Jo Mama’s Beef Stew

Jo Mama’s Beef Stew

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
  • Servings: 6

    • About This Recipe

    “Hearty and delicious. My family’s favorite stew for over 30 years.If you prefer, you can substitute basil for the rosemary–I fix it both ways.Update:When I originally made this recipe, I would coat the beef pieces with a flour/salt/pepper mix by shaking them in a bag and then brown them in a couple tablespoons of oil. I eliminated this step to simplify and lower the calories and fat, but if you do it that way it makes for a thicker sauce. Good either way!”

    Ingredients

  • 2lbsstew meat, cut up
  • 1/4 cupflour
  • 4boiling potatoes, cut into bite-size squares
  • 2carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2stalkscelery, sliced
  • 1onion, chopped
  • 1sprigfresh rosemary, 1-2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary
  • 1teaspoonsalt
  • 1/2 teaspoonpepper
  • 2beef bouillon cubes

    • Directions

  • Shake stew meat up in a bag with flour to cover.
  • Brown in vegetable oil in stew pot.
  • Cover with water and bring to a boil.
  • Simmer for 30 minutes or more.(I like to simmer until the beef is nice and tender).
  • Add remaining ingredients and add additional water to cover.
  • Bring to a boil again.
  • Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are done, about 15 minutes.

    • Reviews

  • “Very good, the basil blended in very nicely to give the end product a great taste.I did thicken the broth with some cornstarch.I fixed it in the crockpot, 2 hours on high & 6 on low.”

  • “Great stew Sharlene!A good recipe that is simple and hearty.We ate it over rice & it was wonderful.”

  • “Yummy! A little salty but good.”

  • “Very good stew! We used dried rosemary and beef broth. We had our first snowfall of the year here in Wisconsin yesterday-6 or so inches of the wet heavy stuff. It sure was wonderful to come in from shoveling to enjoy a nice hot bowl of stew.”

  • “Fabulous! I didn’t have fresh rosemary so I used a little dried and it still turned out amazing! I also used beef broth instead of water and I like it that way because I think it gives it a little more flavor. Also used a little cornstarch to thicken. Lovely! Will be making again! Thanks so much!”

  • “This was perfect on a cold, rainy day.It was quick and easy to put together and tasted delicious!”

  • “I was searching for a stew recipe that did not have a tomato base. This was terrific. Instead of water, I used beef broth. I also used fresh rosemary and added fresh mushrooms. My family loved this stew and asked that I make it again soon.”

  • “This is the perfect beef stew recipe I’ve been looking for forever! I’m not a huge fan of rosemary but I’m glad I bothered to buy some fresh because the flavour was wonderful in this stew. I was out of celery so omitted it and for some of the water I substituted chicken broth. I also thickened the stew at the end because we like it thick and added a bit of dried thyme. I doubled the recipe to take half to a sick family member and I’m so glad I did. Everyone loved it. Thank you :)”

  • “This is one hell of a meal. It was delicious and my 3 kids even had seconds. I am 46 years and never made beef stew before this recipe. I’m glad I picked this one!!!”

  • “We enjoyed this stew very much. I used venison and did not add any extra salt. The fresh rosemary added a wonderful flavor. Thanks for a great recipe. I’ll use this one over and over.”

  • “This is a great basic stew. My 13 year old had to make a stew for a cooking project at home.I picked this recipe for him because it looked like it would be good, the ingredients were simple and the instructions were easy to follow. We ended up with an excellent meal.Minor changes;1) We used beef base “Better than Boullion” in place of the boullion cubes.2) At the end, we added 1/2 cup of cornstarch to 1 cup water, to make the stew thicker.Our result before that was pretty thin, but we may have added too much water during the original process.We like a thick stew.3)We cooked the stew a fair amount longer at the end than 15 minutes.We like our vegetables very soft and mushy in a stew, so I’d say it was at least 30 minutes longer we let it cook.Very good, solid, great tasting recipe. Thanks!”

  • “I made your stew for the first time Saturday night and we finished the leftovers tonight.My husband insists the flavor improved even more while sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten, says it’s the best meal we’ve put on the table in recent memory.It was simple to prepare and I served it with a loaf of my homemade honey wheat bread. Yummy! Thanks!”

  • “I am embarrassed as I having been making your recipe for several years and just realized I never reviewed it.I love this recipe!I make it every year for my “autumn/fall” themed dinner party.I always use basil.Towards the end of simmering, I also add a flour/water paste until the stew is thickened to the degree I like it.The taste is wonderful!Thank you so much for sharing; it is in my permanent “recipe favorites” box.*Edited to say:I just made this again for my fall dinner party (2006).This year I had many new couples and they couldn’t stop raving about how wonderful it was.As the soup was simmering, we (adults 🙂 )were carving pumpkins and everyone stopped by the pot to stir it and breathe in the heavenly aroma.After we had eaten, several went back for seconds or thirds!Once again, thanks for an awesome recipe that has exchanged hands many times!”

  • “This was sooo good. I used beef stock instead of some of the water and added paprika,garlic and parsley to the mix as well. It was even better the next day. Thanks for a wonderful stew recipe. “

  • “This was a very simple recipe. Exacly what I needed. It was easy to make and didn’t take very long. I think next time I will add more seasoning to my beef before I brown it. It turned out great.My son and I had it over rice. I loved it and will be using this again. Thanks alot! “

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