Big Mouth Beef, Carrot, and Potato Stew

The potatoes and carrots in this dish are storage crops from our CSA and I really just wanted to make something to use them up before they began turning back into plants with leaves again. I bought the beef already cut up, labeled as stew meat, at Costco so I decided to keep everything else roughly the same size. Soup bones are getting harder to find and my storage space is pretty limited for freezing broth. I do make my own broth! Really! But... I also keep a lot of chicken stock in my pantry. Some people, like the three people who are going to read this, may wonder why I use chicken stock instead of beef. There are several issues with beef stock, and what is legally allowed to be called beef stock. You can find a good introduction here. I just fill up my pot with what I need to use up and go from there.

Big Mouth Beef, Carrot and Potato Stew:
Lard or rendered saved fat of your choice (Yes, you can use olive oil, too)
2-3 lbs stew meat
carrots, peeled and cut in half (10-20 small-medium carrots)
potatoes, quartered (8-12 small-medium)
onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4-6 cups chicken stock or broth
2-3 pieces Parmesan rinds
salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar

Brown meat with fat in pot. After meat is browned, add carrots, onions, rinds, broth and garlic. Cook over medium heat until carrots are slightly softened, add potatoes, cook until potatoes are done, seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. I usually use about 2 tbsp. balsamic, I like that it adds a bit of acid to the dish.