Comforting Beef Stew

With the chili weather outside it's nice to have a hearty, hot stew to come home to.  Paired with a crusty bread this meal is perfection!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup red wine or port
• 2.5 cups beef stock
• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Coat the beef pieces with the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Place a deep pan on medium high heat.  Add olive oil to the pan and brown beef pieces in batches.
3. Remove the last batch of beef from the pan, set aside.  
4. Add more olive oil to the pan if needed.  Add the onion and garlic.  Stir until the onions are soft. 
5. Add the wine or port to deglaze the pan, using a spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan.  
6. Increase the heat to high and boil the wine/port until reduced by 1/3.
7. Add the beef back to the pan along with the beef stock and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cover pan with a lid.  Simmer the stew for one hour or until the beef is tender. 
8. Add the carrots and simmer for another 20 minutes. 
9. Add the chopped parsley and serve immediately.