I stumbled across this recipe for beef stew about a year ago.
Honestly, my family LOVES the pot roast from Costco. It is already pre-made and comes completely cooked with a fantastic gravy. It comes in a sealed plastic bag which you place in a pot and boil for 15 minutes or so, and it turns into a VERY impressive and quick dinner.
Try as I might, I cannot make a pot roast as good as this one - and it generally feeds a family of four for two meals.
Last year as I was contemplating what to do with my left over potroast and gravy, I stumbled onto a video from Betty on Youtube. While slightly different from my own stew recipe, my family REALLY enjoyed this variation, and I loved how quick and easy it was to make.
Today I made it with a variation - I found a lot of canned roast beef in gravy on sale a while ago which I wanted to try out with this recipe. Additionally, I love to make this in the crock pot rather than stove top.
2 cans canned beef in gravy OR 1 1/2 - 2 c. chopped left over pot roast
2 cans beef bouillon or beef broth
1/2 bag baby carrots, or equivalent 2-4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped into large chunks
1/2 can tomato sauce
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks (size - your preference)
2 bay leaves
2 c. water
Place chopped carrots, potatoes, and onion into a heavy pot and add bouillon or broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer vegetables for approximately 10 - 15 minutes.
While vegetables cook, mix meat, gravy, and tomato sauce and heat over medium until mixture comes to a boil.
Drain vegetables from the broth (reserve broth for another recipe if desired), and combine them along with the meat mixture, bay leaves, and 1-2 cups of hot water in crock pot. Cook for 2-5 hours. Stir occasionally.
Remove bay leaves prior to serving.
