Red Wine Braised Beef Stew

It's April, but it's still dark, cloudy, and rainy here in Northwest Montana. I haven't seen the sun since July.

So, I am still eating big bowls of the most delicious Red Wine Braised Beef Stew with a tall glass of red wine. 

I'm still a huge fan of the crock pot. It makes everything easy, like for instance this succulent Red Wine Braised Beef Stew.


Did I say that already?

I love these little bowls almost as much as the tender Red Wine Braised Beef Stew. I found them at a local consignment shop and bought them simply because they make me happy.

Look how cute they are? I talked to the bowls while I did this photo shoot. 

My parents ignored me... "Crazy Abby at it again."


I prefer to call it the good kind of crazy.


Like the crazy that hugs trees, blows bubbles, and the only thing I can think to do for April Fool's Day yesterday was call my boyfriend and tell him "Hey Honey, I'm out, I found a new boyfriend."


So not funny, right? I have no idea what's wrong with me. The doctors are baffled.

But this Red Wine Braised Beef Stew is so simple, nutritious, succulent and worth the 10 minutes of effort.


But don't trust me on this one.. Make it yourself.

I had some kitchen helpers assisting in the kitchen for this recipe (which means my parents took over the kitchen and all I could do was wander around and take pictures. Here's what I came up with...

That's me (in a pool of red wine no less... go figure)!

That's my mom and me!

And you guessed it, there's dad! My hair looks horrible.. please focus on my cute kitchen assistants. Please.


If you are concerned about carbohydrates... just don't use the potatoes and you'll save about 12 carbohydrates per serving. Not a bad deal, right?

Now I must return to praying for sunshine. 

My prayers have gone unanswered. 

Can I get a little sunshine along with this Titillating Red Wine Braised Beef Stew?

Just a question.

Now on with the recipe...



Red Wine Braised Beef Stew

 1 (14.5 ounce) Can Diced Tomatoes
2 Cups Carrots; chopped
2 Large Yukon Gold Potatoes; chopped
1 1/2 Cup Onion; minced
4 Cloves Garlic; minced
2 Pounds Lean Stew Beef; cubed
3 Bay Leaves
1 Cup Red Wine; Cabernet works great
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Herbs De Provence
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 (10 ounce) Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 Cups Frozen Peas

1. Get out a huge 10 quart crock pot and add the tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic to the crock pot.

2. Cube up 2 pounds of red meat and add that to the crock pot as well along with the bay leaves.

3. In a separate bowl combine the red wine, Worcestershire, herbs de Provence, salt, pepper, and cream of mushroom soup and stir to combine. This alone smells like heaven! Then pour this over the top of the meat and vegetables and cook on low for 6-7 hours or longer. The longer the better! 

4. In the last hour add the frozen peas to the pot and stir to combine.


5. Serve alongside some crusty french bread in a large bowl with a big 'ol spoon!


Servings: 8 (approx. 1 cup)


Nutritional Skinny:

231 calories / 4.3 g fat / 23 g carbohydrates / 5 g fiber / 20 g protein

Mental Health Tip: When in doubt you can never ever ever loose if you throw in a nice chunk of meat and some red wine, garlic, onions, herbs, and vegetables in the crock pot and cook it slow and low for about 7 hours. It's the perfect answer to a tired mother/father/brother/cousin/sister/uncle... etc. You get the point. When you have the option to throw ingredients together and "set it and forget it!" Why not? Give yourself a break and pull out that beautiful crock pot. I think a woman must have invented this.. and if she didn't, she meant to, but was too busy cleaning the toilets.

Cheers and Happy Spring!