Beef Stew-Family Favorite

This is a recipe that I got from Leanne Ely's Menu Mailer cookbook but adapted to our likes. I make a big batch and freeze for later meals. This can be easily doubled or tripled. ***Potatoes are cooked separately. I found that they break down too much and don't freeze well when cooked in the stew. I put a little in each bowl when we eat the stew freshly made. For what I freeze, I put an appropriate amount in the freezer bag and top with the stew, seal and freeze.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1  lb beef, cubed into bite size pieces
• 2  carrots or 12  baby carrots, sliced
• 2  cups water
• 1  tablespoon  beef base
• 2  teaspoons  Mrs. Dash seasoning mix
•  salt and pepper
• 1 (14 ounce) can green beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can corn
• 1 (14 ounce) can peas
• 2  potatoes, cubed cooked separately

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium/high heat and sauté onions, garlic and celery till translucent.
2. Add beef and carrots to onion mixture and continue to cook until meat is browned (sometimes I even skip this step if I am in a hurry).
3. Add water, beef base, Mrs. Dash and salt and pepper taste.
4. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 2 hours until the meat is nice and tender.
5. Add canned vegetables and cook until heated through.
6. Serve with dumplings or a nice roll.
7. Extra stew can be frozen in a zippy bag.
8. ***I slightly undercook the potatoes separately because I found that the potatoes held up better when I froze the stew.