Slow Cooked New Mexico Beef Stew

[marlaoh]

Slow Cooked New Mexico Beef Stew
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1-1/2 pound boneless beef chuck, cut in 3/4-inch pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups water
2 cups fresh corn kernels or one 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel
corn
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, cut up
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
2 cups chopped, peeled celery root, or 1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

1. In a large plastic bag, combine cornmeal, salt, black pepper, and
thyme. Add half of the meat cubes; shake to coat.

2. In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat; add coated
meat cubes and cook until browned on all sides. Remove meat from pan.
Repeat with remaining meat and cornmeal mixture, adding remaining oil,
if necessary. Return all meat to Dutch oven; add garlic. Cook and stir
for 30 seconds. Add water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and
simmer about 1 hour or until meat is almost tender.

3. Add corn, undrained tomatoes, chickpeas, celery root, onion, jalapeno
peppers, and chipotle pepper. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and
simmer 25 to 30 minutes more or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Makes 6 servings.

Slow-Cooker Directions: Brown meat as above, adding garlic with second
half of meat. In a 3-1/2, 4-, or 5-quart electric crockery cooker, place
corn, chickpeas, celery root, onion, and jalapeno peppers. Add browned
beef. Sprinkle with any leftover cornmeal mixture. Using only 1/4 cup
water, combine water with tomatoes and chipotle pepper. Pour over beef.
Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours. (Or, cook on
high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.) Stir before serving. Yield: 6
servings.