Pioneer Woman Sunday Night Stew

I will never put cubed potatoes in stew again.

I never realized the magic of creamy ridiculous mashed potatoes at the bottom of a hearty pot of stew.  

Seriously, anytime I have a soup or stew that calls for cubed potatoes. I'm gonna yell "screw you cubed potatoes!" and pour it over unbelievably creamy, buttery mashed potatoes.

Sorry cubes. 

For the last few years I have made PW's mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. They are RIDICULOUS! I will NEVER make another mashed potato!
Sorry...I will stop shouting at you. 

Pioneer Woman recipes just make me so excited! Oops. The whole stewing/mashing process took me about 5 hours. Hence the reason PW calls it Sunday Night Stew...girl's gotta have some tiempo on her hands.

I cooked mine a little longer than PW says to, but I wasn't getting the thickness I wanted.  I made a little roux and added it to my stew; notice the rhyming skills. It turned out beautifully!

Don't you just want to face plant into this???!!!! My mom and I did.


Here is the recipe. Head on over to Pioneer Woman to see the full step-by-step recipe and superior photography.

Ingredients

Beef Stew

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Butter

2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (chuck Roast Cut Into Chunks)

Salt And Pepper

1 whole Medium Onion, Diced

3 cloves Garlic, Minced

4 ounces, weight Tomato Paste

4 cups Low Sodium Beef Stock Or Broth, More If Needed For Thinning

Several Dashes Worcestershire

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

4 whole Carrots, Peeled And Diced

2 whole Turnips, Peeled And Diced

2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley

Mashed Potatoes

5 pounds Russet Potatoes (peeled)

1 package (8 Ounce) Cream Cheese, Softened

1 stick Butter, Softened

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add butter, and as soon as it melts, brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for two minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for two more minutes.

Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and sugar. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.

After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add the diced turnips and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed!

When the carrots and turnips are tender, stir in minced parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve piping hot in a bowl with mashed potatoes, letting the juice run all over everything. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley at the end.

MASHED POTATOES

Cut the potatoes into quarters and cover with water in a large pot. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the same pot. With the heat on low, mash the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes to release as much steam as possible.

Turn off heat, then add cream cheese, butter, cream, seasoned salt, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve potatoes immediately or spread them into a buttered baking dish to be reheated later. To reheat, put them in a 375 degree oven, covered in foil, until hot.

Have a lovely heartwarming Monday!!