This recipe has amazing flavor!! I was looking for a simple recipe for this cold Winter day, but also didn’t want to have just the usual stew. Bingo! It’s delicious!! Also, this is a great way to get some nutrient dense bone broth into your system (especially if you are like me and prefer it in a soup or stew rather than just drinking it).

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs. stew meat
• 2 tsp. + 3 tsp. olive oil
• Pink Himalayan salt and fresh ground black pepper to season meat
• 3.5 cups of bone broth
• 2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes with juice (we used fire roasted)
• 1 Tbsp Italian herb blend
• 1 tsp. ground fennel seed
• 1 large onion, chopped into large chunks
• 1 large green pepper chopped into large chunks
• 2 small zucchini, ends trimmed and then cut into half lengthwise and sliced into thick slices
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, washed and cut half
• 3-4 T chopped fresh basil (I use a very high quality essential oil that is safe to consume, so a drop or two of basil works well when I don’t have fresh basil on hand)
• Balsamic vinegar to drizzle on your stew once it’s dished up, optional

DIRECTIONS

Heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pan and brown the beef over medium-high heat until the meat is browned on all sides, about 10-15 minutes.

Season the meat with salt and fresh-ground black pepper as it cooks.

Add the browned meat to the stew pot.

Add half of the bone broth to the frying pan and cook a minute, scraping with a turner to loosen the browned bits of meat that stick to the pan, then add that to the stew pot along with rest of the broth.

Add the diced tomatoes with juice, Italian Herb Blend and fennel and stir.

Turn heat to low or medium-low and simmer 60 minutes, or until meat feels tender when you pierce it with a fork.

While the stew simmers, peel and chop the onion and cut out the stem and seeds of the green pepper and chop. Cut ends off the zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into thick slices.

Wash and cut mushrooms into thick slices or half slices

When you’re ready to finish the stew, heat 1 tsp. olive oil in the frying pan, add the onions and green peppers and cook a few minutes over medium-high heat, then add them to the stew.

Heat the second teaspoon of olive oil, add the zucchini and cook until it’s slightly browned on both sides, then add to stew. Then add the mushroom slices, cook until they have released their liquid and are starting to brown, then add to stew.

Simmer about 15 minutes, then add the basil and cook a few minutes more.

Serve hot, with balsamic vinegar to drizzle on top if desired.

ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from kalynskitchen.com