Carne Guisada (Mexican Style Beef)

One of the best things about stews is that you can set them and pretty much forget about them until it’s dinnertime. My husband came across this recipe for carne guisada (Mexican-style beef) during one of his endless quests for new foods to try, and thankfully – unlike many of the ones he ends up finding – this one turned out to be exceptionally easy. The below is adapted from there to include less salt.

From start to finish, the entire prep probably took about 15 minutes, followed by an hour and a half of just leaving the pot on the stove in the other room. The end-result was surprisingly tender and flavorful, which we all enjoyed.

CARNE GUISADA INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs stew meat
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 large tomato, diced (or 3 TB tomato sauce)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 TB flour
• 1 cup water
• Tortillas and/or rice for serving

CARNE GUISADA INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Brown the meat, onions and red pepper over high heat with olive oil. If you have excess juice, drain it before Step 2.
2. Add the tomato (or sauce), garlic powder, cumin, salt and black pepper to the pan; stir well.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and mix well.
4. Add water and mix so there are no lumps.
5. Bring to a boil, cover pan and then reduce heat to low.
6. Cook for 1.5 hours or until meat is tender.