Tangy Sage Beef Stew

 

There is a lot of chopping involved with this recipe, but if you’re an intuitive type like me, this is exactly the kind of sensory nonsense we need. 

Put on your favorite ballads playlist on Spotify, and sing to your hearts content. 

Okay, so this is an instant pot recipe. It makes enough to fill 2 instant pots, so you can either make them back-to-back, or freeze the other half to be used later.

Here’s what you need for each batch. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef 
• 6 cups filtered water 
• 1 pound carrots, chopped 
• 1/2 stalk celery, chopped 
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped 
• 1 yellow onion, chopped 
• 8 oz button mushrooms, chopped 
• 1 handful of fresh green beans (about 2 cups), broken into bite-sized pieces.
• 1 can small whole beets
• 1 can whole kernel corn
• 6 oz can tomato paste 
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp garlic powder 
• 2 tsp sage powder 
• 1 tbsp dried thyme 
• 1 tbsp dried basil 
• 2 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tbsp Allegro Hickory Smoke marinade (optional). 
• Garnish with shredded smoked cheddar (optional). 

Directions:

1. I imagine you’ve got a 2 pound bag of carrots, and a whole stalk of celery, rather than 1/2 a stalk, so go ahead and chop all of it. Obviously, rinse and trim it as necessary first. 
2. Now chop all of your 2 bunches of parsley, 2 onions, and 2 packages of 8 oz mushrooms. 
3. Rinse, trim and break all of your (4 cups) of green beans. 
4. I transfer all of this to my largest bowl. 
5. Now we’re going to open 4 packages of 1 pound ground beef. 
6. Break the beef into sloppy meatballs (about 1/2 tbsp sized pieces). 
7. Place these in a second large bowl. 
8. Pour all of your vegetables into the instant pot, and stir them well. As you can see, you’ve got no room for anything else. So we’re going to transfer half of the vegetables back to the large bowl. 
9. Add 1/2 of your meatballs to the instant pot. 
10. Open your beets (drain them), and add 1 can to the instant pot, and the other can to your large bowl with veggies. 
11. Open your tomato pastes, and add 1 can to the instant pot, and 1 can to your veggie bowl. 
12. Open your corn (drain it), and add 1 can to the instant pot, and 1 can to your veggie bowl. 
13. Add all of the remaining spices and sauces (exactly as listed) into the instant pot, and repeat the quantities into your veggie bowl. 
14. Add remaining 2 pounds of beef to your veggie bowl. 
15. Add 6 cups water to the instant pot, (and when the time comes to make your second batch, I’ll remind you to add it to that batch too). Stir.
16. Place the lid on your instant pot, and turn it to “closed”. 
17. Slide the vent to “sealed”.
18. Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, or use the stew setting. 
19. Keep sealed and allow it to sit for 1 more hour. 
20. When it’s done, vent the steam completely, then open, stir and serve. 
21. Turn off the “keep warm” setting and allow to cool, or transfer to individual storage containers, and still allow it to cool until it’s ready to put in the refrigerator. About 1 hour. 
22. Place second batch of stew into the instant pot. 
23. Add 6 cups of filtered water. Stir. 
24. Repeat steps 16 through 20. 

When ready to serve, garnish with shredded smoked cheddar.