Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:THis beef stew over mashed potatoes (and omit the potatoes from the recipe). All can be prepared in advanced. Keep Mashed in crockpot until ready. There is nothing more comforting than this recipe. It is a travesty not to use the wine/mushroom modification.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/hearty-beef-stew-cf.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

Your menu sounds good and heavy, but I guess that is what they like.

You could throw in a pork chop/rice casserole. My mom made a great and very simple one growing up.

Thank you for this recipe, it looks great. I have been looking for a yummy beef stew recipe. Do you think I could make it without the bacon and use olive oil instead for the bacon fat?

I think you would cause severe injury to the dish without bacon. I would ONLY omit it if pork is against your religion. If you decide on this , it is not the meal to decide to be health conscious with.

Beef pot pie sounds perfect. I bought stew ingredients at Coscto so I have one Dutch oven full of beef stew that i just prepared and about the sane amount of uncooked leftovers (but it's not mixed in any broth or sauce yet; I was still thinking what to do with it all).

If you do beef stew, you can then use the leftovers for beef pot pie.

Other beefy comfort food dishes: shepherd's pie, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf...

You're right about the chile. It's my least favorite of the ideas I have. But it's hard to resist the "one pot, eat whenever you'd like, still good tomorrow-ness" of chile. More reason to love the beef stew.

Yes I think you could, but the four slices of bacon would probably add a lot of flavor. I don't use bacon much either, though, so I'd probably leave it out.

Once note about your menu plan. I don't know how old your in-laws are, but be aware of the heat level with the chili. Also, not too many beans. Ha,ha.

Anonymous wrote:THis beef stew over mashed potatoes (and omit the potatoes from the recipe). All can be prepared in advanced. Keep Mashed in crockpot until ready. There is nothing more comforting than this recipe. It is a travesty not to use the wine/mushroom modification.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/hearty-beef-stew-cf.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

Your menu sounds good and heavy, but I guess that is what they like.

You could throw in a pork chop/rice casserole. My mom made a great and very simple one growing up.

Thank you for this recipe, it looks great. I have been looking for a yummy beef stew recipe. Do you think I could make it without the bacon and use olive oil instead for the bacon fat?

If anyone has the Dean & Deluca Cookbook from the early 2000s, there is an amazing lamb stew recipe in it. I have made it several times and it is unbelievable.

The W-S Beef Stew looks awesome. Thanks!

THis beef stew over mashed potatoes (and omit the potatoes from the recipe). All can be prepared in advanced. Keep Mashed in crockpot until ready. There is nothing more comforting than this recipe. It is a travesty not to use the wine/mushroom modification.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/hearty-beef-stew-cf.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

Your menu sounds good and heavy, but I guess that is what they like.

You could throw in a pork chop/rice casserole. My mom made a great and very simple one growing up.

OP here. Maybe I should have started out asking for recommendations for dinners over a week with inlaws who like comforty beefy foods (DH likes it too but I rarely make this sort of stuff.) I saw recipes for beef stew and pot roast and wondered if they were too similar to have both in a week.

Here's what I'm thinking so far: some beef stew or pot roast; beef stroganoff; chile; chicken picatta; angel hair pasta with pancetta and broccolini. How does any of that grab you?

Not at all...not even slightly.

I find beef pot roast extremely boring. My stew is complex and rich. I do more of a Beef Burgundy...anything else is a boring tomato mess.

Anonymous wrote:Do you start with the same beef and end up with about the same meal except for the extra gravy and veggies in the stew?

Kinda sorta. But because you brown all the meat cubes when you make stew you end up with a really rich, deep brown gravy.You also brown the meat used in pot roast but not as much surface area is browned because you're browning the outside of a hunk of meat. Many pot roast recipes also add tomato sauce or tomato paste. Or at least this is the difference in my small world.

Do you start with the same beef and end up with about the same meal except for the extra gravy and veggies in the stew?