vegan comfort food

a few months ago while evan and i were visiting my parents in atlanta, my mom busted out her beef stew recipe and veganized it for us. i think evan had been craving it every day since! so last night adam and steph came over for some cooking and hang outs and we whipped up a big ol' pot of stew. good lord was it yummy! it goes a little something like this...

VEGAN BEEF STEW

2- packages of gardein beef tips

1- 16oz bag of baby carrots chopped in half or so

1- bag of celery cut into 2" pieces

1- large onion chopped

2- bay leaves to be removed before serving (we actually didn't have these and it was still delicious!)

2- envelopes lipton onion soup mix

1- carton veggie broth, or 2 cans

there is really no exact way to do this so you can adjust and flavor to your liking as well.

first brown the beef tips in a bit of oil, this will give the gravy a bit more flavor. once browned, set aside. add broth and a few cups of water (start with 2 cups and add more later if needed) to a large pot. then add all veggies and bay leaves and bring to a boil. reduce to simmer and let cook for about 40 mins until veggies are tender. add beef tips, salt and pepper to taste (we added lots of pepper but no salt since there is a lot in the soup mix) and simmer for another 20 minutes. in a separate bowl mix corn starch and water together and slowly add it to the stew to thicken the gravy. definitely do this slowly because it thickens quick!

we served it over bow tie pasta with a side of crescent rolls (also vegan!) and it was the ultimate comfort food! it fed the 4 of us last night (and evan and adam can do some eating!) and we still have leftovers today. that's the kinda cooking i like! let me know if you give this a whirl. my momma would be so excited!

also, don't forget today's the last day to enter the nautical giveaway. i'll be announcing the winner later on... happy friday!