Southwestern Meat & Potato Stew

This year our HeartLife ministry theme is "Living Sent, Loving Others."
'Love one another deeply, from the heart.' I Peter 1:22b

As a mom & a wife, my favorite way to show love to others is cooking. Here's a recipe that is very easy to make & share. I hope it will give you some encouragement to "Live Sent."

I love one dish suppers, & this is a favorite at our house. We eat a lot of soups & stews during the fall & winter months. I like this one because it is so flexible. I rarely follow the recipe but use up leftovers or whatever I have on hand. I found it years ago in a Taste of Home magazine & have made it every winter since.

Here are the ingredients as they're listed in the recipe.

2 pounds ground beef, chuck, turkey OR sausage (your choice)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup water, divided
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 bag (16 oz) frozen corn
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup salsa
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a Dutch oven or large kettle, brown meat & onion.
I used ground chuck & ground sausage this time.  I often just use one pound of meat instead of two, or I use leftover taco meat.

Drain

Add 3/4 cup of water & all remaining ingredients except flour.
This time, I used a bag of frozen tomatoes from last year's garden instead of canned & a partial bag of frozen corn. You can see it's a mix of yellow pear tomatoes & red cherry tomatoes. I just use what I have. When I'm not following the recipe, I don't add the water until later.  Sometimes you don't need the water or you may need more, depending on the leftovers you're using. For example, sometimes I use canned corn with the liquid so I don't use the water.

Cover & simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. If you're in a hurry, you really don't have to let it simmer more than about 20-30 minutes. You can use canned potatoes with leftover or precooked meat for a shorter cooking time.

Combine flour & remaining water and then stir into the stew. Cook and stir until boiling & slightly thickened. The flour is optional at this point as well. If you like your stew more like soup, leave it out.

Yield: 6 servings.

I like to serve it with cheese wedges, grapes & crackers, but it's great all by itself.  It's even better the next day.  Don't you love recipes that save you a day of cooking?!?  I usually freeze half of it to pull out on a busy day & send some to work in my husband's lunch - make sure to save some for your own lunch too!

Here are some hospitality tips:

• Make it on Saturday & serve it for Sunday lunch with guests after church. Just pour it in your crock-pot before church & let it simmer on low until you get home. It would be great served with crusty bread!
• Double the recipe & take it to a working mom to give her a day off cooking supper for her family.
• Divide into single serving sizes, add a cornbread muffin & deliver to some single friends, elderly neighbors or a college student studying for finals.
• Invite some girlfriends over for a quick lunch while your family is out during the day.
• Take it to a family going through a hard thing & let them know you care.

Enjoy!
Jenny