Short Rib Stew

Short Rib Stew... As I continue my journey into the slow cooker world, I figured a staple like beef stew should really be something I master early on. My mom never really used a slow cooker, but her advice was to be super simple with one trick.. a can of condensed tomato soup.

On Sunday I grabbed an onion, three carrots and a few red potatoes as well as a can of that tomato soup she suggested and headed to the butcher for some stew meat. Turns out my only option was to either buy it in 5lb bulk or to find an alternative. Right above the stew meat was boneless short ribs which looked delectable so I grabbed them and went on my merry way.

I planned to let the stew slow cook all day on Wednesday but didn't want to deal with the chopping in the morning so I did it Tuesday night while I was making Tuesday's dinner. I put the roughly chopped onion, carrot, and potato in a large plastic bag along with two cloves of garlic and stuck it in the fridge until go time.

On Wednesday morning simply dumped my bag of veggies in the slow cooker, placed the short ribs on top then added a sprinkle of Worcestershire sauce, a can of condensed tomato soup, salt, pepper, and a couple bay leaves for good measure. I turned that bad boy onto low and that was that.

When I got home around 5 the meat was tender and easy to pull apart, the veggies were nicely cooked but not mushy, and the sauce was rich and tomatoey - a perfect stew broth. All in all it was super Dahlicious and so stinkin easy. If you are trying to please a meat and potato lover this is a really nice go to. I think this could be done almost just as easily in a dutch oven if you seared the meat and then cooked it low and slow in the oven for a few hours.

What I used:

• 1 yellow onion
• 3 large carrots
• 3 large red potatoes
• 1-1.5 lbs boneless short ribs or stew meat
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 2 cloves garlic
• A few sprinkles Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, bay leaves

Chopped up the night before

In the morning, before setting it on low

On a side note, Tuesday's dinner was also super simple but a crowd pleaser for sure. I grabbed dough from my local Mariano's as well as a delectable canned pizza sauce (not thick or sweet, just right), some fresh mozzarella and prosciutto. While the pizza was bubbling away in the oven I tossed together a quick salad of arugula and freshly sliced fennel - for the dressing I whisked together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey, salt and pepper. Super simple but super Dahlish and fresh and crunchy and a fabulous side to the decadent pizza. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!