Delicious Hearty & Healthy Stew

Something about a stew reminds me of cold winter days as a child. Granted that my stews will probably never be as good as my mama used to make, but this one is pretty darn good and likely way healthier than a traditional one.

As a reminder, you can alter any of my recipes with additions and substitutions (in good faith that you won’t be adding fat back in), feel free to experiment! For example, use chicken if you’re not into red meat (just be sure to swap out the beef broth for chicken broth if you do that). Also, a veggie version would be delicious too if you choose to take the meat out all together. Since life can get chaotic I doubled this recipe with the intent of freezing half of it for dinner when I was in a bind – adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:
4 lbs Organic Young Beef Stew diced into 1″ cubes
2 Yellow Onions
2 cups Plum Tomatoes
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 – 12 Organic Red Potatoes diced into 1″ cubes
8 Carrots, coarsely chopped
8 Stalks of Celery, coarsely chopped
2 cups of Low Sodium Beef Broth
1 cup of Water
2 – 3 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Thyme Leaves
1 tbs Red Paprika
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Tapioca (thickening agent)
* 1 cup of Frozen Peas (add it in the last 30 min)

Steps:
- Wash and Chop your veggies (Onions, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes) 

- Add the Olive Oil to a large pot, on medium heat. Brown the beef and toss it into a slow cooker

- Using the same pot that you browned the beef, mix the beef broth, water and onions. Simmer until the onions are soft and tender. Then add the plum tomatoes, spices and simmer on low for another 5 – 10 min.

-  Lastly, add the broth mixture to the slow cooker along with the chopped veggies, tapioca and bay leaves. Turn slow cooker on High for at least 6 – 7 hours. I find it tastes best after sitting for a day or two.

- I portioned everything in half as I made this. I threw 1/2 the beef + broth in a glass dish and the veggies in a freezer lock Ziploc bag. I put these in the freezer and love knowing that I can easily take it out the night before to defrost, toss it in a slow cooker before leaving for work and come home to some delicious, tender, hearty healthy stew!

- Don’t forget to add some frozen peas (if you like) in the last 30 min of cook time. If you don’t care about them getting too soft, feel free to put them in with the rest of the ingredients.

I can’t stress enough how versatile this is (along with all my recipes). Have fun with it – substitute with what works for you and your dietary restrictions. Instead of potatoes, use rutabaga etc etc. Most importantly, share your thoughts, questions and feedback in the comments below! I love to read them.

Wishing everyone a very SAFE and HAPPY New Years Eve! I’m personally looking forward to an amazing year ahead full of seeking opportunities, working hard to get to where I want to be professionally and personally…not to mention MUCH MORE HAUTEPNK!

xxxo