Vegetable Beef Soup

In a large pot, add stew meat, water, and tomato juice and bring to a boil (I browned my beef a bit first in some oil before adding the liquids but it's not necessary), then reduce heat to low and cover. Stirring occasionally, cook until meat reaches desired level of tenderness.

Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, tumeric, red pepper, potatoes, carrots, celery, corn and zucchini.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook on low (stirring occasionally) until vegetables are tender.

Taste-test and add more seasonings if desired.

I made this recipe on the stovetop because I was able to check on it every so often over the course of a few hours. However, if you don't have time for that, it will work in the crockpot or the instant pot just as well. The longer the stew meat cooks the more melt-in-your-mouth it will be. Minimum of 3 hours on the stove should be fine but longer just makes it even more tender. If you use a crockpot, you can put all ingredients in at once and cook on low all day or on high for about 4 hours. The instant pot will reach that desired tenderness much more quickly. Cook the meat with part or all of the liquids for about 30 minutes. Release pressure and check meat, add remaining ingredients and pressure cook for about 5 more minutes, longer if more tenderness is desired. Remember to check the size of your crock pot or instant pot...you may need to reduce the amount of some of the ingredients so everything fits in your pot :) .

Enjoy!