Oregano and Red Wine Beef Stew

Happy Black Friday! 

If you’re ready for a break from turkey, here’s a delicious recipe for a hearty beef stew.

I like to make this recipe in my good old oval roaster but you can also make it in the crock pot.

This stew includes all of the basics….beef, potatoes, green beans, celery, onion and carrot.  But what really gives it an amazing flavor is the red wine and oregano.

While the veggies and beef are cooking, they absorb the flavor of the wine and oregano, and the end result tastes soooo delicious. 

The beef is so tender that you can cut it with a spoon.

This is true comfort food, and wow….does the house ever smell good while this is cooking.

This stew is so tasty when topped with some grated parmesan cheese, and served with a side of warm bread and butter.

Leftovers warm up nicely too!

I’ll stop talking so we can check out the ingredients:

Veggies, meat, wine, broth, olive oil and……

…pepper, parsley, oregano, and bay leaves.

Here’s how to make it.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the tomatoes to a roaster pan.

Cut the larger size carrots in half.  Otherwise, if the carrots are smaller you can just leave them whole.

Add the carrots to the roaster pan.

Cut the celery in fairly large pieces (about 1 ½ inch pieces).  I like to include the pieces of celery from the heart section with the leaves.  The leaves are so pretty in the stew.

Add the celery.

Cut the onions in about the same size pieces as the celery.

Then add the onions.

Dice the garlic.  Then cut the jalapeno in half lengthwise and cut it in thinly sliced pieces  (if you like a lot of heat you can leave in the seeds).

Add the garlic and jalapeno.

Next, pour all of the beef stock.

Here’s what it will look like with all of the stock in the pan.

Then pour in the wine.

Next, add the dried oregano, pepper, parsley, bay leaves, and salt.

After I added the stock, wine, and herbs I saw the potatoes and green beans still on the kitchen counter…..oops….

….don’t be like me and almost forget to add them….

….so next, cut the potatoes (with the skin on) into fairly large pieces (about 2 inch pieces).  I just happened to have both russet and red potatoes, but feel free to use whatever potatoes you have on hand.

Then add the potatoes.

Next, cut each green bean into 3 or 4 pieces depending on the length of the green beans.  Or, you can use a can of green beans instead.

Add the green beans (if using a can of green beans, drain out the liquid first).

Stir the ingredients in the roaster pan together and set aside to marinate while you cook the beef stew meat.

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add the olive oil.

Add the beef and a few dashes of pepper.

Cook the beef just long enough so that it browns a bit on each side.

It takes about 7 minutes for the meat to get brown.

Next, add the beef into the roaster pan (including the olive oil and meat juices that may still be in the skillet).

Stir all of the ingredients together, and cover the roaster pan with a lid.

Then bake in a preheated oven for about 2 hours or until the meat is so tender you can cut it with a spoon.  Yum!

If you prefer more liquid in your stew just stir in a bit of water.

After adding the stew to your serving bowls, garnish with some grated parmesan cheese.

Delish.

Pictured with fresh oregano.

Enjoy!