Leap Year Beef Stew

In honor of an extra day on the calendar, I’m posting an “extra” recipe…one that doesn’t fit into my plant-strong program, but one that my Quality Assurance Guy loves and devours when I cook it for him:  Beef Stew.  Easy, peasy.

This is more my speed:

Plant-Strong

QAG is fairly easy-going when it comes to food likes and dislikes but very particular about the dishes he feels strongly about.  For example, his chili can’t have chunks of tomato and he won’t eat mushroom stems.  Guess who gets mushroom stems in her salad? Hey, we all have our likes and dislikes and particulars.  No problem.

If you want to cook an easy yet tasty beef stew, then this one’s for you!

Leap Year Beef Stew

Leap Year Beef Stew

Ingredients
1 lb lean stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
6-8 mushrooms*, cleaned and chopped
1 packet McCormick Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
1 14 oz can beef broth
2-3 cans of water (use the broth can)
Garlic Salt & Pepper to taste
*Crimini mushrooms and a very hearty flavor to the stem but white mushrooms are A-OK.  And don’t tell QAG that there are mushroom stems in his stew! 

Directions
1.  Spray a soup pot with cooking spray, put meat in the pot, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper and brown the meat.
2.  Add carrots, potatoes, mushrooms.
3.  Add broth and 2-3 cans of water, then add the seasoning mix.
4.  Stir until the mix is integrated into the broth/water.
5.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a very low simmer.
6.  Simmer the stew until the veggies and potato are tender.  (This is where a QAG comes in handy to taste-test the tenderness of the ingredients.)
7.  Serve and enjoy!

You could serve this stew over pasta, rice, etc.  Let me know if you make this recipe. 

Question:  What’s one thing that your significant other/partner/friend will not eat but you will readily accept on your plate?