Old Fashioned Beef Stew

This is how my Grandmother taught me to make Beef Stew.I'm always asked to share the recipe, even my childrens friends would ask me to send a copy to their Mother. Although there is a bit of prep time involved you will find this beef stew the perfect winter meal for the meat lovers in your family. I serve this with either a salad or cole slaw and alternate using a crusty bread one time and cornbread another. The potatoes are boiled seperately as Granny said they get too done when cooked with the stew and fall apart. She sometimes halved the potatoes and served them on the side with the stew. Peach Cobbler makes the perfect dessert to follow this hearty meal. Peach Cobbler by Suellen Anderson is almost an exact duplicate of my Grandmothers so try it.

• Ready In: 5 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup bacon, diced
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 4  lbs stewing beef, cut in 2 inch cubes
• 1  cup flour
• 4  tablespoons sweet paprika
• 5  medium onions, quartered
• 2  whole cloves
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, do NOT drain
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3  sprigs fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried)
• 2  bay leaves, crumbled
• 1  lb  baby carrots
• 2  stalks celery, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
•  salt and pepper
• 1  teaspoon  orange peel
• 2  lbs potatoes, peeled, quartered and boiled seperately

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. In a dutch oven, brown the chopped bacon in the oil. Remove bacon when done and set aside.
3. Place the flour and paprika in a plastic bag. Add the beef cubes and shake to coat the meat evenly.
4. In the same dutch oven you browned the bacon, add the meat, 1/3 at a time, and brown on all sides.
5. Add remaining ingredients, including the browned bacon bits. DO not add the potatoes at this time.
6. Bring to a boil, cover and bake 5 hours.
7. Before the stew is done, prepare the boiled potatoes.
8. When stew is done, remove from the oven and add the potatoes.