I am on a rampage to try to uncluttered our freezer! I had a hard time finding space for my three containers of spaghetti sauce.  We have a side by side refrigerator and there are five shelves in the freezer. Our daughter has co-opted two of these so I am left with three measly shelves. It doesn’t help that John likes to save everything! He has turkey stock from Thanksgiving and a large container of what he calls “carnitas goo!” So I suggested this week we use up our boneless beef ribs and leftover boneless leg of lamb.

Instant Pot beef stew

Using the Instant Pot makes beef stew a snap and does not heat up the kitchen much. John browns the meat in large chunks and then cuts it up afterwards. (Actually I wish he would cut the pieces smaller.) I cut up and dump in the veg – onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, and garlic. John makes a bouquet garni of spices and orange peel. We use red wine, a can of tomatoes, and beef stock for the liquid. We set the Pot to cook for 18 minutes. Afterwards, depending on how hungry we are, we either release the pressure right away, let it come down on its own part way and then release it, or just let it release pressure naturally. John thickens the sauce with some cornstarch slurry.

This is a good stew and very easy to make. So now I have a little more space in the freezer and after lamb on Saturday a little more. If only I could prompt John to use up the carnitas goo!