Rosemary Beef Stew with Greens

In continuing to use up that big bag o' spinach last week, I made a wonderful rosemary beef stew. I adore rosemary, and we've had enough rain and gloomy temperatures to make beef stew a welcome addition to the weekly menu. The spinach was fine in this soup, although I generally prefer hardier greens, like kale, in my soup.

Rosemary Beef Stew with Greens

1/2 lb cooked and cubed beef
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup water
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 handfuls of washed, chopped greens (spinach, kale, chard, whatever you like)
1 cup sliced mushrooms

I took the easy route on making this, and would do it in a slow cooker in the future (I wasn't thinking quite that far ahead that day). In a large pot, combine beef, chicken stock, wine, water, celery, onion, carrots, rosemary, and garlic. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer until vegetables are soft (I let mine go for about an hour). Stir in the greens and mushrooms - simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, until mushrooms are soft and cooked through.

I served this with some cheese toast, and the girls did a fairly decent job on it - they picked out and ate the beef and carrots, and Abby also ate the "lettuce" (as she calls all greens). I've made tremendous progress on getting the girls to at least try soup this winter!