Vegetable Beef Stew

Now that it's officially FALL, I am getting my soup, stew and chowder recipes out.

I love to make these because they are simple and usually only require one pot to clean.

One of the staples in our house is beef vegetable stew.

My mom made it a lot growing up and every time she came to stay after having a FALL-time baby, she made this for us at least once.

So easy, so good and so healthy.

Start off by browning some stew meat in butter.

I use a LOT of stew meat because I have five men to feed and they are hungry.

You could flour the stew meat first, but I don't.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour in an entire jug of vegetable juice or tomato juice.

I like to use vegetable juice simply because it's a great way to get a serving of vegetables into my kids.

But honestly, they both taste the same.

Bay leaf is a must here.

Now let that come to a boil and simmer for a good while.

The longer it simmers, the more tender the meat will become.

Then add 1-2 cans of green beans (with juice).

And a bag (yes a bag) of sliced carrots.

I use only fresh carrots.

Canned carrots kind of taste gross.

And add 3-4 small/medium sized potatoes.

And I didn't get a picture of this, but also add in a bag of frozen corn.

You could use fresh, but that would require more work than I have time for.

After adding the fresh vegetables, allow it to come back up to a boil, then simmer for another good while.

Lid on.

This allows the carrots and potatoes to become tender and take on the flavor of the stew.

I like to serve this with cornbread.

I have a great recipe from my dear friend's mom.

Maybe I'll post about that someday.

So easy.

*If you're in a hurry, you could add canned carrots and canned potatoes.  It would lessen the cooking time significantly but may not taste the best.  (My opinion of course).