‘Tis the season where the slow cooker is your friend! It’s getting cold outside and we want food that warms us up from the inside out. My mother was, and still is quite the cook. Since she was a hard working mother with very active kids, the slow cooker was a lifesaver many times. One of favorite recipes she would prepare was beef stew. Not only was it hearty and delicious, but she didn’t need to constantly check a pot on the stove or look in the oven to make it wasn’t burning. Working in the New York City, and now being a mother I completely understand this! Therefore, I decided to do a spinoff of an old family favorite, this time using lamb. It’s good to switch things up from time to time. Lamb stew meat often gets over looked in the meat department, but not for long.

Unlike many stews, this stew does not need to be thickened at the end. This recipe starts the thickening process at the beginning by adding the flour during the searing process. You can use chicken broth as the cooking liquid but quite often I just use water. Since the meat cooks for 3 hours it ends up making it’s on broth. I add to the seasoning of the “broth” by adding a carrot, onion, and celery stick at the beginning. Since these add to the flavor of the broth, I usually discard them because I do not want a stew with mushy vegetables. The vegetables that are actually served in the stew are added an hour before its finished. Why? This way the potatoes and other vegetables are not complete mush when you go to eat it. So get those slow cookers ready and let’s get to cooking.