Old Fashioned Beef Stew

1. In a large bowl, mix corn meal, 2 tablespoons flour, corn starch and one teaspoon of Lawry’s. Coat meat in flour mixture.
2. In a deep pot (or in a skillet, if it’s easier for you), heat oil over medium high heat. Add meat in small batches, browning on all sides.
3. After all meat has been browned, add it all back to the pot with garlic and cover meat with chicken broth.
4. Mix in onion, tomato sauce, bay leaf and all remaining seasonings, including the remaining 2 teaspoons Lawry’s.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour, stirring intermittently, and tasting to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking.
6. After an hour, stir in vegetables and continue cooking on low for another hour, or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Remove the bay leaf.

Note: If desired, to thicken sauce, make a roux (I like for mine to coat the spoon, rather than just run off of it):
1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan over medium-low heat.
2. When it’s bubbling, sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour. Stir with a spatula until slightly brown. Don’t stop stirring or it will burn!
2. Stir mixture into stew (you may want to put in only 1/2 at first) and turn heat up to medium for five minutes before turning the heat completely off.

Enjoy!