Yum.

Did you know that sufficiently thickened stew makes pretty good gravy for biscuits?   We used leftover stew because I made a huge pot of the stuff the other day, but it still turned out pretty darn good. 

My stew recipe is pretty simple:

1 lb hamburger meat
~1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
3 good sized potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
16 oz pkg of frozen, mixed veggies (I used corn, peas, carrots, and green beans)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 tsp (about 2 cloves) minced garlic
Salt & pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp corn starch


1. Take your raw hamburger and drop it in a good sized pot (2 qt is barely big enough for this--3 would be better).  Sprinkle the dry onion soup & W. sauce onto the top of the burger.  2. Cook the burger meat until done, breaking it up as you go.  (I'd suggest peeling and dicing the potato while your meat is cooking.)  3. Add potatoes, garlic, and veggies to browned meat, cover with water.  Stir it up good to make sure your meat isn't still stuck in the bottom of the pot.  4. Bring to a boil, cook over medium heat until potatoes are done. Salt and pepper to taste at this point.

Here's the tricky part: the thickening.  Take about three or four tablespoons of corn starch and mix into about a quarter of a cup of cold water.  Pour slowly into stew, stirring as you go, and cook for another couple of minutes.  It'll get gloopy.  Then remove from heat. 

This makes some pretty thick stew--great to ladle over fresh, hot biscuits, or fresh, hot cornbread.