In the Kitchen - Forgotten Stew

I took a trip to Rae's this week as I will do next week; we have a baby due any time now.  I had this ready to post but scheduled it for Monday morning and also another post for Wednesday.  I evidently don't know what I am doing as far as using blogger's "schedule publication."  Because they didn't.  I'll publish the other one tomorrow but here is the first, just a bit later than I planned.

It's that time of the year on our Hill when the Alabama heat has given way to a pleasant coolness.  The outside baking days that I hide from have become days that beckon me to bake on the inside. I no longer try to figure out what I can fix that will put the least possible amount of heat in the house; the oven gets turned back on again after a months of sitting idle.   These are the days when I again enjoy cooking or baking to the fullest.

Last Friday was one of those very cool, overcast days that preclude our winter.  The day called for the oven to be on.  I have had this recipe stuck in my "To Try" file for years.  It's been so long that I know longer have any idea where it came from.  Today I thought of it when I heard the oven crying to be used.  I thought it would be the perfect day to try something that stayed in the oven for 6 hours.

Forgotten Stew 

• 2 pcs. bacon
• 1½ lb. stew meat
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 3 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 2 c. beef broth
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. black pepper
• 3 T. white wine
• 1 T. wine vinegar
• 1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 325°.  Dice bacon and crisp in dutch oven.  Remove and set aside.  Cut stew meat into 1 inch chunks, toss with 1 t. garlic powder and brown slightly in bacon drippings. Remove from heat and return bacon to dutch oven. Wash, peel and cut vegetables into 1 inch chunks. Add prepared vegetables to meat.  Mix next 8 ingredients together and pour over meat and vegetables; add bay leaf and stir slightly.  Cover and place in preheated oven.  "Forget it” for 6 hours – do not uncover for the entire time.
 
As I put this together, I remembered that I was out of corn starch.  I made a roux with 4 T. flour and butter and used it instead.  When I removed the stew from the oven it seemed pretty thick, I don't know if this was due to the substitution or if it is just a very thick stew.  I just added a bit of hot water to it until it was the consistency that we enjoy more.  It was still very flavorful.   
 
I have hesitated to try this for so long because I have made the same beef stew since I was a young teenager cooking for our family while Mother worked.  Over the years I have perfected it - for us anyway.  Whenever I have stew meat I make the old stand by stew; who needs another stew recipe.  I should have tried it years ago.  It tastes awesome.  The tomatoey base is much different than my regular stew and it tasted incredible.   The prep was very easy, but how much easier can you get than to mix something all together, walk away and forget it for 6 hours.

Fabulous!