Sunday, February 5, 2012

Beef Stew (for the freezer)

A traditional beef stew needs a few modifications to be frozen, but it is possible.
The main things are potatoes and flour thickened sauces dont freeze well. 
For the flour I simply didn't thicken it with anything, you can add a flour paste at the end of reheating to serve if you want it thicker, I plan on just serving it as as.
A to potatoes I just left them out. I plan on serving this over rice, baked potatoes, or pasta
but you could boil a pot of potatoes chunks and stir them in at the end. 

10 lb of beef, cubed
8 large carrots, cut into thick coins
4 large onions, diced
10 stalks of celery, sliced
2 family sized can cream of anything soup
1/2 c. dehydrated onions
8 beef bouillon cubes
2 tsp granulated garlic
black pepper
6 c. frozen peas
2 can corn
2 disposable turkey sized foil roasting pans
(I used the cheapo kind that where 13 inches x something, not the biggest but the cheapest)

Toss half of the beef, carrots, onions, and celery in each pan. Add 1 can of soup to each pan along with 1/4 c. dehydrated onion, 4 beef cubes, 1 tsp garlic, and black pepper sprinkled across the top. Add 3/4 c. of water and stir everything together. Cover with tin foil and bake at 290 for 2 hours. Stir everything, recover the pans with the tin foil and bake at 350 until the meat is tender, about 2 - 3 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Stir 3 cups of peas and 1 can of corn into each pan. Let cool to room temperature and divide into serving sized pan. 

I got 6 pans out of this recipe. You can make the portions a little smaller than you think since this is served over something the meal will be bigger than just what is in the pan. Cover the top with tin foil and freeze fat. Once the pans are frozen solid you can stack them on top of each other in the freezer. 

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To Serve
Leaving the tin foil on top of the stew, bake at 350 for 1 hour or until the gravy is bubbly. If you freeze in a plastic baking pan or tupperware this can be reheated in to microwave. Cook for a few minutes, stir, and then cook again, stirring every few minutes, until hot.

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