Tomorrow's Beef Stew

I have never been a patient woman.

Which makes me all the more happy and astounded at my fortune of marrying Mike Peacock. Don't tell anyone, but unbeknownst to yours truly, Mike carried my engagement around in his pocket for three months. THREE MONTHS.

And the whole time I had no idea of his intentions. And when he was finally ready to make his intentions known? On July 11, 2006 on that elegant white sandy beach, with the breeze in our hair, the surf on our toes, full moon and our own private fireworks show overhead? When he asked, "What do you think of getting married?" Do you know what I said?

"Well, I don't know. To whom?"

Thus began an infamously complimentary relationship in which he is the stoic solid rock who keeps our life steady and stable and I am the catalyst who makes things happen right now.

So you can imagine my chagrin and horror when I took the first bite of this stew on the day it was made and wanted to promptly spit it back out. It was so bland. Cafeteria mashed potatoes and grits bland. And no amount of salt, pepper, or Tabasco could help it. I was distraught. I was disappointed. I was kicking myself for wasting so much meat with an off-the-top-of-my-head recipe.

Mike was eating it.

So I thanked him for choking down such bland stew and promised to throw it out and have something fresh for him the next day. He said, "Why? It'll only be better tomorrow."

And you know what? It totally was.

2-3 pounds stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 onions, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

4-6 cups beef broth

1 cup red wine

1 bay leaf

3 Tablespoons corn starch

3-4 potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 pound bag of baby carrots

Salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste

1. Combine the meat, onions, garlic, broth, wine, seasonings, and bay leaf in a crock pot.
2. Cook on low for 4 hours.
3. Take out one cup of liquid and thoroughly mix the corn starch to that reserved liquid.
4. Return corn starch mixture to the crock pot.
5. Add potatoes and carrots if you want them fully cooked or wait until later in the cooking process for more crunchy vegetables.
6. Cook for another 4-8 hours.
7. (The hardest part for me) Refrigerate overnight and reheat in a regular pot on the stove.
8. Goes rather well with biscuits.