Beef Stew & Greek Salad

Last night, I made a beef stew and served it with a Greek salad and a side of brown rice.

Adapted: Canadian Living


Here are my personal edits to the recipe:

Ingredients
1.5lb beef round
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 tsp salt (4 mL)
1/4 tsp pepper (1 mL)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (30 mL)
3.5 cups sodium-reduced beef stock (900 mL)
1 onion , sliced
2 slices maple bacon , chopped
1 tsp dried thyme (5 mL)
10 white mushrooms
2 celery stalks , chopped
3 large white potatoes
1 tsp chopped bay leaves (5 mL)
1 cup frozen peas (250 mL)


Preparation
Trim and cut beef into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes; toss with 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the cornstarch. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In large skillet, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; brown meat. Transfer to slow cooker.
In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat; fry onion, bacon and thyme for 5 minutes. Add to slow cooker. Slowly pour beef stock into slow cooker.

**Time Constraint!** I started cooking everything in the slow cooker on low and added in the rest after 3 hours. It worked out well for me.


Add celery, potatoes, mushrooms, bay leaf and 1 cup (250 mL) water to slow cooker; stir to combine. Season with pepper, Montreal smoked meat spice, dill and oregano. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Whisk remaining cornstarch with 1/4 cup (50 mL) water; whisk into slow cooker. Add peas. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened.





The Greek salad was pretty standard. Diced tomatoes, white onion, and English cucumber. For the dressing, I added 3 tbl spoons of olive oil and seasoned it with oregano, pepper and minced garlic. I topped it off with some feta cheese.