Tex Mex Beef Stew

I was very fortunate to get a good deal on carrots, onions, beets and potatoes for $1.88 per 10 lb bag, the day after arriving home from our fall vacation in October.  I had done a lot of canning, over 200 jars of home canned tomato products in addition to other home canned products.  After being away for three weeks, we were quite tired.  Still, I took advantage of the sale.  As a result, I had 40 lb of Ontario produce to use.  The nice thing about the produce sale was  carrots, onions, beets and potatoes keep well in our pantry so there wasn't an urgency for processing them.

I decided to do a bit of a freezer clean-out to use the packages of chicken bones I had saved since the summer to can stock.  During the process, I found a couple of packets of pre-cooked beef, just perfect for soup or stew.  I used one of the packages to make a full bodied stew with Tex-Mex flavours.  The stew was quite tasty!

Tex Mex Beef Stew
source:  Garden Gnome

2 L (8 c) home canned whole tomatoes
250 ml (1 c) beef stock
1 lg carrot
2 ribs celery
2 sm onions
2 lg potatoes
500 ml (2 c) left-over cooked beef pieces
500 ml (2 c) cooked kidney beans
5 ml (1 tsp) garlic powder
5 ml (1 tsp) onion powder
30 ml (2 tbsp) homemade taco seasoning
250 ml (1 c) frozen corn
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) paprika
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne pepper
5 ml (1 tsp) cumin
garnish with plain yogurt or sour cream

Cut the carrot, celery and potatoes into bite size pieces.  Finely chop the onion.  Place the whole tomatoes in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce to a simmer.  Continue cooking while mashing the tomatoes to break down, leaving a few larger pieces.  Stir in the stock and vegetables.  Continue cooking until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Stir in beef, seasonings and kidney beans.  Mix well then cook for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.  Serve hot.