Stews and Soups: Beefy Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 large onions, diced
2 lbs stewing beef, cubed
 and marinated (recipe found here)
2 bay leaves

1 bottle stout beer (12 oz)

1 cups beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
4 potatoes, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup froze corn, thawed
1 cup mixed frozen veggies, thawed
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup water

Directions

1. In a heavy frying pan or skillet, heat oil, add sugar and allow to burn until light to medium brown.

2. Add more oil if necessary and cook onion, garlic, cloves, and allspice.  Cook until onions are translucent and sugar is dark brown. So not allow to burn. If it burns, then start over. Don't worry, you're not on chopped or top chef, so you're not being timed!

3. Add marinaded beef (reserve the marinade) and stir well to coat pieces of meat

4. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly

5. Stir in beer, beef stock, beef marinade, and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until meat is tender (60-90 minutes)

6.  Add potatoes and simmer for 45 minutes or until fork tender.  Don't panic if the stew looks a little low in moisture. Just evenly coat the potatoes, cover the pot, and the potatoes will cook through.

7.  Add thawed vegetables during the last 15 minutes of simmering.

8.  Dissolve 2 tablespoons of corn starch in 1 cup water, and mix into stew to thicken the broth.   After mixing let sit for a few minutes to thicken, if not to desired thickness add more cornstarch and repeat.