Pounds, Camp, Stew, Fennel

Blah. It's gray. It's cold. I'm whining. Bitching. I'm sick of the screeching eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee sound resonating in my brain from the poor pitiful chorus of me, so enough of that.

Boot camp continues and all is well. Lost another 1.5-2 pounds (not sure, changed scales) this week. Eating more than I probably should, working out every day.

A few years ago I found an old recipe for a stew that was divine. I lost the recipe, of course, and couldn't remember anything about it except that it had beef, rosemary, fennel, and was called "liquid gold."

The internet is a wonderful thang, because a recent search turned up the recipe and I whipped it up this afternoon. It is as luscious as I remember and not bad on calories. I could sniff fennel all day long. Yum.

Here ya go . . .

Rosemary Beef Stew

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 lb. beef round or chuck steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced diagonally
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 medium fennel bulbs, fronds removed, cut into thin wedges
2 1/2 to 3 cups beef broth
1 cup frozen small whole white onions

1. In shallow pan, mix together flour, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Toss in flour mixture to coat thoroughly; shake in strainer to remove excess flour.

2. Heat nonreactive Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook beef in batches 4 to 6 minutes or until browned, adding additional oil as needed. Place beef in bowl.

3. Increase heat to high. Add wine; bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by half, stirring to scrape up browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven.

4. Stir in tomatoes, celery, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary. Stir in mushrooms, fennel and beef. Add enough broth to cover mixture.

5. Cover; simmer 45 minutes. Add onions; continue simmering 30 to 45 minutes or until beef is tender.

6. Stir in remaining 1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary; simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Freezing/Reheating
Place stew in freezer container; cool. Cover and freeze. Twenty-four hours before serving place container in refrigerator to thaw. Reheat on stove top or in microwave until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.

8 servings

PER SERVING: 235 calories, 7.5 g total fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 27.5 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 60 mg cholesterol, 760 mg sodium, 3.5 g fiber