Looking for a budget meal this week? I made this Poor Man’s Stew for $6.24 and it feeds 5 people! I put ground beef, russet potatoes, carrots, onions, a garlic clove (not pictured, I had this on hand), tomato paste, water and seasoning in my slow cooker simmered it all day to make this Hearty Poor Man’s Stew.
For the vegetables, use whatever your family likes the most, and whatever is in season. That way, the vegetables will be at their best and lowest price too. If you wanted to bulk this meal out to make it go further, add extra potatoes and carrots.
This is an easy meal to prepare and so tasty! I serve this for the family on a weeknight because it’s quick to make. You can also freeze it, so if you wanted to make up a big pot, you could put it in several containers and simply defrost when you want one and heat through. It’s that easy! Although I haven’t made this recipe in a slow cooker, but only on a stove top (because it’s so quick), you could use your slow cooker. I would suggest 6 hours on Low.
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1.5 lbs potatoes, diced large
3 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced (I had this on hand already)
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
How To Make Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew
Add the cooked ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
In a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder and oregano. Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.Serve with buttered sandwich bread.