Soul Warming Hearty Beef Stew #SundaySupper

This week’s #SundaySupper is all about warming up from in the inside. Who doesn’t love a hearty soul warming dish that not only fills your tummy, but also wraps around you like a comfy, fuzzy blanket.  When it’s chilly outside I like to take the chill out of our bones with this Hearty Beef Stew.

I am pretty picky about making beef stew. I personally don’t like when the potatoes get all super mushy and break up in the stew itself. Plus it makes it pretty tough to photograph when everything looks like gravy covered mashed potatoes. I no longer cook the potatoes in the crock pot with all the other ingredients. My stew is mainly beef, large carrot chunks and the gravy. Our family loves carrots so I always make sure to put in plenty. I leave them in rustic chunks so they keep their shape and don’t get too soft.

Now you are probably asking, what is stew without potatoes? I solved my mushy potato problem by dicing and roasted them in the oven. After roasting the potatoes become a beautiful toasty brown with crispy edges. They make a perfect bed for ladling the stew over the top. The multiple textures of the components add to the deliciousness of the dish. I planned to also throw in some cut green beans at the end, but forgot while focusing on my potatoes.

Ingredients:
3 lbs chopped carrots
1 sweet onion
2 lbs diced potatoes
3 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 package McCormick® Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
1/2 cup flour
2 cups water

Directions:
1. Mix flour and 1 pack of seasoning in large bowl
2. Toss beef cubes and coat in flour mixture
3. Place coated beef in crock pot
4. Add 2nd pack of seasoning mix to crock pot, sprinkle over beef
5. Add sliced onion on top of beef in crock pot
6. Cook on high 1 hour
7. Add carrots to slow cooker and continue cooking on high 1 hour
8. Add 1 cup of water and stir ingredients thoroughly, cook another hour on high
9. Add 1 cup of water and stir ingredients again turn to low and continue to cook 2 more hours
10. In last hour of crock pot cooking time, dice and toss potatoes in a little olive oil and arrange on baking sheet
11. Roast potatoes in 425 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes until browned and crispy
12. Stir crock ingredients thoroughly again before serving. Layer stew over roasted potatoes.

If you like beef stew, give this way of serving a try. I bet money you won’t go back to the mushy potatoes again.  I started with this basic recipe from McCormick HERE before all my modifications.  You can also just throw everything in the crock pot and let it go if you feel like living on the edge.  Crock pots are supposed to be easy time savers.

Now for the fun stuff!  This week’s #SundaySupper event is hosted by Susan from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen, and there are over 50 contributors this week, bringing you their best warm you up dishes!  You’ll find everything from stews, soups, main entrees and even some hot drinks and desserts.  Make sure you check out the list below to bring some amazing #SundaySupper recipes to your table this week!

Main Entrees: 

• Carrot, Parsnip and Lentil Casserole  – Happy Baking Days
• Chicken with Herbed Dumplings – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Chicken pot pie – Gotta Get Baked
• Cholula Chicken Enchiladas – Kwistin’s Favorites
• Eggplant Parmesan – The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Roasted Roots and Fruits with Sausage – Shockingly Delicious

Chili/Stews:

• Beer-Braised Beef – Sustainable Dad
• Bigos {Authentic Polish Hunter’s Stew} – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Brunswick Stew and Rice – Big Bear’s Wife
• Calico Beans – Home Cooking Memories
• Carbonnade Flamande – The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Chicken Cacciatore {Hunter Style Stew} with Easy Creamy Polenta –Webicurean
• Chicken & Mushroom Stew On Egg Noodles –  Galactosemia in PDX
• Cowboy Beef Stew – Comfy Cuisine 
• Ham and String Beans –  Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hearty Moose Meatball Stew – Mrs. Mama Hen
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili – Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Lentil and Chorizo Stew – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Seafood Gumbo and Soul Warming #SundaySupper Wine Pairings – ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Soul Warming Hearty Beef Stew – In The Kitchen With KP

Soups:

• 30 Minute Black Bean Soup – Supper for a Steal
• Black Bean Soup – Basic and Delicious 
• Black Bean Soup with Hot Roast Pepper Cream – The Lovely Pantry
• Canadian Beer Cheese Soup – Juanita’s Cocina
• Chicken Soup with Dumplings – The Messy Baker
• Chicken Tortilla Soup – Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Coconut Curry Chicken Soup – Damn Delicious
• Easy Chicken and Dumplings – My Catholic Kitchen
• Easy Italian Wedding Soup – Family Foodie
• Easy Wonton Soup – Soni’s Food
• French Onion Soup – Momma’s Meals
• Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings – I Run For Wine
• Lasagna Soup – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup – Mangiamo
• Lentil and Bacon Soup – Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Lentil Soup with Spinach – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Peppery Mulligatawny Soup with Cherry Tomatoes & Cilantro – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Pozolillo Verde {Green Chicken & Corn Pozole} – La Cocina de Leslie
• Red Lentil Soup with Crispy Aromatic Coriander – Chattering Kitchen
• Roasted Jalapeno Soup – Chocolate Moosey
• Rule of Thirds Soup – What Smells So Good?
• Seafood Chowder – Noshing with the Nolands
• Spanish Garlic Soup – Pippi’s In The Kitchen Again
• Spicy Gumbo Z’herbes – Pescetarian Journal
• Spicy Korean Brisket Soup {Yukgaejang} – Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup {Jjamppong} – Kimchi Mom
• Spicy Udon Noodle Soup – My Trials In The Kitchen
• Turkey Noodle Soup – Magnolia Days
• Tuscan Bean Soup  – The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Twisted Chicken Noodle Soup – The Meltaways
• Warm You Up Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup – Daily Dish Recipes

Desserts/Beverages:

• Hot Fudge Pudding Cake – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Hot Chocolate with Orange – GirliChef

Feel like sharing your favorite dish that warms you up?  Join us on Twitter throughout the day by following the hashtag #SundaySupper.  We’ll all be chatting up a storm during out live chat, Sunday evening at 7:00 pm(Eastern). Just follow the #SundaySupper hashtag there too. Oh, and if you’re on Pinterest, pop on over to see all the gorgeous pictures that accompany our recipes on the #SundaySupper Pinterest board!