Thrifty Thursdays: Garbage Stew

Those of you who know me know I love to cook. You might even be able to say I inherited the love of cooking and feeding people. Growing up, I enjoyed the wonderful home cooking of my Mother and Grammy. I was awed by stories of how Great Grandma Weaver could whip up delicious and satisfying meals in less than half an hour for visitors who always seemed to show up around meal time. Needless to say, I have some big shoes to fill when it comes to cooking.

As a homemaker managing my own home, I have the privilege of planning and preparing all of our meals (though Andy helps out during the weekend). With the ever increasing cost of groceries now days, I am always looking for healthy, satisfying meals that can be made with out breaking the bank. I also need something that is going to make a decent amount of food. Not only do I need to feed the two of us for dinner, I also need at least enough leftovers to send with Andy for his lunch the next day. Stews and hotdishes have become some of my favorite standbys. Here is a recipe that Grammy helped me come up with this week when I was perplexed over what to make. I had a small amount of meat that needed some help to make it stretch. This satisfying stew was made using ingredients I had on hand that needed to be used up.

Garbage Stew
1/2 - 3/4 lb. cheap beef cut into small cubes
4 Cups beef broth
3 beets cubed
3 potatoes cubed
1 onion sliced
5 carrots sliced
1 cup chopped celery
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons garlic powder (Do not use garlic salt as it will skyrocket sodium content)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon basil

Dredge cut beef in 1 1/2 handfuls of flour seasoned with black pepper and garlic powder. Place in slow cooker with 2 cups beef broth. Cook on high for 90 minutes. Add remaining broth, ingredients and seasonings; cook on high for additional 4 hours or until tender. Mix 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with cold water in cup until well blended. Add to slow cooker, thick gravy should form. If too thin, add additional cornstarch until desired thickness is achieved. Serve alone or with muffins or bread.

Note: Ingredients can be shifted to accommodate personal taste and preference. If more portions are needed, simply increase the vegetable content. Seasonings listed in this recipe are estimations of amounts I used (I didn't measure each out individually, just added them until it looked/tasted right). If you will be gone all day and want a fix and forget, simply put the beef on the bottom, and the vegetables on top. Set temperature to low.

Happy cooking!

The Revolutionary Homemaker,
Sara