Kathy's Beef Stew

Kathy’s Beef Stew

1 lb (or more) of 2 inch cubed, stew beef
½ cup flour
1 tsp garlic powder, some salt & pepper

1 chopped onion
1 chopped garlic clove
3 carrots, peeled & sliced into coins
3 celery stalks, sliced
Water or beef stock
1 small can V-8 juice (optional SECRET INGREDIENT)
1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ cup Sherry (SECRET INGREDIENT)
¼ cup Marsala wine (SECRET INGREDIENT)
Some dried or fresh rosemary leaves wrapped in cheesecloth or a tea infuser.
2 medium potatoes OR ½ cup pearl barley, rinsed.


1. Put flour into a gallon sized ziplock bag with garlic powder, salt and pepper & shake to mix. Drop pieces of cubed beef into the flour and shake to cover all sides. (The meat should not be too wet before going into the bag.) With hand in bag, pick up a handful of meat and shake off excess flour.

2. In a heavy-bottomed stew pot, add some olive oil to coat bottom of pan and heat to medium-high. Drop dredged beef into pan and brown on all sides. Adjust heat if necessary to avoid smoking and burning of flour. Don’t over-crowd the pan or stack the beef on top of each other. Brown in batches if necessary. Add more oil if necessary. When browned, add onions and cook for a few minutes.

3. Add enough water or beef stock (either or both) to cover the meat. (Essentially use as much liquid as the amount of stew you’d like to make). Adjust salt and pepper seasonings to taste. Tie bag of cheesecloth or tea infuser w/ rosemary in it to edge of pan for ease of retrieval before serving.

3. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT FOR THE POTATOES & BARLEY!

4. Bring to an easy boil and then reduce heat to low for several hours (the longer the better, but a minimum of one hour). IF using BARLEY: in the last 40 minutes before serving, and add the rinsed barley if using barley. IF USING POTATOES: in the last 15 minutes before serving, add the potatoes.