Why make a regular beef stew when you can make an Italian version with more flavor? It was a rainy day yesterday and there is almost nothing better on a rainy day than a hearty bowl of Italian Beef Stew. Yes, this recipe may seem like it has a hundred ingredients, but a lot of them are just herbs (most of which you probably already have on hand) and a bunch of fresh veggies. You can use chuck beef or almost any other cut of beef sliced into 1-inch cubes. I decided to add mushrooms to this recipe as many Italian beef stew recipes call for them.
I don’t cook with mushrooms very often because my husband will just sit there and pick them out and it is almost painful to watch him sit there and pick them out one by one, but every now and then I just have to have them and he just has to deal with it =). If you don’t like mushrooms, feel free to leave them out, there will still be plenty of other veggies. I think next time I make this I may just be a little lazier and toss it all in the slow cooker (skip the browning) instead of my dutch oven on the stove top, then walk away and come back to dinner. I’m telling you though, this stew is completely delicious and amazingly filling and I think it’s fair to say it passes as a healthy meal your whole family will love. And the beef, it’s the best part. That slow and low cooking makes it unbelievably tender. I may or may not have spooned a lot of pieces of the beef out of the pot … after I had already finished my two bowlfuls of stew =). Enjoy!
