Low Calorie, Low Sodium "Clean-Out The Vegetable Crispers" Beef Stew recipes

This is something I make every once in awhile when I have some fresh vegetables are getting old. I'd like to share my recipe/methodology. It's a pretty general concept, but I think my approach is a bit unique, so it might be of value to someone who sees this.

Ingredients:

*One large bottle of low sodium tomato or V8/vegetable juice.

*Water

*1 Small, lean oven roast -- about 2 lbs.

*Fresh garlic -- I usually use about 5 cloves . *A lot of fresh-ground black pepper -- I usually use about a quarter cup. (More explanation later).

*All the vegetables in your crisper drawers!

Directions:

*Cut-up the fresh vegetables and garlic. The exact proportion/type of vegetables doesn't matter too much (more explanation later). Your cuts can be big and rough.

*Place vegetables, vegetable juice, and water into a large soup pan. You should use about one cup of water and one cup of vegetable juice for each four cups of cut-up vegetables you add.

*Heat, covered, on medium for about 30 minutes.

*Cube lean beef into one-inch squares.

*Reduce heat to a simmer, add beef, and let simmer until beef can be easily torn-apart with your stirring spoon. At least two hours, but you could let cook for longer if desired. Add additional water as you think necessary.

*Take off burner and serve/store.

Rationale

The reason I'm sharing this recipe is that it's specifically designed to use-up a random assortment of ageing vegetables you might have in your refrigerator. The tomato/vegetable juice will add such a strong flavor that you can add pretty much any quantity of any vegetable and it will still end-up being edible. The juice is also very acidic, which will allow you to use a much, much leaner cut of beef than a traditional, broth-based beef stew (as the acid will break-down the fibers of the beef). This will result in a lower-calorie dish overall.

As for the large amount of black pepper -- black pepper is a great substitute for salt. Unlike many spices, which simply add to the dish, black pepper draws the flavors out of the other ingredients. This is also the reason people like salt so much.

Conclusion

Again, this isn't a professional-level recipe. However, I think it's a pretty well thought out for a "use it before it spoils" type of dish. It's also low calorie and low sodium, so I thought someone out there might find it useful.

Submitted January 21, 2017 at 09:32AM by Frashizzle http://ift.tt/2jIJPIS recipes