Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Stew 8pts

By deanarrca

Honey-sweetened beef stew, also known as tzimmes, is a classic Jewish recipe. Toss all the ingredients into a slow cooker for a fabulous, no-fuss holiday meal.

Ingredients

• 7 oz frozen chopped onions, about 2 cups
• 3 pounds raw lean beef brisket, trimmed, boneless, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
• 1/2 pounds baby carrots, cut in half if large
• 8 small uncooked new potatoes, cut in half (unpeeled) 16 items prunes, pitted
• 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided (from 2 small lemons)
• 5 tsp honey, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cups canned beef broth

Preparation

Step 1

POINTS Value:    8
Servings:  8
Preparation Time:  24 min
Cooking Time:  480 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy
 
Instructions
Place onion, beef, garlic, sweet potatoes, carrots, new potatoes, prunes, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of honey in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and broth; stir well.

Cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours. About 5 minutes before serving, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and remaining 2 teaspoons of honey; cover and cook on low for 5 minutes. Yields about 1 1/2 cups of solids and gravy per serving.
Notes
You can substitute dried apricots for the prunes if you prefer.

For a stew with thicker gravy, spoon 1 tablespoon of flour into a cup and stir in 1/4 cup of the tzimmes liquid until the mixture is lump-free. Add the flour mixture to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. (Adding the flour does not affect the recipe’s POINTS value.)