Left-over Beef Stew

It's rainy today, and I had a ton of left-overs in the fridge that needed to be eaten. A small amount of broth, some wine, beef short ribs, and a potato. Sounds like stew to me. I wish I'd had more vegetables to put in it, but I made do with what I had.

Need:
left-over beef short ribs
1 C of red wine or beer
2 C of chicken or beef broth
2 C of water
1/2 onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled
some dried thyme
a bay leaf
dried porcini mushrooms

Would have added, if I'd had them:
chopped carrots
sliced fresh button mushrooms
chopped celery

 

Chop your potato into bite-sized pieces.

 

Chop your meat into bite-sized pieces. The beauty of this is that you already did the work the first time to get nice, tender meat. You don't have to do any of that nonsense this time around. AND you get to flavor country much faster.

 

Throw it all in a pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer on low for an hour. Done and done. Bonus points if you cool this and save it for the next day so that the flavors have time to develop. We were having this for lunch, so no bonus for me.

 

Enjoy with a crusty piece of (warmed) bread. I had an english muffin.

 

Remember, to taste before serving. Theoretically, you've done the work before and made sure your meat and your broth were salted enough. Add, if necessary. I did not have to add a single flake of salt to this and it was perfect. I did, however, add a $hitload of Tabasco sauce. I like Tabasco with beef stew.