Healthy Basic Beef Stew

Now I am no Pioneer Woman Cooks...for many reasons. One, I am not that great of a cook, two, I am not that great of a photographer, and three, if I cooked without regard to calories, as she does, I would be as big as a house. So take that into consideration when reading this post.

I am on Spring Break so I hope that means that I will enjoy a relaxing two weeks, yes two weeks!!! My school has a two week spring break, thank goodness. I also hope this means that I will be able to make some really good meals and blog about them (among other things). This Thursday I'll be making fish tacos again, it was a big hit, and Rich requested them again so...I'll blog the recipe then.Cooking Light has always been my favorite cooking magazine. I got their Cooking Light Way to Cook book and just love it. This Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms is one of our favorite recipes. I love stews and soups and since I live in California I can't really wait until it gets cold to cook them...so anytime is fair game. This recipe takes about 3 hours to prepare so do it on a day that you can devote some serious time to cooking!!

Here are the cast of characters:

1T. olive oil, divided
1 lb. small cremini mushrooms
Cooking Spray
2 c. chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 c. all-purpose flour (about 1.5 ounces)
2 lbs. lean beef stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 t. salt, divided
1c. dry red wine
1T. chopped fresh thyme
2 (14 oz.) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 c. (3/4 inch) cubed peeled white potatoes (about 1 lb.)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices carrots (about 12 oz.)
1/2 t. freshly ground black peppers

Heat 1 t. oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into bowl. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; saute 10 minutes or until tender and brown. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Place flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 t. oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 t. salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides; add to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 t. salt. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 t. salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size about 1 c.)

CALORIES 303; FAT 9.8g (sat 3.2g, mono 4.7g, poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 26.4g; CARB 26.8g; FIBER 2.3g; chol 71mg; IRON 3.9mg; SODIUM 494 mg; CALC 54 mg.

I hope you find some time to make this stew...it is really tasty!!


More Later

- A Ro