The thought of beef stew in the summer really doesn’t appeal to me, but figured if we serve it over rice, it won’t be so “stew” like. I’ve never made this before, so we’ll see if it passes the critics in my home.

2 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 lbs. boneless beef stew meat (cut into 1″ chunks)
1/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
non-stick cooking spray
3 c. reduced fat low sodium beef broth
1 can chopped tomatoes (15 oz. can with juice)
1 large potato cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 c. broccoli puree

Toss the garlic, onion, carrots and celery in the food processor until it’s finely chopped.
Toss the beef with flour, salt and pepper.
Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and add the oil once it’s hot.
Add the beef - don’t let it get too crowded in the pan - and brown it on all sides.
Then transfer the beef to the crock pot.
Grab the veggies and garlic you just chopped and toss into the skillet to soften them up a bit.
Then transfer them to the crock pot with the beef.
Add the potatoes, beef broth, tomatoes and juice and the broccoli puree to the crock pot and let it simmer for four-five hours on low.