A few words from Anne:

For most caregivers, time and energy must go to caring for the loved one and not into meal preparation.  Therefore we need   simple recipes that ease the caregiver while providing  the desired tasteful eating experience.

This recipe has been one of my "emergency standbys" for years.  I discovered it in a cookbook my mother gave me at my wedding shower.  

It was called The I Hate to Cook Book, by Peg Bracken, published by Harcourt in 1960.  Sometime during the past forty years, the cookbook was lost, but this recipe and the memories associated with the book have remained with me on a well stained 3 X 5 card in my recipe file. 

When I thought about sharing this recipe with you, I decided to call our friends at Horizon Books to find the publisher (you can order this book and others from their secured site, www.horizonbooks.com).  

The clerk said, "Oh, that's an old book!"

Yes, it’s an old one, but a great one. When I received it in 1962, I was a student and working full-time.  I was trying to learn to cook for my starving husband, and yes, I hated to cook.  It really fit the bill!

"Stay In  Bed Stew" took five hours to cook.  So I could take a long nap, do my school work, go to class or to work, while it cooked quietly in the oven.  Meanwhile it filled our tiny apartment with wonderful cooking smells and fed us for at least three days! This was a great treat for two "broke" students!

So here it is, a VERY SIMPLE stew recipe. I hope you enjoy it. 

P.S.  Let me know how this works for you.   Email me at consort@pathwaynet.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. beef stew meat (no need to brown meat)        
1 can tiny peas or 1 cup frozen peas        
2 cups sliced carrots        
2 chopped onions        
2 big potatoes, sliced        
1 can cream of tomato or mushroom soup (add ½ can water)        
1 teas. salt        
3 peppercorns        
1 bay leaf        
1 teas. each of thyme, parsley, rosemary (optional if you haven't recently gone to the fair at Scarborough).

You may add other vegetables if you wish.

Place all ingredients in a casserole dish with a lid and bake five hours at 275 degrees.

Serves four
(I double this recipe if I want to use it for several meals or to serve a crowd)

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Other Thyme to Eat articles:

Anne's Easy-to-fix Chicken Casserole Recipe  (1 min.) 02/11/01