Beef and Bean Stew - Crockpot Easy

I love to walk in the door and smell food waiting on me. I am blessed to work from home and be able to have dinner ready for my Honey when he gets home from work. I’m no June Cleaver (tho I did have on a pearl necklace & earrings when he got home yesterday) but I try to give my man the gift of walking in the door to wonderful aromas.

On Sundays I like to get up a little early and put a complete meal in the electric roaster on low to cook while we are at church. By the time we get home, we can smell lunch from the back porch and we’re practically drooling by the time we’ve changed into our more comfy clothes. A little forethought can make this happen for you, too.

Today’s recipe is from our family cookbook, Dinner Will Be Ready When the Smoke Alarm Goes Off! I’ve Tweaked it a bit, of course and it is one that you can tweak in a variety of ways. It only requires dusting off the crock pot that is hiding somewhere. All you ‘working out in the world’ people can do this one and walk in your door to have dinner waiting with wonderful aromas wafting out to greet you, too. If you go with the traditional beef stew option everything is in the crockpot.. If your mornings are too rushed and crazy to assemble before work, brown the beef and mix ingredients the night before, then just pop into crock pot & set on low before you head out!

Remember to start with your meat at room temperature when you can. Pat the meat dry before cutting up so it will brown better.

Beef & Bean Stew

1 pound boneless beef (round or rump)

1/8 cup vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic -- minced

4 medium onions -- quartered

1 19-ounce can beans in sauce** see note below

1 teaspoon honey

1 10-ounce can beef broth

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Options: You can add cut up potatoes & carrots to this for a more traditional beef stew or add side veggies to complete meal. This is great over mashed potatoes if you opt for leaving veggies out.

Cut beef into 1-inch pieces. Heat oil in large saucepan; add meat, garlic, and sauté until meat is browned. Once you lay it in pan, do not move around till brown, then turn and repeat for each side. Add onions, beans, honey, beef broth, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Transfer to a crock-pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. It will keep till you get home.

***Use beans that will hold up to stirring, like Great White Northern, pintos, kidney beans. Pork-n-beans or navy beans tend to fall apart and get mushy. I have used Ranch Style and it changes the flavor a bit but it is good, too.

Life is too short to make a chore out of everything; so enjoy cooking for your family, the love and good attitude improves the flavors and makes meal time more pleasant.