Frugal Recipe: Beef Stew

Written by FrugalTrader on Apr 22, 2008 filed under Frugal Recipes

With the positive response from my last frugal chicken recipe, I will post another one of my favorite recipes. Beef Stew is high in protein and flavour, low in fat and cost. In addition, beef stew is usually cooked in bulk so that it will feed a large family and/or multiple meals.

What you'll need:

1-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil or other oil of choice.
1lb Stewing beef
1 tsp Oregano/Rosemary (or other herb of choice)
1 large can of diced tomato
1 tbsp sugar
salt
pepper
3 small potatoes
2 celery stalks
1 large carrot
4-5 fresh mushrooms
1-2 tbsp corn starch

How to prepare/cook:

Wash then slice and dice potatoes, celery, carrot and mushrooms to bite sized pieces.
Heat up a large pot over the stove and add olive oil.
When it's nice and hot (starts to bubble), put in the stewing beef cook only a few minutes until sides are brown. You want to leave the center a bit undone as it will slowly cook itself during the rest of the process.
Add salt and pepper to the beef.
Add celery, potato, mushrooms, carrots. Stir for a few minutes.
Add can of diced tomatoes, pepper, sugar, oregano (or herb of choice)
Bring to boil, let simmer on low heat for around 30-45 min.
Prepare small bowl of 1-2 tablespoon(s) corn starch and a few ml's of water. Add enough water so that the corn starch has a thick consistency when stirred.
If the stew isn't thick enough after simmering for the alloted time, stir and add a mixture of cornstarch and water.

Voila, supper for the whole family with perhaps enough for lunch the next day. I can see this recipe working great in a slow cooker also.

photo credit: jetalone

10 Comments, Comment or Ping

1. Geoff

Yum!

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 11:22 am
2. Dividendgrowth

A pretty frugal recipe is to eat a lentil soup or a beans soup. With lentils costing about 60 cents for a packet, you can buy some seasonings for 1-2 dollars, a diced tomatoes and tomatoe sauce cans for 50-70 cents and there you go- a meal that would last for one person for about 5 days ( lunch and dinner).

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 11:42 am
3. MikeG

@ DividendGrowth

I love to quinoa and brown rice mixed with lentils and some sauces or spices. Its extremely cheap, quite healthy (frozen veggies can be “healthier” (in a vitamins sense) than fresh depending on how long after being picked they are consumed).

Another frugal tip: Eat less in general, many north americans overeat, if you’re gaining weight, odds are you’re eating too much. Also some people believe you may live longer if you eat less (see http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/2004/07/09/calorierestriction.php or google “live longer eat less” )

With a possible worldwide famine coming, you can help mitigate the rising costs of food by eating less.

-MikeG

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
4. Canadian Dream

FT,

You’ve been in my cookbook again! Actually I use almost the same recipe, but I put the the entire thing in a slow cooker first thing in the morning. Then I cook it all day and just about 30 minutes before eating I add the finishing touch: 1 tsp curry. Don’t ask me why it works so great, but I love that taste of this in my stew.

Tim

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
5. Paolo

Mmmm. Add polenta to the side, and it’s just like nonna’s.

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
6. JR

FT:

To add.

Take the wonderful FT succulent stew with the curry added, placed in a casserole dish & topped with a flakey pastry crust then baked for 30-minutes.

Alternate to crust, dumplings inside, served with polenta (made with yellow flour) or for those on a diet, simply serve the basic FT stew with swiss chard on the side

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
7. JR

FT:

I believe that everyone has made your recipe of FT stew, eaten it, and are now happily full and sleepy.

Quiet 2-nite FT

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
8. Sarlock

Great choice… there are so many varieties of the above recipe… just substitute a few ingredients for others and you have an endless array of flavour combinations that will keep your stews interesting and delicious.

And not only are stews frugal from a money perspective, they are also frugal on the time… they take a while to prepare, but subsequent servings are as easy as 10 minutes in the microwave. Very helpful for families with two working parents!

Apr 22nd, 2008 @ 11:46 pm