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Y’all, I wrote this post ten years ago. I’m updating the photos but keeping this special story here so my Katy can read it later on in her life. She was four when I wrote this, she is almost fifteen now – and back to wanting to be called Katy again. 😉

My Grandaddy loved stews and soups and this Ground Beef Stew was one of his favorites. He had a special bowl that he liked to eat stew out of and Grandmama always served him in that bowl.

I do much the same thing with my coffee, even though I know it may seem a bit silly. One of my favorite things to do is get up a little earlier than everyone else and creep into the kitchen to make the first cup of coffee the cup I choose to be special that day, then go sit down in the sun room and look out to the trees in the back yard. It is a little ritual that helps to center me, kind of like taking a deep calming breath before the day begins.

I don’t get to do that very often though because my Katy (who has informed us that from here on out she is to be called by her first and middle name of “Katy Rose”) – excuse me, my Katy Rose is an even earlier riser than her Mama. Some mornings I get my coffee made and get ready to head out into the sun room and a little curly headed pixie pops into the kitchen, so I turn around and head to the recliner instead where she will curl up in my lap and let me stroke her hair while we talk about her dreams.

And that’s a pretty good way to start the day, too.

I have one rule in my house about mornings, I don’t care how early you get up as long as you wake up happy. I don’t think this is very difficult to do, either, so I’m pretty serious about enforcing it. I have made my kids go back into their rooms when they emerge with sour faces and turn around and come back out again with a smile (surprisingly, it works!).

A positive attitude will bring you happiness every time, so why not start your day off with one? Even if you find yourself having to go back in your own bedroom and come out again! ~grins~

And to make your day a little brighter, here is a fuss free, economical, and delicious beef stew to warm you from the inside out. I just love stew weather!

You’ll need: Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Diced tomatoes, Green Beans, Beef Bouillon Cubes,Ground Beef, and 1-2 cans of Spicy Hot V-8 juice.

You can use beef broth in place of the bouillon cubes but I prefer them because they are less expensive and take up less space  when storing them (a small container of these cubes makes about as much broth as twenty five cans of beef broth). You can also substitute some other bean of your preference for the green beans or add any number of other vegetables.

Stews are great to tweak and really make them your own. Play! have fun!

I decided to bring this stew to you using ground beef because it is so economical and most of us have it on hand. This stew is incredibly flavorful and easily adapted to what you have in your pantry and freezer.

I have one special ingredient that I do hope you’ll try though, and that is Spicy Hot V-8 juice. This is what gives my stew such a full bodied flavor without me having to cook it all day and add a gazillion different spices. Don’t worry though, it doesn’t make it hot at all – I promise!

Have you ever had the beef stew from Cracker Barrel? To me, this ground beef stew made with spicy V-8 tastes a lot like that. I used to have to buy a big old bottle of this juice whenever I needed some but nowadays it’s pretty easy to buy a six pack of little cans, which makes a lot more sense if you are just going to keep it in your pantry to cook with. 

Peel and dice your carrots, potatoes, and onion. Place in a large pot.

As a shortcut you can use a 1 pound bag of frozen cubed hash browns for the potatoes. 🙂

Add can of tomatoes and bag of frozen green beans.

Exact quantities are in the printable recipe card at the bottom.

Add four bouillon cubes and two cups of water.

Add in Spicy Hot V-8 juice.

I am using two cans in mine but you can use one and taste it to see if you want to use the second.

I used two and it still wasn’t hot, just very flavorful.

Bring this to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and simmer for an hour or so, until vegetables are tender.

Add ground beef to complete your ground beef stew.

My beef is already browned and waiting happily for me in the freezer to save making another mess.

To see how I process large quantities of ground beef with ease, click here.

Stir in a teaspoon of salt.

You won’t need any pepper because of the V-8 juice but you should salt it to your personal taste. I like to salt it shortly before serving because that gives me a chance to taste the finished product and see about how much it needs.

Serve with crackers or cornbread.

This stew freezes well so its still great to make if cooking for fewer people. I use those Rubbermaid sandwich size containers since they are shallow and it heats up easier for a nice lunch or supper for one or two. I hope you get to make this heartwarming meal soon! 

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained, or see note
• 2-3 Carrots diced
• 1 Onion peeled and chopped
• 5-6 potatoes peeled and diced
• 2-3 cups frozen green beans
• 29 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 6 ounce Cans Spicy Hot V-8 juice I use two
• 2 cups water
• 4 Beef Boullion Cubes or 4 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste

Notes

• This can be assembled in the morning and put in your slow cooker all day on low.
• If ground beef is lean, there is no need to cook it ahead of time, just crumble it up or break off bite size chunks and you can add it in raw. Otherwise, precook it and add in.
• Freezes well. I freeze mine in sandwich size containers for easy reheating as single meals.

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