Basic Beef Stew

Feeds: 2 adults and 2 children with tonnes left over for lunches/freezer/extra people

Cooking time: 2+ hours

Prep time: 15 minutes

I make this one at least once a month and whole I only give the adults one serve each, I put the rest in the freezer in silicon muffin trays to have on hand as easy instant baby dinners. Each muffin sized portion does my bub for one meal. It takes a minimum of 2 hours to cook but o it about 10 minutes prep time. I like putting it on about 3pm and it's ready by dinner time so it takes a bit of forethought but very low effort.

Ingredients

• 1kg of chuck beef (or really any beef steak you want, the cheaper and fattier the better) cut up into small cubes, 2cm type stuff

• 1 large sweet potato 

• 3-4 fist sized potatos

• 2-3 large carrots

• 1 onion

• 1 head of garlic 

• 2 tins crushed tomatoes 

• 300ml water (quick hack, it's one tin worth of water so you can use the empty tin of tomato as your measuring jug)

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano or mixed/other dried Italian herbs, or a couple of twigs worth of fresh oregano

• 60gm unsalted butter (1/4 of a small stick)

• 2 tablespoons of plain flour

• 3 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Cut up vege into chunks twice the size of the beef. You want it to have chunky bits left even after hours of cooking. Peel the garlic and roughly chop it.

2. Put all the vege and the garlic and beef in a big pot with the oil and the butter. Cook it until the meat is browned, stirring continuously so it doesn't stick to the bottom. 

3. Add the flour and spices and mix it around so everything is coated in it and it starts gripping the bottom of the pan.

4. Dump in the tomatoes and water and give it a good mix, getting the flour off the bottom and agitating it enough to start the thickening. 

5. Bring it up to a simmer then turn the heat way down. You want it to still be a little bubbly but not aggressive.

6. Let it cook for 2-4 hours. Stir it every half hour or so and make sure it's not sticking. If it's sticking turn the heat down. 

Notes:

⭐ You can give this to bub as puree or as a mush or as is with the nice soft big chunks of meat and vege to grip and pre-loaded spoons of sauce. I like blending it to a rough mush and putting it in a squeezer pouch like these ones from 4myearth

⭐ I mix it up with how I serve it might be big chunks of bread, or grilled cheese on toast, or just on its own

⭐ Butter and olive oil have lots of good fats that are great for bubs development

⭐ Definitely use both oil and butter. The oil stops the butter from burning and the butter thickens up the sauce when you add the flour, plus they both add to flavour

⭐ Fun fact, the earlier you introduce different flavours to your bub the less likely they will develop food aversions. It can take up to a dozen times of being offered a food for them to like it, so don't be put off if they reject the first time it's offered.