Wicked Cheap Wednesday introduces a yummy beef stew!

My mom made this beef stew way back when...she has since moved onto a different recipe but I have stuck with a one similar to the one she used to make because I love the broth and how it flavors the vegetables.

You will need:

• 1-2 lbs of stew meat, cut into bite size pieces
  
• either 3 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces or a large can of potatoes, chopped, and drained
• l lb of baby carrots
• 1 white onion, cut up
  
• 12 oz of tomato juice
• 4 tbsp tapioca pudding mix - not made, just right from the box
• salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven to anywhere between 250-325, depending on how long you have to cook it.  If you have 5 hours to spare, preheat to 250.  Since I was making this in 3 hours, I preheated and cooked it at 325.

Place cut up stew meat into a 9x13 baking dish, like one used for brownies.  Add salt and pepper.

Add cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions.  On top of this pour the 12 oz of tomato juice and 4 tbsp of tapioca pudding mix.  Stir all of it together, cover with foil, and bake.  Like I said, I baked mine at 325 for 3 hours - of course, for something like this, you want to be able to check that the meat is cooked thru (which is the easy part) and that the veggies, especially the carrots, are tender enough that a fork goes easily thru them.

I love love love this - I am not a fan of leftovers, but I took this for lunch the next day, as did the husband, and enjoyed it even more than the night before:)

So how is it "wicked cheap?"

• stew meat - 1.25 lbs for $3.75!
• large can of diced potatoes - $1.67
• 1 lb bag of baby carrots - $1.50
• 1 white onion - about $1.00
• tomato juice - now I bought a 6 pack of 6 oz cans, so I will have these for 3 beef stew recipes (we don't drink it around here) - the price was $3.00, so consider the 2 cans I used for this one recipe $1.00
• tapioca pudding box - leftover from another recipe - about .50 cents

Grand total -  $9.92!  I served it with a salad and crescent rolls, which I already had (I stock up on Pillsbury crescent rolls when they are on sale and I have coupons) and was in heaven!  I love the tomato taste, without the thickness of a tomato sauce or even canned tomato chunks. 

I hope everyone will try and enjoy this on a nice winter weekend day/evening and let me know if you add anything to it to make it your own:)   Thanks mom for making this way back when!