Crock-Pot, Skinny Tomato Beef Macaroni Stew

By srumbel

This is a super meal in itself! So satisfying, smells amazing while cooking and tastes fantastic! It freezes great, too. Each main course serving has 251 calories, 4 grams of fat and 7 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. Although this is a crock-pot recipe, I’ve included directions for making it on the stove-top.
from skinnykitchen.com

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey, see shopping tip
• 1 1/2 cups onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 (26.46) ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1 (26 oz) jar pasta sauce, such as Classico Tomato Basil, Prego or Ragu’s Original pasta sauce or your favorite
• 2 cups zucchini
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons steak seasoning or Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 3 cups cooked whole grain elbow macaroni (1 1/2 cups uncooked) or penne pasta
• 2 cups fresh spinach, packed
• Black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a large nonstick pan or soup pot, brown ground beef, onions and garlic until ground beef is no longer pink.

2. To make in the crock-pot: add the cooked beef, broth, tomatoes, pasta sauce, zucchini, red bell pepper, Worcestershire sauce and steak seasoning. Cover and cook in crock pot 6 hours on low heat or 3 hours on high heat.

3. Stir in cooked macaroni and spinach. Cover and continue to cook for 15 minutes until heated.

4, To make on the stove top: add the cooked beef, broth, tomatoes, pasta sauce, zucchini, red bell pepper, Worcestershire sauce and steak seasoning. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and spinach. Cover and heat for 5 minutes.

Makes 12 cups total (each serving 1½ cups)