Stick-to-Your-Ribs Crockpot Stew

We had something rare blow into these parts of Texas yesterday, a cold front - an actual COLD front - not just one of those day-long, breath of fresh air kind of fronts that only leaves you wanting more. It's shivering weather. And when the thermostat approaches the freezing point, I start craving good, hearty foods.

And one such feel good food is stew. I had a few recipes in my binder, but they were from our pre-Paleo days and just wouldn't do. So I combined a few ideas, made a few substitutions, and came up with this:

Stick-to-Your-Ribs Crockpot Stew

Stuff You Need:

• 2 lb. beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ½ lb. Italian sausage
• 1 yellow onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 large zucchini, cut into large chunks
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 - 4 oz can tomato paste
• 1 - 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbs garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbs black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano

What To Do:

1. Crumble sausage into a skillet and brown until no pink remains.
2. Remove sausage by slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Use reserved grease from sausage to brown beef. I like to do this in small batches to prevent excess water build up.
4. Place beef and sausage in the crock pot.
5. Next sauté the veggies in your skillet for a minute or two, stirring often.
6. Place veggies in the crock pot.
7. Use apple cider vinegar to de-glaze you skillet.
8. Add beef broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the skillet, mixing until tomato paste fully incorporated.
9. Add the dry spices and mix well.
10. Pour liquids from the skillet to the crock pot.
11. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I can't tell you how comforting this dish has been. I have eaten it for lunch and dinner 2 days running. And I'm not TOO embarrassed to admit that I had it for breakfast today as well.

It's also a really versatile recipe. These are just the veggies we had on hand. If you've got something else around - sweet potatoes, okra, mushroom - whatever is on hand or whatever sounds good to you, just pop 'em in. Don't have Italian sausage handy, use ground beef or breakfast sausage or even chorizo. This is really one of those clean out the fridge kind of meals.

I sautéed all the veggies, but that is really a personal preference. Aside from browning the sausage and beef, you could get away with just dumping this all in the crock pot. And if I had been short on time, I likely would have considered that option. But, for a change I had some time on my hands, so I pulled out all the stops.

Regardless of the changes you make, I think you will find this a great cold-weater feel good meal!