Beef Stew, BeerPup

My friend K-Bear asked for my beef stew recipe. She was very busy and stressed last week, so I made some for her and the fam.

She asked for the recipe. Here it is:

2 pounds (beef) stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes (or smaller)
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
1/2 Tablespoon (3 or 4 cloves) minced garlic
1 bottle Shiner Bock (optional)
3 cans Campbell's beef broth concentrate (2 if adding beer)
1 Tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet* browning sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tablespoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups diced (1-inch) peeled potatoes (maybe 5 large)**
2 cups diced (less than 1-inch) peeled carrots (a 1-pound bag)
1/4 cup flour
1 Cup cold water

Mix 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper in a bag or bowl, and add stew meat. Toss to coat.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil (med-hi) in a stock pot. When hot, add floured meat to brown for about 10 minutes. Add onions and brown 5 more minutes. Add garlic and brown 2 minutes longer.

Add liquids (beer and/or broth), Kitchen Bouquet, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add thyme and bay leaf, and simmer for, oh, an hour or so.

Add potatoes and carrots. If not completely covered in liquid, add water. Simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Remove bay leaf. If you remember ;-)

Separately, mix 1/4 cup flour and 1 cup cold water with a whisk. Pour into stock pot and stir as it thickens.

At this point, you can add other favorite frozen or canned veggies like peas and corn; heat through.

That's it!

*If you don't usually cook with Kitchen Bouquet, it's in a small brown bottle with a yellow label, and sold near the beef and chicken bullion cubes, or near the Worcestershire sauce, or both. Maggi brand liquid beef flavor concentrate (often in the kosher section) also works well.

**You can also add peeled, diced rutebega but if you do so, decrease the about of potatoes. Buy a SMALL rutebega; they've got a lot of flavor.

If you make this and it turns out crappy, let me know.