I have been told time and again that not following recipes or making up my own and not writing them down will bite me some day. Well, it did. Last year I froze a bunch of beef stew and gave it as meals to friends who needed a little extra help. At least two of them asked for my recipe. What was I going to do? I never use a recipe for it. So I humbled myself and let them know that I didn’t have a recipe but I would be willing to show them how I do it usually. So here we go….
In the morning I start soaking barley and lentils in hot water and some salt. This sits on my counter until I am ready to begin the stew.
When I am ready to start the stew I begin with some left over beef roasts I have frozen. I usually let these sit out to thaw before cooking begins. This is an awesome way to start the stew. The meat and stock already have some kind of seasoning, depending on what kind of beef roast you did.
After I have the beef roasts dumped in to the pot and starting to cook down I dump the soaked beans, water and all into the pot with them.
Next step is adding some beef broth for some extra flavor and liquid.
Here is where it gets tricky. Besides not knowing the seasonings I used on the roasts, I don’t measure these ingredients but these are the ones I use to flavor the stew.
Worcestershire Sauce, Marjoram, Ground Mustard, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cinnamon, Franks Hot Sauce, Paparika
Once all the flavorings are added stir and let simmer down and flavors blend.
Next add vegetables. The roasts had some potatoes and onions in them so we just decided to add carrots this round. But I have been known to add green beans, soybeans, lima beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery and/ or any of these combinations. Use your judgment and family preferences.
Simmer until vegetables are cooked and the family is ready to eat. Hope that helps some. We love to freeze this if there are any leftovers. Lately there hasn’t been any seeing that we have two growing boys and two growing girls with hearty appetites. 🙂
ENJOY!!!!!!!
God's Ducks 
That is how I make most of my stews – without a recipe. 🙂