[Ice]

They do now make stock cubes with less salt in 

I was thinking more of an Oxo cube mum.  When I make my own stock it's salt free so I can adjust to my taste.

[mumofstig]

S'ok I was just trying to say that not all stock cubes are full of 'nasties' any longer, there are some good ones out there...........you just have to read the labels (what's new) 

I would think that it's near on impossible to make enough home-made stock, for the all recipes that need it 

[tosca100]

Super simple here. In quantities I do (in other words, what I pick up)

Shin beef, whatever size I pick up

An onion in chunks

A couple of carrots in chunks

A small piece of swede in chunks

Salt, pepper and celery salt(OH hates celery)

Flour cubed meat and brown in a little oil, shove in slow cooker, brown onion, add watwr to the pan, season, chuck all in slow cooker and go out for the day. Smells amazing to come home to! Serve with some greens.

Of course, I don't eat meat.....or stew!

[Janeymiddlewife]

Here's another,
Stewing steak cubed
1 red onion sliced
3 cloves garlic crushed
large glass red wine
wine glass water
2 tsps salt
half tube tomato puree
1 bayleaf
thyme
carrots
celery

Bung it in a slow cooker on high for 1 hour, then 6-8 hours on low, if cooking in an oven or stovetop will need double quantity of liquid

tosca, my OH hates celery too, but I still use it and he picks it out 

[tosca100]

Like to see him pick out celery salt!

[arugula]

Or why you'd want to. It imparts great things on the flavour.

[Thrift]

If it's beef stew I always use a little garlic and bay leaf. After that I just throw in whatever is available and sometimes a tin of tomatoes. A spoonful of marigold is great for flavour, plus salt and black pepper of course.

Lamb stew is lovely with soup mix added ( pearl barley, lentils and split peas ). A baked potato is an ideal accompaniment.

[New shoot]

Off on a tangent a bit, but one I often make is a spicy tomato based stew which is really good at tenderising stewing meat and also good with really cheap cuts.  OH loves lambs hearts but I can only eat them when well spiced.  Makes a lot of very tasy food for very little dosh  

Rough directions - it gets customised every time

Dredge meat in seasoned flour and brown - take out of pan
Add various pot veg - onions and garlic are a must but after that whatever you fancy.  Carrots, celery, fennel, peppers, courgettes, mushrooms and aubergine all feature regularly in mine. If using fresh chilli - add at this stage.
Sweat the veg a bit with the lid on then add the meat back, plus tinned toms.  Rinse the tins out with a bit of water and add that.  Season, add dried chilli if using and any herbs you fancy, but some extra spice if you want.  Cumin and coriander work well.  You can add a drained tin of chickpeas or any other beans at this stage if you want to pad the meat out.
Bring to a boil, slam lid back on and chuck in low oven (150 degrees C) for at least 2 hours or bung in the slowcooker for the day.
Serve with rice or couscous.

[mumofstig]

Italians do something similar, but without the Indian spices of course

They serve the tomato sauce with pasta for the first course, then the meat and extra veg or salad for the main dish. Easy peasy

[New shoot]

It started out as a Jamie Oliver's lamb shank recipe until lamb shanks got to be silly money and I started playing around with it MoS 

Is very similar to an Italian ragu though, which given his background is no great surprise