Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Incredible Beef Stew

Welcome, with the Georgia weather reports saying snow is in our future; I had to find some warm comfort food. Many years ago my sister and I went to the Victorian Tea Room in Warm Springs, Georgia. It is now closed but was known for its wonderful food. My sister bought this cookbook and of course I had to take possession of it and try some of the recipes. Yes I wear out a cookbook, don't I? This is the best recipe for Beef Stew that I have ever eaten. The pickle juice just makes it! It is easy, tasty and with snow on the way it is what we need. Am I the only one that writes in cookbooks?


As you can see from the page, this recipe has been used a lot.
Beef Stew

1 1/2 pounds lean stew beef, cubed
meat tenderizer
salt and pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 quarts water
2 medium carrots, sliced in 1" pieces
1 small green pepper, cut in thin strips
2 turnip roots, peeled and cubed
4 stalks of celery, cut in 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
dash Tabasco
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes cut and undrained
1 pound can small English peas, drained
2 to 3 tablespoons flour mixed with water

Sprinkle stew meat with meat tenderizer. Salt and pepper meat. Place cooking oil in a large dutch oven and heat. Brown meat on all sides in cooking oil. Add all remaining ingredients except potatoes, tomatoes and English peas. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender. Add potatoes the last 20 minutes of cooking. Add tomatoes and English peas the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove bay leaf. Mix together the flour and water (about 1/4 cup) and blend until smooth. Gradually add to stew and simmer until thickened. Stir frequently. Additional salt and pepper if needed. Serves 8.

NOTE: This is also good cooked in a crock pot slowly all day. Just brown meat as described above. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer on low all day.
Thank you for dropping by. I am getting candles, flashlights, food and everything I can think we will need in case of a loss of power. We are excited about the thought of a little snow but the tiniest bit will shut us down. Thanks for stopping in!

40 comments:

  1. Sounds delish - I have to try this and with the weather in Florida in the 30s (ha) it really cold.
    Sylvia

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  2. Why don't I think of things like adding pickle juice. I do add white horseradish (bottled)in small amounts to recipes, I think need a kick. I added it to a macaroni recipe, yesterday.

    I am thrilled, you shared this recipe with us.

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  3. Oh my this sounds yummy! I love new crock pot meals! Dee Dee

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  4. Jeanette, I have a few beef stew recipes, but you had me a pickle juice! I will make this next week. I have 1 pkg. of beef cubes in the freezer and a jar of pickles in the refrigerator. Wow, what a combination! I'm so glad you were brave enough to try it. Now we all know how good it is!
    Thanks Jeanette!
    Hugs and blessings,
    Yvonne

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  5. Me again, I will make it EXCEPT the peas!
    Yvonne

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  6. Sounds absolutely "rib-sticking" and oh-so yummy!.., I haven't tried adding pickle juice before! I must try that recipe; thanks for sharing! I trust you won't need to candles! Stay warm with your stew and provisions for the storm my dear!

    Thanks for visiting my blog for afternoon tea, it was wonderfull to have you come by!..,Yes that is a cute little "baby grand piano" tea sandwich isn't it?~ Glad you enjoyed it!

    I recall my dear friend Paper Butterfly of, Breath Of Fresh Air-Paper Butterfly blog, mentioning recently that you had sent her a comment with regard to your dear daughter awhile ago; (she most sincerely apologized for not mentioning it sooner); she kindly mentioned that you collect butterflies in the loving remembrance of your precious daughter..,

    ~ I created that "lace butterfly", digitally that I placed on my Silken Purse blog some time ago..,

    Although unfortunately it does not actually exsist as an "actual piece of paper lace" per se.,; nonetheless if you would still like to have the image, precious friend, I can email you one, or send it to you as a print in the mail..,

    Please let me know if you would still care to recieve this Lace Butterfly image my dear? ~

    It would be my absolute honour and priviledge to do so, in loving memory of your
    beautiful daughter Jennee'!!!


    Cheers, blessings and hugs from Wanda Lee @ The plumed Pen

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  7. Never added pickle juice, but it does sound good. We have some birds that hang around all Winter (don't know what kind they are), so can't count on it being a sign of Spring.
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Pickle juice!!! Perfect stew for winter weather...TFS!

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  9. Yummy! and to me there is nothing better then the lingering smell of stew... coming from the pot or the slow cooker. Thanks for sharing... Enjoy it cuddle up on your couch with a big bowl.. and watching the snow fall, sounds like a piece of heaven to me. Coarse' you would need a slice of moist chocolate cake to finish that stew off!

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  10. Yummy - this makes me want to eat it right now, and I'm not even hungry (just cold).

