Hearty Beef Stew Over Jasmine Rice: Lunch is served!

Seeing as East Texas has reached record lows this week in temperatures, I was craving something delicious, warm and filling for my lunches. This one hit the spot and my macros!

Here is your Ingredient List:

- 2 tablespoon coconut oil

- 2 lbs beef stew meat

- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 1 large tomato

- 3 tablespoons tomato paste or 1/2 Cup pasta sauce

- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth (I used water sometimes and it turns out great too)

- I used 2 steamables "Harvest" bags found by the frozen veggies. However if you don't have that, then: 2 medium yellow or red potatoes cubed, 1 1/2 cups of sugar snap peas, 1 1/2 cups baby carrots

- 1/4 cup water

- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour

Beef Marinade Mix

- 2 tablespoons minced garlic

- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

- 1 teaspoon garlic salt

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1/4 olive oil

- 1 teaspoon paprika

- 1-2 bay leaves

• Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. Cut any large pieces of stew meat into smaller bite-size pieces, if necessary. Put into a gallon ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Marinade for at least a couple hours.

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add about half of the meat to the pan, or as much as you can without overcrowding the pan. Sauté the beef until nicely browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beef to a dish and set aside. Repeat with the remaining beef, adding additional oil if needed.

• Add additional oil to pan if needed and add the onion, diced tomato and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the tomato paste and stir until well combined. Add the beef broth and the bay leaf from marinade. Add the beef and all the juices that have accumulated back to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to LOW, cover, and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, or until the beef is fork tender. Here (after adding beef broth and beef bits) is where you can transfer to a crockpot on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours until beef is tender.

• Add the potatoes, snap peas and carrots and raise the heat under the pot to bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to LOW, cover and simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes until the veggies are fork tender. Combine the water and cornstarch or flour in a measuring cup or small bowl and stir it into the beef stew. Continue cooking, uncovered, until thickened.

• Discard the bay leaf and add more salt if needed before serving over hot Jasmine Rice. Also acceptable: Hot crusty french bread. Enjoy!