Savory Beef Stew

This is a recipe I entered into a recipe contest several years ago. I did not win the grand prize, although this recipe made it as one of the finalists. I won a subscription to Food Network magazine for this entry.

Finished dish served with homemade
 whole-grain crescent rolls

Ingredients - serves 3 to 4+, depending how many extra veggies you add

• 1 lb. lean sirloin steak, or - I used leftover top round roast cubes
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 small onions, quartered
• 1 to 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms - I used 1 cup this time, although I often use more
• ½ to ¾ cup thinly sliced carrots
• ¼ cup celery, chopped - optional
• 1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped - I used about ¾ of a medium-sized parsnip
• 3 tablespoons whole-grain flour
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 1 to 2 tablespoons low sugar tomato paste - I only used 1 tablespoon, since I had a bit of tomatoey sauce with the leftover roast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons red wine

Directions

Trim and cut steak into ¾” cubes. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté steak cubes until lightly browned—3 to 5 minutes. Place steak in 2 quart casserole. Since I was using leftover roast, I heated the oil in the skillet and started with the next step.

Place vegetables in pan and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Stir beef broth into flour until smooth; pour into skillet. Add tomato paste and seasonings. Continue stirring and bring to a boil. Boil and stir until thickened—1 to 2 minutes.

Add vegetable mixture to the steak cubes, and stir in the wine. Bake uncovered in 350° oven for 50 minutes.

This is delicious topped with the whole-grain dumplings in my book on page 64, or served with the whole-grain crescent rolls on page 57. Be sure and use a larger dish, if you are planning to add the dumplings. I only used a 1-quart dish this time, as I used less mushrooms, and you can see it is filled to the tippy-top!

Use your imagination with the vegetables, and add as many as you like. I invite you to share your ideas, too. If you like this post, please share it!