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  11. The stew sounds heartwarming, filling, and delicious. We're supposed to get slammed with the white stuff, too, with an 8 degree low. I am living in flannel! Hope you stay warm--and the lights stay on!

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  12. The pickle juice is a new one for me, but beef stew is one of my favorite winter dishes. Will try your recipe. ~ Sarah

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  13. Hi Jeanette, The stew sounds wonderful, and it grabbed my attention at the dill pickle juice ~ that is brilliant. :)

    Hope Joshy is doing very well. ((Hugs)) We're such dog people here, too.

    If you get snow, I hope your power holds. We ALWAYS lose it as well (too often!)

    xoxo ~m

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  14. It is certainly beef stew weather here too. My daughter just said they are calling for flurries in Orlando! What is going on?

    This sounds yummy!

    Sue

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  15. We just applied for a job in Georgia! Cross our fingers we get it! I would just love to move back to Georgia! I've had enough of the west!

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  16. I love tea rooms and cookbooks from places like the tea room or a great B&B. What a delish sounding dish. Good luck with the weather... stay warm. TFS and thanks for stopping by.

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  17. I love cookbooks and trying new recipes. I have never heard of adding pickle juice to stew. I made beef stew yesterday and have some leftover because they say we are getting snow too! It's cold here in Alabama BRR!

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  18. That sounds like a recipe my husband would love...thanks for sharing! :)

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  19. What a great recipe for these cold winter days. It sounds wonderful.

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  20. Awesome "old" recipe! You know how I love 'em! And don't you just LOVE your old cookbook! They are the best and often come with remarks from the cooks of long ago! Great post! Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous day!

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  21. The stew does sound yummy. Perfect for winter weather. Stay warm and cozy :0)

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  22. Oh, this sounds delicious and I know it would be perfect for a cold snowy day. I love that your pages are brown from lots of use. It looks like my cookbooks too. I always think that one day, my children will be able to easily find the good recipes that I cooked the most just by searching for those browned pages.

    I'm from Alabama, and it's really pouring down snow here too. It's such an unusual sight to see here, and it's beautiful. Schools are cancelled today and tomorrow because of it. Stay warm!

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  23. Mmm, that sounds really good right now. We just got hit with a snow storm last night here in MO. I hope Josh is doing okay. Love, Rosie

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  24. What an interesting stew. I love the idea of the pickle juice. Thanks for sharing this!

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  25. Thank you for visiting my blog. I think this recipe sounds very good and I would like to try it soon. Thank you for sharing it. The pickle juice is such an interesting twist. I have been to Warm Springs, GA but that tea room must have already closed. I was with a group of friends and we ate at another restaurant close by but I can't remember the name of it???? It was very good Southern country cooking and some of the best fried chicken I have ever eaten.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  26. Hi Jeanette!

    Oh this recipe looks delish! I love old cookbooks and NO you are not the only one that writes in them! LOL When I am out thrifting I am always keeping an eye open for old cookbooks and if they have been written in, I instantly buy them!

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  27. Hi Jeanette,

    I love it when cookbooks are all worn from use! It means that the insides hold well loved recipes. This beef stew must be so good. I would have loved to visit a tea room in Georgia. I wonder what it would have been like.

    Laura

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  28. MMmmmmmm..... that sounds heavenly! The pickle juice is new to me, but I love to try new things! Will have to put this on my list when I've lost my pounds! =) Stay warm!

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  29. Hi Jeanette,
    This stew sounds great, I love the idea of adding pickle juice. I will give this a try.

    We have had a lot of snow here in Kansas City, be safe and stay warm!

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  30. Now I know what to do with the pickle juice that I usually toss out.
    Joyce

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  31. Hi Jeanette,
    I have stew on the menu for the weekend, supposed to get another storm, still have remains of the last 2!
    I read some of your posts, LOL on the sherbet glasses...oh boy!
    I bet your friends never let you forget that !
    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  32. This beef stew recipe is a keeper. I like it. Thanks for sharing this one wth us.

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  33. This recipe sounds so good, my Mom used to use pickle juice in some of her dishes...guess I forgot about it till now, must give it a try.
    Thanks for sharing and thanks for coming by my blog.
    Molly

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  34. Jeanette, It was the Bulloch House that we had lunch. That chicken was memorable. I am placing your blog on my favorites.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  35. I love stew! The idea of saving time by making it in the crockpot is even better. I write in all of my cookbooks, too. Mostly, I just spill in them, though :-) That's how I can tell the best recipes...they are covered with spots.

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  36. I love stew but I have to admit adding the pickle juice scares me! I'll have to trust you that it is yummy!

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  37. This would be perfect for our cold weekend ahead! :)

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  38. Pickle juice...now I must try it out of curiosity! ha!

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  39. That looks delicious and different from what I usually make!! Thanks for stopping by:-)

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