Beef and Vegetable Stew

I LOVE homemade soups. They are the best, especially once fall/winter rolls around (and also much healthier than store-bought soups). I also love crock pots/slow cookers. The convenience of putting dinner on in the morning while baby is napping and the wonderful smells emanating throughout the house during the day is wonderful. This combines BOTH, making it a super fantastic recipe. Plus it's PACKED with veggies. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 lb stew meat, lightly browned but not cooked through
2 stalks celery, diced
3 tomatoes, diced (you can also use canned diced tomatoes, just drain them as best you can)
1/4 lb green beans, snapped and cut into pieces (one can of green beans, drained, works as well)
2 potatoes, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 zucchini, sliced into small pieces
1 very large carrot, cut into small pieces
8 cups water
reduced sodium beef bullion granules (yes, they exist...check your local co-op or health food store)
basil, oregano, parsley, pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat water until simmering. Add the appropriate amount of bullion to water, stir to mix, creating broth (for mine it was 1 tsp bullion per 1 C water...so 8tsp bullion). Put all ingredients but broth and spices into a slow cooker. Add basil, oregano, parsley, and pepper to taste. Add the broth. Stir well to mix. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high 4-6 hours.

You can freeze leftovers in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months.