I enjoy trying new ways of doing things. I've seen and read recipes for making stew in the oven and I thought, I ought to try that. I've made it on top of the stove and I've also put it in one of my Crockpots. Although the Crockpot is adequate, I really like it on top of the stove...but, I have another way I like it.

My basic recipe for beef stew really doesn't have any measurements. I used a cast iron Dutch oven. I started with a pound of stew meat and if you can get it tenderized, so much the better. I did try something a little different and that is I dried the stew meat off before sauteing it in olive oil in the Dutch oven. It did brown better (thank you, Julia Child). I then chopped an onion and browned it with the meat. I chopped a long stalk of celery and put that in. While that was cooking, I added a little Worcestershire sauce. When everything was really going, I added 1/4 cup of grape juice. I know some folks use wine. I know very little about wine, but we drink grape juice with our dinner so I thought, why not add it? After that I added two or three chopped carrots and 4-5 peeled and cubed potatoes. I know most folks prefer less potatoes, but hubby hasn't met a potato he doesn't like.

Before taking it off the top of the stove, I put in a large can of tomato sauce. I mixed everything together, added some tumeric and pepper, and then put the lid on and put in a 325 oven for 3 1/2 hours.

Wow. It was yummy. The juices blended and everything was cooked and delicious. I took a tentative bite, declared it was good, and then let it cool a bit and put it in the fridge.

Tonight I heated it up on a low simmer and it was delicious. I certainly would do it again.

Since it was pretty cold today, it made for a hearty meal with some fruit and whole wheat bread.