Thursday, October 27, 2011

Zesty Is My Bestie Beef Stew

Hey Y'all!

Sorry, long time no blog! But, as many of my readers know, October is a HIDEOUS month for teachers in my school district. I just wrapped up parent teacher conferences, report cards, benchmark tests and about 100 other things going on at school! The good thing is.. October is almost over. And NOVEMBER is almost here!

These past few weeks have been rough. I have been fighting the Dizzy Lizzies and I am still incredibly tired. In fact, it is a miracle that I am still up right now and it is 7:22! I am hoping that the time change next weekend, along with that extra hour will help. But. I am going to miss the sun! Anyhoo... let's get a move on with our recipe! Of course I am going to reward you with a recipe... I mean I have been gone for weeks it seems! Here we go!

This is the perfect dish to throw together, and I mean THROW together if you are having a football party or even if you are going to a game. Besides going out and buying the ingredients, it will take you all of 6 minutes to put this together. In my book that is a "WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" kind of meal!

You will need the following to make this Zesty Is My Bestie Beef Stew


1 pound of beef stew meat cut into 1 inch or 1/2 inch cubes. I have a fear of choking on meat, so I cut my pieces tiny. Also. If you have EVER had an intestinal blockage... you cut everything INTO SMALL PIECES. I know. TMI!

1 package (16 ounces) of frozen mixed veggies- thawed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 and 1/2 cups of water
1 can (8 ounces) of pizza sauce
1 tablespoon of dried minced onion
2 teaspoons of beef bouillon granules (you can find this on the soup aisle)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (this puts the zesty in the stew. I added 1 teaspoon, but I don't have children. Well, human ones. You may just want to add a pinch if you have kiddies.)
**This is not called for in the recipe, but a dash or two of salt is good too!



Don't forget to cut your meat into 1 to 1/2 inch cubes. It makes the stew better and BONUS if you are a teacher and take the stew for lunch, you won't have to find a way to cut up the meat pieces. Ahem.

Now. This is the HARDEST part of the entire recipe.

COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS INTO THE CROCKPOT. Cover and cook on low for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours. Bake up some cornbread. Or not. ENJOY!!! :)



This makes about 6 servings, but I put mine in smaller containers to freeze and I got about 8. I am still eating on this and it is YUMMY. Perfect for a chilly night.

ALSO, I was lucky enough to score a copy of Debbie Macomber's Christmas Cookbook from my library this week. Y'all. I have enough inspiration recipes to keep us rocking 'til the new year! This weekend I am cooking up (well, crockpoting up) a white bean chicken chili. Oh yeah. I will post when it has been Julia approved.

It's almost time for the Bing Bang Theory... here's hoping I stay awake!

Tootles!
:) JKP

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