Cindy's Sunday Beef Stew

  
   My little cooking classes have resumed and the young ladies are coming over tomorrow to make Sunday Beef Stew. We switched to Sundays so that all 3 could come and be here from the start to the finish and not have work or school get in the way.
   I remember as a child how happy it made me when we were going to have stew for dinner.  I actually didn't know the word "stew" until I was around 10 or 11.  Mostly we ate guisados which is the Mexican equivalent to stews. However, at around 10 or 11, I actually started being invited to eat dinner with my friends and that's where I was introduced to the word stew. In the 60's stews, I gather, were a meal that helped stretch a dollar and yet were very filling.  They were also a 1 pot dish.  The difference was that most stews I thought were very tasteless compared to the guisados I was used to eating.  So over the years I have developed my own stew.  I have to mention that I had a dear aunt who was not a great cook but she had mastered the guisado.  The wonder was that this "guisado" was pretty much from cans with the exception of the meat.  In my house everything was from scratch or pretty close. I have Mama Lily's  recipe and my kids love when I make it.  But today  this is my hybirdized stew.  That wonderful Mama Lily's stew will wait for another day.

                                                 Cindy's Sunday Stew
1 1/2 lbs of tri tip and top sirloin or chuck  (mix  the meats) salted and peppered cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large/softball sized onion diced
6 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp of cumin
1 lb. tomatillos husks off, washed and sliced
2 jalapeno peppers diced (take the seeds out if you are not used to heat)
2 lbs small red potatoes cut in quarters
1 red orange or green bell pepper or any color  (the red is sweet the green is not)
4 large carrots washed and chopped
2 celery stalks chopped with leaves
2 Mexican squash "calabacitas" cut into chunks
1 8oz container of button mushrooms wiped clean and cut in half
2 envelopes onion soup mix
2 cups water and 2 cups red wine
Herbs; about 1 tsp of each sage, oregano, cilantro all chopped pretty fine
S/P to taste  You won't need too much more in the way of salt.

1. Cook beef in a little oil until browned for about 5 min.  Sometimes I have browned bits of bacon and cooked it with the meat.
2.  Add onion, garlic and cumin.  Cook and stir until onion is translucent.
3. Add all the veggies.  Stir and then cook with the lid on for about 5  minutes. Looking for veggies to still have a bit of a crunch.
4.  Increase the heat and add all the other ingredients.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
5.  Boil for about 5 min.
6.  Reduce to simmer. Add herbs.  Cook for about 20 minutes very low and slow.
This will serve 10 bowls of stew.  Frankly a salad is all you might need to go with this.  We would eat this with  corn tortillas but they aren't  really needed.  Do serve with a fork and a spoon.