French Country Beef Stew Food

FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a greased 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with the beef, carrots, onions and celery. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over the vegetables. , Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

SLOW-COOKER COUNTRY FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Place bacon in cooker. Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat in skillet. Cook beef in bacon fat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Stir onion into beef. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into cooker.
• Stir carrots, wine, broth, flour, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and canned diced tomatoes into mixture in cooker.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
• Stir in mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 20 to 30 minutes longer or until sun-dried tomatoes are tender. Serve beef mixture over noodles; sprinkle with parsley.

FRENCH COUNTRY BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Combine meat and flour in plastic bag; toss to coat evenly.
• Brown meat in oil in 6-quart pot. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• Add remaining ingredients, except mustard.
• Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until beef is tender. Blend in mustard.
• Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with warm crusty French bread, if desired.

COUNTRY FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• If using dry beans, rinse beans.
• In a large saucepan combine drained beans and the 4 cups water.
• Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
• (Or, place beans in water in pan. Cover and let soak in a cool place for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.) Drain and rinse beans.
• Place flour and pepper in a plastic bag.
• Add beef pieces, a few at a time, shaking to coat.
• In a 4- or 6-quart Dutch oven brown half of the beef in 1 tablespoon of the hot oil; remove beef.
• Add remaining oil, remaining beef, onion, and garlic to Dutch oven.
• Cook until beef is brown and onion is tender.
• Drain fat, if necessary.
• Stir in wine, scraping until the brown bits are dissolved.
• Return all beef to Dutch oven.
• Stir in beans, soup stock or broth, tomato, and dried thyme (if using).
• Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 hours.
• Add carrots and parsnips.
• Return to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes more or until beef and vegetables are tender.
• Stir in fresh thyme (if using).
• If desired, garnish with parsley.
• *Note:If using canned beans, decrease soup stock or broth to 1 cup.

FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine beef chunks, wine, bay leaf, cloves, onion and garlic. Toss together to coat meat, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 - 12 hours.
• In a large heavy pot, melt butter and cook off bacon until just crispy and set aside to drain. Scoop beef from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss in a bowl with flour to coat. Shake off excess flour. Add the floured beef to the pot and cook until nicely browned. Stir in the onion and garlic from the marinade, as well as the thyme, stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
• Peel the pearl onions and trim off a little bit of the root end. Melt butter in a small skillet and add pearl onions. Toss to coat and pour in 1/4 cup of water and cover. Simmer until tender. Uncover and allow liquid to evaporate. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon sugar and shake pan over medium heat until onions begin to brown and caramelize. Season with salt and pepper.
• In another skillet melt 3 tablespoons butter and cook mushrooms until golden brown. Stir in crispy bacon bits and season with salt and pepper.
• When the beef is tender, remove meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Simmer sauce until
• thickened and stir in flour/butter mixture to help thicken. Season sauce to taste. Return beef to pot and bring stew to a boil. Serve hot with boiled potatoes, pearl onions, mushrooms and garnish with chopped parsley.

FRENCH COUNTRY CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Prepare the chicken but don't skin.
• Salt the pieces and dredge them lightly in the flour, brushing off and saving the excess.
• Trim off and discard the bacon rind.
• Slice the bacon across the width into 1/4 pieces Heat the oil in a large kettle and brown the bacon lightly.
• Remove and set aside.
• Brown the chicken pices in batches, removing them as they finish browning.
• Remove and discard all but 3 Tbs of the fat.
• Add the onion, pepper, tarragon, and the remaining flour.
• Scrape these back and forth in the hot fat until the onion is transparent.
• Add the tomatoes and their juice and continue the scraping action until most of the juice has evaporated.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of water, the wine, and the crumbled bouillon cube.
• Add the bacon, chicken, peas, and carrots.
• Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes Scrub the new potatoes under cold water and pare off a one inch strip around the middle of each one, leaving the peel on the ends.
• Add them to the stew and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the parsley.
• Salt to taste, and serve hot.

FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Combine meat and flour in a large plastic food storage bag and toss to coat evenly.
• In a 6 quart saucepan brown meat in hot vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• Add diced tomatoes, beef broth, carrots, potatoes and thyme. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover; and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender.
• Blend in mustard and serve.

FRENCH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine beef, wine, bay leaf, cloves, onion and garlic.
• Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in large skillet and cook bacon until crispy; remove and set aside to drain.
• Remove beef from marinade and pat dry.
• Discarde marinade, reserving onion and garlic.
• Dredge beef with flour to coat.
• Brown on all sides in remaining bacon drippings in skillet, adding more butter if needed.
• Place browned beef in oven-proof casserole dish.
• Add onion and garlic from marinade, the thyme, beef stock and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
• In skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and cook mushrooms until golden brown.
• Stir in crispy bacon and season with salt and pepper.
• When stew is done, serve with mushrooms and bacon and sprinkle with parsley.