Stitch in Thyme: Ode to Paula Dean "beef stew"

It was a cold day in November here in Green Bay WI ..... I had other dinner plans planned but then I felt the need for some comfort food!! What else says comfort food like beef stew! So I went online to google a different recipe (because the one I usually do goes in the slow cooker and it was to late to put it in there) & up pops Paula Dean's "Old-Time Beef Stew" ~~ there was a quick video so I watched it & I was instantly hooked!! I mean who doesn't love Paula Dean:) It looked very easy & quick which is exactly what I was looking for. I did tweak it just a bit but not much....I will put her recipe down exactly as it was and in parentheses i'll put what I tweaked it with. Here we go:

Old-Time Beef Stew

2 pounds stew beef "I used chuck roast-cut it myself"

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil "I used Olive Oil"

2 Cups water "I used 2 C homemade chicken stock & 1/2 C dry red wine"

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

1 clove garlic, peeled - just smash once with knife

1 or 2 bay leaves "I used 2"

1 medium onion, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash ground allspice or ground cloves "I used ground cloves"

3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

**I added 4 large red potatoes, quartered**

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

** Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, worcestershire, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, paprika and allspice. Cover & simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, celery and other veggies. Cover and simmer an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the veggies are fork tender. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 water and cornstarch. Mix that with hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir & cook until it reaches thick consistency. **I also added 2 Tablespoons of flour to help thicken**

"before veggies"