Jackie H.
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 355 Posts 
My secret to my powerful flavored Beef Stew has a name; "Oscar Jr". Do any of you remember owning a small appliance called the "Oscar Jr"? I have no idea how old it is, as it sits on my counter right beside my stove and gets more use than any appliance in my home. I usually refer to this item as my chopper, but when it comes to a beef stew, it's all up to "Oscar."
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 lb lean stew beef
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 Tbsp flour (I use Wondra)
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 3 cups hot water
- a few drops of Gravy Master
- 6 cups hot water
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- Old Bay Seasoning, salt, pepper, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and celery seed (start with 1/8 tsp, and add more after a test taste)
- 2 lb carrots, peeled, cut in chunks
- 1 turnip, peeled, cut in chunks
- parsnips, peeled, cut in chunks
- sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
- 3-4 onions, peeled, quartered
- cabbage wedge, sliced in shreds
- celery, chopped in chunks
- 2 Tbsp dry barley
Steps:
- Start by heating olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Coat the meat in a little bit of flour and drop into the oil. Flip the meat around and getting it browned on all sides.
- Have ready a 3 cup measuring cup of hot water, onion soup and gravy master to pour right in, so your meat does not get too brown. Now your broth is started!
- Add the remainder of hot water. Bring this to a rapid boil. Add the tomatoes.
- Add all your seasonings. Stirring well.
- Now, take 1 small piece of each vegetable, 1 potato, 1 piece of the turnip, 1 stalk of celery, 1 onion, etc. Using "Oscar" you will pulverize one of each piece, and put it in the pot. By doing this, it cooks into the soup and gives the stew a terrific flavor.
- Then you can start peeling and cutting all the rest of your vegetables and putting them in bowls for when you are ready to put them in the stew. I put all my vegetables in about 1- 1 and 1/2 hours before serving.
- This helps give your stew a nice thick broth. Stirring at all times as the barley sticks to the bottom easily. I sometimes will take it off the burner, keep the lid on tight and let it stand and it continues to cook.
- My stew takes about an hour prep time and about 4 hours cooking time! Feeds 4-8 people or more. Enjoy!
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January 19, 20160 found this helpful
Seeing your little Sunbeam Oskar Jr. blew my mind--I also still have one and it's the little thing that wouldn't die. They were manufactured around 1990 through 1992, possibly a little earlier. Great post, thanks!
January 19, 20160 found this helpful
I missed out!, never heard of Oscar, he he he, He should win a Oscar! Sounds amazing.
Joan
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 174 Feedbacks January 20, 20160 found this helpful
I have never heard of Oscar, but I have a mini food processor that fits on to my Oster Blender (purchased back in the 60's!) It's the most useful gadget in my kitchen! Forty years of use and still going strong!
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