Texas Stew

In my quest to make cheaper meals I came across this one. 

It's a pretty standard "beef stew" but with Texan flavors. 

The ingredients are pretty cheap and if you can find the chuck on sale, it helps even more. 

I love recipes like this because they are so easy. Just get everything in the pot and wait a few hours. 

Texas Stew

Adapted from here

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 Tablespoon canola oil

salt and pepper

1 (14.5 oz.) can Mexican style stewed tomatoes

1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth, undiluted

1 (8 oz.) jar mild picante sauce

1 (10 oz.) package frozen corn, thawed

3 carrots, chopped

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

==

Start by getting a pot on medium/high heat. Pour in some oil.

Get your chuck roast cubed up. This works best if it's slightly frozen.

Cube up the beef.

Toss the beef in the hot oil and let it sit for about 3 minutes. Give it a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.

Give it a stir after it gets some color.

Toss in the tomatoes.

Add the beef broth and the picante sauce.

Add the corn.

Add the onions, carrots and garlic.

Add the spices and salt. 

Give everything a good stir and toss into the oven at 300F for 3-4 hours. You can do this on the stovetop on med/low or in the crock pot on high.

You know it's ready when the beef is fall apart tender. 

Add in the cornstarch and put the pot over high heat until it thickens up. 

I added in a squirt of mustard at this point. I think it added a nice punch.

I let the stew go on low (175F) in the oven for another hour or so until my wife came home from work. 

When you're ready to serve you can do one of two things. Stir the stew as little as possible so you don't break up the chunks of meat, or give everything a good stir and work the meat apart a bit.

I like option number two, personally. I like the consistency of the beef mixed into the stew. You, of course can do whatever you like, it'll still be great.

I served this stew with noting added. You could easily give it a shot of hot sauce and bring it to a new level though. I had some biscuits in a tube in the fridge, so I made those to have with the stew. Delicious.

Overall, I thought the stew was fantastic. It tasted really beefy and the minimal veggies really accentuated that fact. I also really thought the mustard added a really nice kick that you couldn't really place, but made a big addition.

Great stew and really easy to put together. 

Enjoy!