Baby, It's Cold Outside; Eat Stew!

After discovering it was -9 degrees this morning (not counting the windchill), I decided today would be a stew day. What else can one eat when it is so deliriously cold outside? Lucky for me, I had picked up some stew meat at the grocery store a couple days ago. Stew is one of my absolute favorite cold weather foods; it's heartier than most soups and I love potatoes. I do. I really, really do. The base is slightly tomatoey but not enough to be the focus; it complements the simplicity of the beef and potatoes and adds a slight zing. Delicious. So without further ado......

Mama Sarah's Mama's Delicious Beef Stew
2 lbs lean stew meat (I used 1 1/2 because 1) it's expensive and 2) there's just the two of us)
flour, salt, and pepper
1 onion, chopped roughly
1 glove garlic, diced
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
2-4 bay leaves (Mom uses 2, I used 4 because I enjoy putting leaves in my food.)
Salt, Pepper, and Chachere's/Season-all to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup ketchup (don't gross out, it works!)
Potatoes
Carrots (if you like mushy, gross cooked carrots)

Mix flour, salt, and pepper. Roll the meat bits, covering them in flour.
Brown the meat, onion, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil.
Once the meat is browned, add water. I add a couple cups, but it depends on how thick or thin you want the "broth" to be.
Add worchestershire sauce, bay leaves, sugar, and ketchup. Season to taste/smell. Mom had a friend who always said "season to smell" because that's going to tell you off the bat how you're doing. He's right, to a certain degree. At this point, I didn't taste it. Once you add the veggies, you'll have to season a bit more anyway.
Let the stew cook on medium heat for about 30-45 minutes so the meat will be tender. Add the chopped potatoes and carrots. Cook until the potatoes are cooked and slightly mushy: the few that crumble apart will thicken the broth.
Now it's time to season to taste. I ended up having to add a lot more salt, some more ketchup, and a dash more worchestershire.
***Make sure you stir frequently so your meat doesn't stick to the bottom... not like that happened to me or anything ..... thankfully, I like crunchy meat bits....)

Enjoy!