Aerobe's Kickin' Stew

     __      __      __   AEROBE'S   __      __      __      
   __)(__  __)(__  __)(__  KICKIN' __)(__  __)(__  __)(__  
  (      )(      )(      )  STEW  (      )(      )(      )
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Requires absolutely no culinary finesse and feeds around four. Simple kickin' cookin' (for those who can't cook).

Ingredients

• 1 lb stewing beef
• 1 large onion (cut in chunks)
  
• 2 large potatoes (again, cut in chunks)
• a whole mess of carrots (around 4 biggish ones will do, and chunks for these as well)
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of beef broth
• OPTIONAL: a splash of red wine
  

Procedure

1. Toss into a pot or casserole dish - anything that'll withstand the oven. Tomato sauce and broth go in first, so you can mix them together-like.
2. Throw on some salt and pepper.
3. Preheat your oven to 300º F and cook for 3 1/2 - 4 hours.
4. Eat! Serve with some nice breadstuffs for to be moppin' up the extra sauce.

cough well, actually, I immediately hit up FreshDirect's website. But they brought them to my house!

Then I cooked. Because I'm a nerd, and because I had thought I had stuff I didn't and vice-versa, my stew should really be called "The Stew Based On Aerobe's Kickin' Stew!" but I'm going to node it here because at heart it's her stew and without her stew I never would have had the gumption to stew.

Oh yeah, mine is bigger, too. So there. More leftovers. Because I'm lazy.

Update: Doubling the recipe below will serve 12 hungry people. Or 6 hungry people twice. I've tested this. Good luck finding a big enough pot though.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs stewing beef, in chunks
• 5 small-to-medium yellow onions
• 4-6 scallions
• 1/2 bunch of celery
• 4 large carrots (no, seriously, Ted Williams would have looked upon these with approval)
• 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes
• 8 pitted prunes (they give it a nice sweet tinge)
• 1 can of early peas
• 1 can of beef broth, 16 oz.
• 1 can of tomato sauce, 16 oz.
• 1 bottle Heineken, 12 oz. or equivalent weaksauce beer. Or whatever beer you have handy, really.
• Marsala cooking wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• crushed red pepper to taste
• 1 tsp salt
• Olive oil

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the onions into chunks (not slices, the other way. You know, wedge-like.)
• Throw some olive oil in a big ol' cast-iron and enamel stewin' pot. Put it atop the stove on high heat. Wait for the oil to get nice and runny. Throw in the beef and half the onions and all the garlic.
• Brown the beef nicely on all sides. Continue until you start seeing darker brown showing up on the beef chunks indicating caramelization or whatever cooking term it is because I'm pretty sure it's not that. While it's cooking, slice the carrots, scallion and celery and skin then cut the potatoes into chunks. Cut the prunes into small chunks.
• Lower the heat. Throw in the beef broth, tomato sauce, beer, a liberal splash of the Marsala and the can of peas entire. Stir it up good.
• Throw in the other half of the yellow onions, the scallions, the celery, the carrots, and the potatoes and the prunes. Then throw in all the spices. Stir again.
• Cover and place in oven. Wait for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Do not disturb while waiting. Enjoy the smells.
• Eat!

I served it in bowls over a slice of very crusty French batard; a boule or baguettes would work great. Sourdough would probably induce awesomegasm.

I've been eating this stew for four days now, and it improves with age. Yes, refrigerate it once you're done. It microwaves great! The real point here? The Kickin' Stew is so powerful, that pretty much whatever you got there in your cupboard will only make it better. It laughs at finicky and stomps all over picky.

All hail Aerobe's Kickin' Stew!