Crockpot Beef Stifado

I pondered whether or not to include this recipe in the “Eating While Broke” series for many reasons. For one thing, I received a comment on a former post indicating that chicken may not be as cheap elsewhere as it is here where I live (in South Carolina). Thus, I thought I had better include some recipes that call for other meats that may be less expensive elsewhere. I paid only $6.10 for just over 2 lbs. of the stewing beef called for in this recipe.

A second reason is that in past posts I had comments implying that I couldn possibly be broke as my recipes called for so many ingredients. Personally I don see the number of ingredients required to make something as an indicator of cheapness or lack thereof. To me, a good recipe, and a cheap one, is one in which I have to buy nothing or next to nothing in order to make it; something where I use things I already have on hand to create a tasty and good meal for my family. There are many things we keep on love this information hand at all times for recipes staple ingredients if you wish. I considering doing an article for this series talking about these “staples” (spices, vinegars, and canned goods come to mind instantly).

In the end I opted to include the recipe as I felt it to be both inexpensive and unique. One thing I hope to get across in this series is that being frugal in your cupboard doesn mean you have to eat the same thing night after night and can jazz things up with something unexpected or untried. As previously mentioned, I paid only $6.10 for the stewing beef. I also paid only $2.34 for the feta cheese. All other ingredients were things we had on hand and generally keep on hand at all times.

Stifado is a tasty Greek stew. This particular Stifado recipe has been adapted for the crock pot, which I really into right now. As with most recipes I make, this one is simple to get together with two small children I don have a lot of time to spend cooking, although I still want to feed my family something healthy while also introducing my children to different flavors and ingredients. This stew was served over mashed potatoes alongside fresh, buttered homemade bread and a garden salad.

I was not impressed with this recipe. It was good, but not great, and not something I will probably choose to fix again. It was actually disapointing to me, because it smelled great while cooking in the crock pot throughout the day and then let me down once I finally got to sit down and try it. That being said, my husband and children liked it very much, particularly my husband.

You can see additional posts in the 2009 “Eating While Broke” series by clicking the following links:

“Eating While Broke” is now a Gather group! Come join!

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Spicy Kielbasa Soup

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

Mexican Rice

Rice Pudding

Recipes from 2008 can be found at the following links:Chicken BBQ Pizza, Salad, and DessertSounds like a really tasty stew, Vic. I think I would sprinkle the feta over the stew just before serving. I don care for the appearance when you blend it in. I definitely be trying this one . When chicken is on sale, I buy it and freeze it, just like Moggy. A freezer is a huge help if you want to save money. It lets you have things on hand and buy things on sale.

I also have a large collection of spices and herbs. I think they a great investment. Our local WalMart sells a few spices for 50 cents a jar. That CHEAP!