Super Easy- Beef Stew
Winter is in full force across most of the US, but here in the desert it is starting to peter out. Wanting to squeeze Winter to the very last itty bitty squeezable drop, I made a thick and rich beef stew for dinner last night. As we ate, I kept remarking to my husband that this was the best pot of beef stew I think I have ever made! Funny thing is, I didn’t follow a recipe this time, I just started dumping things into the crock pot and hoping it all worked out.
Since it was so good I decided I had to write down what I did in hopes that I (and you!) can recreate its creamy, beefy goodness!
1.5-2lbs of cubed beef
salt & pepper
4 diced red potatoes
3 diced carrots
14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1t dried oregano
1t dried basil
1/2t garlic powder
2c beef stock
1/2c water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Heat a skillet up on high heat, sprinkle meat with salt and pepper and then brown in skillet (be sure to use some olive oil or butter, so your meat doesn’t stick to the pan). You don’t want to thoroughly cook the meat, you just want to make sure that you brown all sides of the meat- this helps to keep the meat moist while it’s cooking. Once the meat is done add it to the crock pot with all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Cook on high for 3 hours (my crock pot is really hot and cooks fast, you may have to adjust the time for your crock pot). About 10min before serving mix in the cream of mushroom soup. That’s the trick for making the stew nice and thick with a hint of mushroom flavor.
I suggest serving it with a nice Cesar Salad, Crusty Bread and finished off by a nice bowl of Apple Crisp and Vanilla ice-cream!
