on Sundays.
Grocery shopping, at Stop & Shop in the South Bay Center.
The South Bay Center, also known as the epicenter of the Dorchester economy.
On Sundays.
The day every other person and literally their mother decide to crowd the narrow aisles, loose track of their children, yell loudly into cell phones, and debate for moments on end if saving seven cents is worth purchasing a different brand Fake Cheez Product than the one their child demands every vegetable is smothered in.
Ah, yes.
Sundays at Stop and Shop.
Ah, yes.
Sundays at Stop and Shop.
But anyway.
When I grabbed some stew meat on Sunday, I had plans for it to be a slow-cooker meal; to get tossed in with several other things I knew I'd have on hand. But of course, it's been a boozey week, and doing any sort of slow-cooker prep in the morning, especially wielding a blade, was a bad idea. So last night, I took whatever was left from the week (within reason), and threw it all in a pot to make some deeeee-licious beef stew. It's not much of a recipe, but here you go:
What it's Made of:
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1-2 lbs of beef stew meat (or chuck meat, cut into 2" or so cubes)
- Beef broth or stock
- 4-5 medium-sized carrots, cut crosswise in 1" pieces
- 10 or so baby fingerling potatoes, bigger ones halved
- 5-6 pieces bok choy (or celery if you're a normal person with normal produce on hand)
- 5-6 green onions, diced
- 1 package white quinoa (or brown rice, bulgur, cous cous, whatever grain you have around)
How it's Made:
- Heat soup pan/dutch oven/what have you over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to coat the pan.
- Toss in garlic and onions, stir until onion begins to turn translucent
- Empty onions and garlic into a dish and set aside (I didn't do this, but I should have, having them in the pan really effed up the meat cooking process)
- Toss stew meat into the soup pan and allow to brown (about 1-2 minutes per side) (Again, I didn't really do this either as you can see in the pics above, but I was terrified of over cooking the meat and it being tough. That didn't happen. Fat is a beautiful thing.)
- Once meat is browned, cover with beef broth and water until meat is covered. Throw in a bay leaf or two for good measure, should you have them around
- Add back in onions and garlic, along with carrots and potatoes
- Throw in some sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, a touch of cumin, and a dash of sage (and whatever spices you think would be good--that is how I operate with spices. No rules!)
- Turn heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes
- Add in bok choy and green onion so they retain a bit of their crunch.
- 10-15 minutes before serving, add in the quinoa or grain of your choice (depending on the grain's cooking time)
- Serve with a glass of red and some DVR'd delights from the week.
Happy Friday!
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