Lamb Stew for a Cold Winter Night

Here is a recipe to warm you up and get you through any snow drifts until spring. It works equally well with lamb or beef, and I suppose you could throw it in a slow cooker for 8 hours on low, if you prefer:

Lamb or Beef Stew

3 lb. lamb or beef stew meat (cut into 2 in. chunks)
1/4 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
fresh black pepper
3 large onions, sliced
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 C. whole baby carrots
3 T. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 C. red wine
1 C. beef or chicken stock (check for gluten ingredients)
1 bay leaf

Heat oven to 350°. Heat oil in large dutch oven. Season meat with salt and pepper and brown in batches. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Pour off excess oil, leaving about 2 T. Add onions, carrots, garlic, tomato paste, thyme and rosemary. Stir up brown bits and cook vegetables until brown (about 10 minutes). Put meat back on top of onions and add wine, stock and bay leaf. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Check periodically to add more liquid, if necessary. You can add small potatoes for the last 30 minutes. Serves 6 cold, hungry people.