Italian Beef Stew. Super Yummy. And Under 400 Calories!!!

so i decided to share the most fabulous recipe for italian beef stew!

i changed it up a little, so i'll give you the original and my version.

original:

7 TBSP olive oil, divided

1 1/2 C of chopped onion (i used 1 cup)

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 TBSP minced garlic

1/4 C of all-purpose flour

2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into cubes (i used 1 pound of the pre cut stew meat found in the meat dept of your grocery store)

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp black pepper

1C dry red wine

3 3/4 C chopped seeded peeled plum tomato (about 2 pounds) (i'm not a huge tomato fan, so i just used 3 plum tomatoes, which equaled about 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 C fat free, lower sodium beef broth

1/2 cup water

2 tsp chopped oregano

2 tsp chopped thyme

1 bay leaf

(for all the fresh herbs, i actually used an herb paste found in the produce dept of Publix. i used 1 TBSP of it to cover all the herbs needed. you could add more/less to taste)

1 (8 oz) pack of cremini mushrooms, quartered (i used about 1/2 cup of baby portabella mushrooms)

3/4 cup sliced carrot (this is optional. i did not add this portion of carrots, just those above)

2 TBSP chopped basil

1 TBSP chopped parsley

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil to pan. Add onion and carrot; saute 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; saute for 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from pan.

2. Add 1 TBSP oil to pan. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper; dredge in flour. Add half of beef to pan; saute 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure.

3. Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 5 minutes). Return meat and the onion mixture to pan. Add tomato, broth, water, herbs and mushrooms, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover (stir in sliced carrot if you choose). Simmer for 1 hour or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp of salt.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size 1 cup).

Nutrition facts: 334 calories; 13g fat (3.9g sat, 0.8g mono, 6.6g poly); 40.6g protein; 12.2g carb; 2.4g fiber; 86mg chol; 4.1mg iron; 387mg sodium; 51mg calc

Enjoy!!!!

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine Jan/Feb 2011