Tasty Tuesday - Magic Stew

Welcome! If you're here from the Ultimate Blog Party, please see my party post!


Today I'm sharing a dish based on a recipe in the book Beyond Macaroni and Cheese, by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Karen Parks.** I was fortunate enough to pick this book up several years ago at a moms group - they had a table where you could leave things you didn't want, and pick up things you did. Someone was getting rid of a copy, so I grabbed it. I've used it quite a bit, and would be sad to lose it!

The recipe I'm basing this off of is called "Magic Stew". I have tried to make stew in the past, and have just never been happy with the results. I hate coating the meat with flour and browning it, and then the meat always seems very tough when the stew is done. When I came across this recipe which didn't require browning the meat first, I thought I'd give it one more try. I thought there would be left-overs, but we devoured every last bit! It was really good, and the meat was TENDER! I've made it several times since then, and still have not had left-overs.


Step 1: Layer your cubed meat in the bottom of a casserole dish. I'm using my beloved Pampered Chef pan that I picked up BRAND NEW for $3 at a yard sale!!! I don't know what I'd do without it! Anyhow, I'm using venison as my meat, since it's what I was blessed with, and I'm trying to use up what's in my freezer before our move. The recipe calls for a pound of meat, if I recall, but I'm using about 2 pounds (still aiming for left-overs!).


Step 2: Cut your veggies into chunks, and layer over the meat. I used 4 carrots, 3 large red potatoes, an onion, and a package of sliced mushrooms. The original recipe does not call for mushrooms, and possibly not onions, either (my book is already packed, and I'm going from memory!). It does call for celery, which I have used, and is ok.


Step 3: Pour in your liquid. The recipe uses tomato juice, but I never buy tomato juice. This time, I'm using a can of tomato soup and about 2 cups of broth left over from some Italian beef. I'm using more liquid than it calls for, because I've basically doubled the recipe.


Step 4: Sprinkle a packet of onion soup mix over top - DO NOT STIR! I can't remember if this is in the recipe or not, but I think it is. I know I have done this step every time.

Step 5: Cover with foil, and bake at 350 300 degrees for 4 hours. [I baked it at 350 this time, which turned out to be a little too high. The meat was still good, but a little overcooked, and it would have been nice to have had a little more gravy in it.] DO NOT peek at it or check on it while it's doing its thing! I like to serve this with biscuits - my daughter makes great cheese ones!.


**This post DOES contain an affiliate link. However, the opinions posted are all mine. A copy of the book was NOT provided to me for this review - I already owned it.