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Making a nutritious and delicious meal for a family takes a lot of experimentation and substitution when you are trying to stretch your food dollars. I, like some of my foodie friends like to find ways to substitute or use up bits and pieces of leftovers. In this case, not really leftovers but pieces of meat that did not find its way to the pot, pan or oven as yet. Tonight’s dinner was just that, but it sure turned into a Surprise Stew. I am going to share it with all my blog readers and please do try it out and use your own substitutions as you see fit.

Surprise Stew

1 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large sweet potato, washed and cut into chunks
4 large regular potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
Little bit of meat tenderizer
Sprig of thyme
4 Bay Leaves
Dash of Worchestershire Sauce
3 large onions, peeled and quartered
4 large Italian Sausage
1 large piece of beef rib (this was approximately 3 ribs, including meat)
1 large piece of fresh garlic

Wash potatoes well, do not peel as the skins contain important nutrients and add fiber to your diet. Peel garlic, remove skin from onion and quarter. Open both cans of tomatoes and add to large pot. Keep the flame on low as this will help to prevent the meal from burning as well as soften the meat and allow the flavors to penetrate the food. Add all the seasonings, onions and bay leaves, along with the sliced garlic. Put the Italian sausage in whole, along with the piece of beef rib. After the meat has cooked for about a half hour (from a frozen state), add both kinds of potatoes and add a little water to the pot if need be. Vegetables should just be covered. Allow this to cook over low flame for a couple of hours. Allow this Surprise Stew to sit for a little while before consuming. I removed the sausage once it was cooked, along with the beef rib and cut the sausage up into pieces and divided the ribs and returned the meat to the pot.

We all warmed up our tummies with this stew, along with some bread. I do hope that you do try this out for yourself as it really is a budget saving meal. Enjoy!