The Perfect Beef Stew for a Rainy Fall Day

Thanks to Hurricane Delta coming ashore and pushing eastward over the weekend, it’s been a rainy Sunday here in North Carolina. As a result, Alex and I have been housebound most of the day, which I’m most definitely not complaining about. I have a bad habit of wanting to be on the go all the time, so I appreciate a good rainy day to keep me grounded every once and awhile.

After waking up to the most relaxing sound of pouring rain, Alex and I started our morning with a good pot of Door County Autumn Spice coffee and a homemade batch of biscuits and gravy. Having a few errands to run after breakfast, we took a rainy drive to a local coffee shop and picked up a couple pumpkin pie lattes to enjoy in the car on our way to Target (because that’s what rainy fall days call for, amirite?). After a quick trip to Target (“quick” haha), we made our final stop to grab some ingredients needed to make one of my favorite beef stew recipes.

Now, I’ve had plenty of good pots of beef stew in my 28 years, but the beef stew in Magnolia Table is one of my absolute favorites. The stew is unbelievably warm, hearty, and filling, the perfect recipe to whip up on a rainy fall day. It’s a staple must-make in my fall cookbook, one I personally love to make quite often in the cooler months of the year. Not that it’s especially cool right now in North Carolina, but you get the point.

Made with ingredients like fire roasted tomatoes, gold and white corn, frozen peas, a russet potato, and the classic onion, celery, and carrot combo, the beef stew is packed full of good flavor. The directions are quite easy to follow too and the prep is quick and clean, perfect for messy cookers like myself. Usually my kitchen is in disarray after a home-cooked meal, but not with this one-pot delight. I’d honestly say the hardest part of this particular recipe is waiting an hour and a half for the broth to simmer and thicken. The aroma that fills the house during the simmer process is both mouth-watering and hunger-inducing, but well worth the wait in the end.

So, as the rain continues to come down, I’ll be here enjoying a bowl of my favorite beef stew. Alex and I are watching Game 6 of the NBA Finals and checking in on the late football games as well, so it should be a cozy and relaxing evening, just the way I like it. Make sure to check out the Magnolia Table cookbook to try this tasty recipe yourself. I think everyone should own Joanna’s cookbook anyways, so I’m not going to share the full recipe with you here. I promise, the purchase won’t disappoint!

Enjoy the week ahead!

JB