Sweet & Sour Beef Stew

The name is misleading - this dish is not Asian... or even German. The sauce tastes more like a mild barbecue sauce... so I guess it's a dish of the American West! Yeah, lets go with that! It's an old Betty Crocker Recipe and it's definitely worth a try.

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup carrot, thinly sliced or chopped
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
hot cooked noodles
Poppy seed (optional)

Brown meat in hot oil. Add next 8 ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about two hours, or until meat is tender. (you may need to add a bit of water if it seems to be cooking down too much.) Combine cornstarch with cold water; add to beef mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve over noodles garnished with poppy seed. (more often than not, I am out of poppy seed; the dish is fine without them.) This recipe is easy to adapt to the Crock Pot. You'll want to use a bit less carrot and onion. It serves approximately four people.