Aunt Vickie's Mexican stew

I grew up loving my aunt Vickie's Mexican stew, so when I got married, she gave me the recipe and the pot to cook it in.

After a year of delaying, I made it last weekend. It had been such a long time since I made a new recipe, so I felt good about treating Ben and my cousin, Stef, to something different.

The prep work for the stew went well -- this was a good sign since I usually muck up something, whether it's forgetting to buy everything at the store or adding ingredients too early or splattering the kitchen with food.

But within minutes (Ben helped cut the 2-plus pounds of round steak), I had the steak sauteing in garlic and onions. And a few minutes later, the stew was on, ready to soak for two hours.

Soaking it did. Two hours later, we piled the stew onto rice and loaded it with sour cream and cheese.

But at first bite, it didn't have that kick I remembered when my aunt made it. And Stef laughed to get through her first bites. She wasn't a fan and said the stew was bland. Ben, on the other hand, will eat anything and cleaned up Stef's plate, even though he, too, admitted it lacked pizazz.
I evaluated and know I followed the recipe. I didn't forget an ingredient and, in fact, put more chili spice in the stew than required.

This stew won't defeat me. When it gets colder, I'm going to make it again. I'll let the stew sit longer -- maybe three or four hours so the meat really absorbs the juices. I'm going to use hot salsa versus mild. Heck, my family can take the heat -- I'll experiment with a dash of Tabasco sauce. I may cut up a few jalapeños and throw them in there, too. And maybe I'll sauté the steak with green peppers, too.