Warm up with vegetable 'stew'

Nothing tastes better on a chilly fall day than a big bowl of homemade vegetable beef stew. Add a slice or two of home-baked bread and you've achieved perfection.

Nothing controversial about that, right?

Well, it depends on your definition of stew.

Growing up, my mom made her delicious vegetable beef stew at least once or twice every fall/winter. I remember it simmering on the stove for hours in her big blue-speckled GraniteWare pot she used for canning every summer.

We counted down the hours until it was done. We weren't disappointed. And there was always enough for leftovers and perhaps, som...