Beef Stew

   I love a good beef stew. It was one of the first recipes I learned how to make, and so whenever I find a new recipe I find a need to try it.

Ingredients
    1 lb of lean stew beef
    1 3/4 cup of dry red wine, I used a Merlot
    1/4 cup of flour
    2 tbs of butter
    1 onion, chopped
    1/2 cup of water
    2 tsp of fresh garlic, minced
    4 peppercorns
    1 small bay leaf
    1/2 tsp of thyme
    4 large carrots, sliced into rounds
    4 large red roasted potatoes, peeled and cubed

Directions
    Rinse the meat in cold water, and marinate in one cup of wine for at least 1 hour.
    In a large pot, saute the onion in butter until tender.
    Remove cooked onion from pot.
    Remove meat from wine, and pat dry. Drag meat in flour then cook in same pot as the onion.
    After meat is browned, add rest of wine and water as needed to cover meat.
    Stir in spices, garlic and cooked onion.
    Bring liquid to a boil over high heat.
    Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
    Watch liquid levels and water and wine to keep beef covered.
    With an hour left, add potatoes and carrots.

Changes I Made!
   Put the potatoes in about an hour and half before stew is done. Also, this is a rather thin stew.

This recipe is from The Book Lover's Cookbook.