Beef Stew from Leftovers
One of my favorite things to do is wake up and throw something in the crockpot for dinner that night. Knowing just how effortless it is to make a pleasing and satisfying meal calms any worries I have about dreading dinner time. Our family can never really decide on what to have for dinner when it gets close to time.
But, we always end up having those dreaded leftovers that no one (except for my husband) is really keen on consuming. Earlier in the week, I made a pretty cheap cut pot roast, with a ton of veggies. Onions, carrots, celery, garlic. I always end up with more veggies than I do meat. Trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers took me on a ride. I dug through my fridge, and grabbed whatever I could find that might go well together.
I was left with probably about half of the roast left, the veggies (which I had cooked underneath the roast in the crockpot), and a half and half mixture of cooked and uncooked broccoli. There was really only 1 choice, make a stew!
Grabbing my pot, I put about a half inch of water in the bottom and turned the heat on high to boil. I didn’t have any beef bouillon, but I did have chicken. I grabbed 4 of those cubes and dissolved them as the water came to a boil. Found out, later on, I had beef broth in a can in the pantry, but it was too late at that point.
While that was dissolving, I cut the uncooked broccoli into bite sized pieces, and added those in to cook first. Then, I cut the meat into bite sized pieces as well. Everything else was pretty much ready to go. Once the broccoli was tender, I added in the meat, veggies, leftover cooked broccoli, and enough water to cover. I did take a little time to freshen up the seasonings; salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some Italian seasoning. But I still felt like it needed something.
In the pantry, I had a can of diced tomatoes just waiting to be used. I drained out most of the liquid and stirred them in. After that, it was all about throwing the lid on and letting it simmer for a while.
It was definitely a crowd pleaser. All of the stew has been eaten, and barely lasted a day in the fridge. Making it was perfect timing as well, as we finally had some rain here in the desert. The weather made things a little dreary so it was the perfect pick-me-up.
