Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

mama dee's healthier tex/mex stew

Recipe by
Dee Stillwell
Citrus Heights, CA

This dish was created so it would be healthier than my regular beef stew. With broiling instead of dredging in flour and frying the meat, and with black beans replacing the potatoes, plus all the healthy veggies, it works & we love it and is a family favorite. Throughout my weight loss journey for the past 6 yrs, I have discovered that cooking with alot of color and spices in my food, makes my taste buds and my body happy. I am now down 200 lbs & I'm still a work in progress. I will soon be having skin removal surgery & finally ridding myself of the constant reminder of what I used to weigh.

yield 10 - 12
prep time 35 Min
cook time 4 Hr
method Slow Cooker Crock Pot

Ingredients For mama dee's healthier tex/mex stew

  • 2 lb
    beef stew meat or cubed pork shoulder (may also use chicken, but cooking times will be shorter)
  • 2 tsp
    season salt
  • 1/2 tsp
    each of black pepper, & garlic powder & onion powder
  • 1 c
    red wine
  • Approx 4 c
    beef stock or water with bullion added
  • 1 lg 28 oz can
    green chili enchilada sauce
  • 1 lg
    onion cut in lg dice
  • 2 c
    diced carrots
  • 2 - 10 oz can
    original rotel tomatoes
  • 2
    jalapenos, diced
  • 1 Tbsp
    each of ground cumin & chili powder
  • 2 can
    black beans, drained and rinsed, or use about 3 cups beans soaked and cooked.
  • 2
    bell peppers cut in lg dice, red, orange, yellow or green or mix it up - mo color mo better
  • 2
    poblano peppers, lg dice
  • approx 2 c
    frozen or fresh corn kernels

How To Make mama dee's healthier tex/mex stew

  • 1
    Heat oven to broil. Season meat with season salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder. Place in single layer in large roasting pan. Broil until meat is browned on one side. Flip over and broil until meat is browned on other side. Remove meat to crock pot. This can also be cooked in a Dutch oven on the stovetop.
  • 2
    To the pan drippings, add 1 cup red wine. Scrape up browned bits and cook to reduce and burn off alcohol for a cpl minutes. Add to crock pot along with the stock. Cook on high for a cpl hours or until meat is semi tender. Drain broth off of meat and refrigerate broth to solidify the fat so you can remove it or skim it off.
  • 3
    To the meat in the crock pot, add the enchilada sauce, onion, 2 diced jalapenos, carrots, Rotel tomatoes, cumin & chili powder. Simmer until carrots are almost tender, then add all other ingredients..ie: black beans, corn, poblano & colored peppers, and defatted stock from the fridge to almost cover meat and veggies.
  • 4
    Simmer until all veggies are done. At this point, adjust seasoning to your taste. I added about 1/2 cup of Verde sauce and 2 tsp habanero spice rub, but you may like it milder and leave it as is. If you want a thicker stew stir in a cpl TBL of cornmeal mixed with a little cold water. (I use Jiffy cornbread mix bcuz thats what I always have on hand) and cook until thickened. If you choose to do this, di it b4 the veggies are done or they will get too soft. You may want it saucy, if you chose to serve it over rice, which is the way my family likes it.
  • 5
    Serve plain or some options are, over rice with some chopped cilantro, a dollop of light sour cream, or for those not watching their calories, crumbled tortilla chips. Enjoy!
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