Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

always use a nice chuck roast - it will melt in your mouth if given enough time to cook.

cut into nice size pieces - salt/pepper - dredge in flour
in it goes to a heavy dutch oven type with hot olive oil - you may have to cook in batches.

remove meat and add a large yellow onion and a couple cloves of garlic chopped. cook for 5-6 minutes

add meat back in and a couple tablespoons of flour. cook another few minutes - make sure the flour has cooked

add 2 cans chicken broth while all the time stirring. bring to a boil

add carrots and potaotes.

then you can do one of two things - keep it on top of the stove at a low simmer until meat is tender and vegs are cooked - 45 minutes to an hour

OR

put a tight lid on it and put it in the oven at around 325-350 for at least 90 minutes - the oven definalety adds another level of flavor if you are not in a hurry.

good luck and happy stewing
LA

I was a huge Paula fan when she first showed up on foodnetwork but I think they said hey Paula the audience is loving the southern bit - lets overplay it with more ya'll's. I can only take very small doses of her now - too bad. I agree she is on the path of overexposure and turning in to RR

LOVE Ina - she is the best!!
made her incredible vegetable soup provencal on this cold rainy day - saffron gives it the most elegant flavor.
Ina rocks!

There's so much good information here, but just thought I'd comment on the herbs:

The choices you list (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil) could possibly work together, if balanced carefully, but rosemary is something that has to be used very conscientiously--its flavor is so distinct.

However, the sofrito base you linked to would clash with most everything except, possibly, the oregano.

A sofrito is great for stews and so many other dishes, but you might look into playing around with the components of yours when you're after a non-Latin taste. For example, Italian or Spanish cooking might use a sofrito based simply on onions, olive oil, tomatoes (or tomato paste) and garlic. You could also try adding carrots or celery, esp. for Italian cooking. Once you add the annatto, the green peppers, cilantro and lime, you have a very distinct flavor profile that might not get along so well with other 'European' herbs.

Me too Jojo....me like pretty pics of foood....I'm saving up all my chicken bones and am gonna make chicken stock this weekend. And next time I'll go easy on the spices. Too bad I'll have to throw that stew out....it tastes really weird.

I love Paula Deen. She cooks the way I do, and she has fun doing it.

There seems to be a lot of food-snobbery backlash against most of the Food Network hosts and it's just Paula turn as a target.

I don't find Paula's recipes to be workable; there's no subtlety, just a lot of showing off.

Maybe some recipes would be good as a step-up from fast food; we all have known parties where everyone has a lot of fun and, for whatever reason, The Colonel is the only caterer you need, and a Paula dessert would go well with that.

I think the recipes on Paula's Parties are written for maximum ooh-and-ahh from the audience. A pound of cream cheese! An apple pie as big as your head! a "Cinnamon Roll" flavored smoothie!

For workable recipes which result in edible food, I rely on Alton. for impressive food which might just break the bank, Ina Garten.

I would love to see Ina and Paula head-to-head on Iron Chef... when Paula made a play for Ina's beloved Jeffrey, we'd see murder, middle-aged style.

She cooks like all the old time southern ladies cooked. My father's aunt was one of the best. She slow cooked vegetables which is mostly what they ate with lots of butter. Lots of greens, peas, beans corn.