Beef Stew with Vegetables (Lightened Up)

I love a good beef stew. Especially on a cold, rainy day (which there are lots of here in Seattle). I like this recipe because it takes a classic dish (inspired by my mom ), and it lightens it up just enough so it doesn't feel heavy. (You'll notice that this recipe doesn't call for any flour.) And really, for a weeknight dinner, the dinner it pretty low effort. The prep work takes about 20-25 min, and the actual oven time about 90 minutes. You get tons of veggies, protein, and full belly. Plus, I got to use the fabulous Dutch oven that Daniel got me for my birthday last year!

Meat and my Dutch Oven. Also making an appearance in this photo is a plastic storage container.

 What you'll need:

• 12 ounces uncooked lean beef (I used a top round sirloin, but you can use whatever), trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 1 1/2'' pieces
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 cup of frozen green peas
• 2 medium uncooked red potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
• 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes
• rosemary, thyme and parsley (dried, about a 1 teaspoon of each)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Before you start cooking your meat, do all the prep work for the vegetables. I like to cut my vegetables on the "chunky" side for stews, because it makes it just a little more hearty, but if you prefer you can cut yours thinner. After you've chopped the carrots, celery, potatoes, and onion, put them aside in a separate bowl.

I like to chop the carrots and celery, and then slice big pieces of onions. I kept the potatoes separate. I'm weird that way. Also, I may have gotten distracted by something shiny.

Make the broth and add the herbs to the liquid. Allow the herbs to meld with the broth while you start the beef. (sorry~I forgot to take a picture of this!)

Cut your beef into pieces, about an inch and a half or so.

Season the beef with salt and pepper.Heat a large skillet on the stove with 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Cook the beef in the pan until there is a nice brown sear on it.

I ended up draining a little bit of fat, but if you use extra lean meat, then you won't have as much.

After the meat has browned, remove it from the heat. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the bottom of a Dutch oven, or other oven-safe container. Add the meat, fresh vegetables, broth and the canned crushed tomatoes. Add about a teaspoon of salt and pepper to the stew.

Cover and put it into the oven at 325 degrees for an hour and a half (90 minutes). About 10 minutes before the 90 minutes ends, add the frozen peas to the stew and mix well. Remove from the oven and serve. If needed, add more salt and pepper to taste.

I love how rustic it looks!