I can give you either my Mom’s recipe (what I wrote down from a good midwest '60’s mom’s version) which will be good and easy, or my version which takes a little (not much) more effort but I think tastes a bit better. I’ve been told it is spicy, but not really hot, but I don’t really consider it as such.
Oh for the love of God! Has someone tried the D’Angelos beef stew or not!? 
That was the point of my OP, but I gotta say I like where this thread went. I’m hoping to get time this weekend to try making more stew using the lessons learned here.
If you don’t hear from sparky! for a bit, then the OP mentioned stew is to blame.
Sorry… I’ll amend my posts to say “No… never heard of it.”
I’ll have to try to remember to get some short ribs, as stew season is upon us.
I like to add a small can of original V8 juice, rather than tomatoes, to my stews.
To be honest, I never add thickening … though I admit I cheat now and then and add a dab of vegemite for richness of umami.
I dont add thickening after, but what I do is put about half a cup of flour, a teaspoon of ground pepper, a teaspoon of italian herbs and a bare sprinkle of ground cayenne pepper[like less than an eighth of a tsp] into a zippy bag, shake it up to mix. Cut 2 lbs of beef into 1 inch chunks, and toss with the floury stuff in the zippy bag.
In a heavy dutch oven type pot add a couple tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil. Over medium heat brown the beef cubes on all sides. Add 2 large onions [i adore vidalia and walla-walla, but any onion will do] coarsley cut into large chunks, 8 or 10 cloves of garlic, whole peeled [more is ok if you really like garlic] 5 or 6 large carrots peeled and cut into large chunks, and 4 or 5 ribs of celery cut into large chunks. Toss in 2 bay leaves. Add water until JUST covered. Turn the heat down to a low simmer, cover and walk away and leave it for 45 minutes.
Return to the pot, and add 4 large potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks, and add just enough water to cover. Taste and correct seasoning. Remove the bay leaves. Simmer another 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft and the starch has gone into the broth thickening it. You can sort of cheat and add an envelope of knox unflavored gelatine/a sheet of unflavored gelatine. I like to use chuck, I think it has a good flavor profile for stewing. I may make half the original cooking liquid red wine, you can make some or all of the cooking liquid red wine or belgian beer. I dont happen to like doing it that way but YMMV.
Let’s see, if I remember my proportions correctly, it’s two tablespoons of tapioca to every two to three cups of liquid. I would err on the side of too much tapioca, if anything, because you can always thin it down with some more beef broth and/or tomato sauce after it’s cooked and thickened.
Crockpot recipes on the 'net say to thicken with tapioca after the stew is done, but on ATK they just sprinkled and stirred it in right at the beginning.
Never even heard of D’Angelo’s, sorry.
I made a terrific beef stew recently. I was quite proud of myself, as that’s the first time I’ve gotten it to come out properly thick. I’ve always followed the recipes before (dredging the beef in flour before browning), and it either scorches because there’s not enough liquid for cooking, or it’s runny because there wasn’t enough thickener for the liquid.
I used chuck roast, cubed. Browned it up a bit in a dutch oven then set it aside.
Then I sauteed onions and carrots in the same pan to deglaze it. Once the onions were fairly soft, I threw in a handful of flour and cooked it for a bit. It turns all sludgy at this point.
Then I used some red wine to thin the sludge down. Once that was mixed in good, I added a bottle of beer.
Then I tossed the meat back in and added a bunch of potatoes plus seasonings.
Then - and here’s the trick - I covered it and stuck it in the oven for several hours. I think it was at 300 F. I got in a hurry because it hadn’t finished and I had people coming over, so I turned it up to 400 F after a while. Overall, I think it cooked 4-5 hours. This was a huge batch, though. Probably triple what I would normally make.
I’ve also used this technique on green chili stew and similar dishes. I learned it as a method for pot roast. I usually do pot roast for hours and hours and hours at 250 F. It’s the best you’ll ever meet.
If you want a lovely, rich broth use the oven instead of the crockpot. It’s amazing the difference.
I definitely would be interested in seeing your mom’s recipe. My mom does not like anything spicy really so something really traditional would probably be better. I just really would like a good basic recipe that turns out well to learn how to make it so if needed I can tweak it later.
I’m making my crock pot beef stroganoff even as we speak (well, I mean the appliance is making it.) It’s gonna be so tasty! (This is the one I wouldn’t serve company because it’s embarassingly casserolish - there’s, ugh, a can of soup and cream cheese in it. Don’t tell anybody. I want it so bad!)
Well, if we’re talking stew recipes here, I’ll go ahead and throw my favorite into the ring (so to speak). It’s a little unconventional, what with its inclusion of apples and cider and bacon, but OMG, it is sooooooo good! (Especially the next day!)
6 slices thick-sliced bacon
2lbs venison or beef (cut of your choice), cubed
2Tbsp red wine vinegar
3C beef stock
3C good apple cider
3 large potatoes, cubed
5 or 6 good size carrots, peeled and thick-sliced
5 or 6 ribs of celery, thick sliced
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 good apples (I like Fuji or Gala), cored and sliced
salt and pepper
1 or 2 bay leaves
1/4C cider (separate use)
2Tbsp corn starch
In large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Salt and pepper meat cubes (be liberal with the pepper, semi-liberal with the salt; remember the bacon is very salty; then again, the potatoes will absorb a lot of that). Brown seasoned meat and onion in bacon drippings. Add 2C each of the stock and cider and vinegar. Lower heat to medium-low. Go ahead and let that ‘work’ while you prep the veggies and such.
When the broth comes to a nice simmer, add potatoes, carrots, and celery. Add bay leaf (or leaves). Add any other spices that might appeal to you, too. Bring back up to a boil, lower heat to low. Allow to simmer for a good 4-5 hours, checking occasionally. Use the additional stock and cider (equal parts) as some of the broth cooks off. Also taste broth occasionally to adjust salt and pepper.
Once the meat and veggies are good and tender, add the apples. Wait just a few minutes for apples to get crisp/tender (you don’t want applesauce in your stew!).
Remove bay leaf or leaves, make a slurry out of the 1/4C cider and corn starch.
Return to a good simmer, slowly stirring in slurry. Continue stirring and simmering for at least one minute.
Crumble crisp bacon.
Ladle stew into bowls, garnish with bacon crumbles.
I serve this with a nice crusty bread with plenty of butter.
Sounds weird, but it’s been a family hit since I first tried it about 15 years ago! It has a kind of “sweet and sour” thing going on!
Misread as I am carving beef stew. Nice trick if you can do it, altho a little bit pointless.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. I don’t like to cook, and beef stew is something I hadn’t done in many years. While visiting friends, they served up beef stew with biscuits. I liked the stew and commented on it. They said they used one of the Hormel beef dinners; dumped it into a pot and added canned potatoes and carrots.
Well, I don’t like to cook, but I figured I could do them one better. I got the Hormel meat, fresh red potatoes and carrots, onion, frozen peas, and an envelope of instant gravy mix. I cooked the carrots and taties separately, then added them to the meat, onions, peas, and instant gravy. You can short-cut it by using frozen/canned carrots and potatoes; add any other veggie you like. Bake some dinner rolls and there you have it.