Years ago, I blogged my mother-in-law’s delicious Stew recipe.  It is always one of our favorites around here and we make it several times a winter.  Well, the other night, I gave it a little update by adding a few of my favorite ingredients to her stew: spinach and Gruyere cheese.  Yum-my.  I like to make this stew in my oven…it will make your house smell absolutely delicious!  Trust me, this is the kind of supper you need to make this week.  Enjoy!

This recipe serves four to six.

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1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound of stew meat
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
4 cups of water
1 cup of baby carrots (or 2 large carrots, chopped)
5 red potatoes, quartered
1 (10 oz) package of frozen spinach, thawed with all of the excess water squeezed out
1½ tablespoons corn starch
1½ tablespoons water
about 2 cups of shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

In a large dutch oven (a big pot that comes with a lid!), heat your vegetable oil just a minute before adding your stew meat in to brown on all sides.  Once the meat is browned on all sides (it should just take a few minutes) sprinkle in a big pinch of both salt and pepper.  Next, add in the honey, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic and bay leaves followed by your water and another pinch of salt and pepper.  Cover your pot with your lid and place it in the oven to cook for 5 to 6 hours.  Do not mess with it again until about one hour before you’re ready to eat.  At that point, remove the lid and add in your carrots, potatoes and spinach.  Cover and pop back in the oven for another hour.  Ten minutes before you’re ready to serve, mix your corn starch and water together in a little bowl and then stir that into your stew mixture.  After you’ve stirred it in, sprinkle your Gruyere cheese down over the top of the stew and place it back in the oven uncovered for the next 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

A nice little twist on a really good stew recipe.  Your whole family will love it!