Provencal Beef Stew

By phalon

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless chuck trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup fat free, less sodium beff broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 (14.5 once) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 cups (1-inch) sliced zucchini
• 2 cups (1-inch) sliced carrots

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and /4 teaspoon pepper; dredge in flour. Add beef to pan; saute´2 minutes, browning all sides. Place beef in electric slow cooker. Add onions and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Place onion mixture in cooker. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and tomatoes to cooker; top with zucchini and carrots. Cove and cook on low 8 hour or until beef is tender. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.