Dutch Girl Fantastic Beef Stew

I have tried so many recipes for beef stew, some were good, but lacked something, some were old time style, using all spice and nutmeg, which gets bitter if cooked too long, but somewhere in between was a good stew, so......many years and many stews later, I think I have the best combination of ingredients that is even better than Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon, another recipe I tried! Really, I'm not kidding! this is a one pot meal, unless you are cooking veggies/potatoes on the side.

Dutch Girl Fantastic Beef Stew

2-3 tablespoons oil
3-4 beef shanks,bone in, or 2-1/2 lbs stewing beef, dried with paper towels, at room temperature
Salt and pepper, Enough to season meat, lightly


2 tablespoons butter
3 stalks celery, chopped medium dice
4-6 slim carrots, cut into coins
3 medium onions, chopped, medium dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pinches dried thyme, rubbed between your fingers,(to release the essence)
1 cup dry red wine, drinkable
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
3-4 cups water
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 small bay leaves

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat oil in a 4 quart Dutch oven, brown seasoned meat, do not crowd, brown in batches if necessary, I often brown the meat in a preheated 400 degrees F oven (in the Dutch oven) while I clean and cut the vegetables, if you do that, take the Dutch oven with the meat out of the oven, remove meat to plate, put pan on burner, turn heat to medium high, add the butter to the pan (with the residual meat juices), when that has melted, add celery, onion and carrots, salt, pepper, pinches of thyme, cook and stir until all vegetables are coated with butter, for about 3-4 minutes, stirring all the while, add the garlic stir for half a minute, then add the wine, stir well, bring to boil, add the water,just enough to cover the veggies, the bouillon cubes, tomato paste, and bay leaves, cook on medium high stir the vegetable mixture, taste broth for seasoning, add a bit more to taste but don't overdo it or the meat will dry out too much, (salt draws moisture out). If you used the beef shanks, cut the shanks into managable pieces, bury the meat amid the veggie mixture-bones and all, and any accumulated meat juices, stir, then add the fresh thyme sprigs on top, put lid on bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2-2 hours, let stand with lid on for 15 minutes, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, then serve as is over mashed potatoes OR, remove meat in order to blend the veggie mixture into a sauce/gravy, using a hand blender, blend the liquid and veggie mixture until smooth, strain if you wish, add back the meat, then add freshly cooked carrots, beans, peas, parsnips or leave plain and serve with mashed potatoes, and a green salad; that gravy will be the talk of your dinner believe me!
*Note-(blended gravy is great for kids/adults who don't like veggies, they will get the full benefit, as long as you don't tell them and they don't see you blending the vegetables away from sight!)
*Note-If you used beef shanks, save bones for soup, once you remove them from the beef stew.