Election Night Stew recipe

I love Election Day! I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't another big rally in Grant Park this year; the official one was a much smaller thing at McCormick Place that I couldn't possibly get into. But there were a couple of upsides: #1, it was really too cold and damp out to be standing around outside for hours. #2, I had an excuse to have people over and make ELECTION NIGHT STEW!

ELECTION NIGHT STEW

ingredients:
4 lbs stew beef or thereabouts (all ingredient amounts are just suggestions; I decided how many carrots, etc to use by eyeballing it).

2 28 ounce cans (the big ones) of diced tomatoes (organic, fire roasted if possible).

1 small (8oz) can of hunts tomato sauce

2 carrots (or more, sliced into 1/2inch slices or so)

2 potatos (or more, diced into bite-sized chunks))

2 celery stalks (sliced about the size of the carrots)

1/2 zucchini (quartered and sliced)

parsnip (as many as you like, sliced like the carrots)

garlic clove (minced)

1 cup of spicy red wine (pinot noire)

1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar

1 cup or so of beef broth

Seasoning mix: salt, pepper, onion powder, celery salt, basil, paprika, bay leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Cook beef in the liquid as long as possible -I  got up at 5:30 to start it - in a crock pot in good beef broth with a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Beef should be fully immersed in the liquid.

A few hours before serving time, transfer to a bigger stock pot,  add wine, tomatoes, sauce and all vegetables, incl. minced garlic.  Add seasonings to taste (removing bay leaves after a couple hours).  Cook on simmer at least 270 minutes. Serves 6-8 with some leftovers to spare. Goes really, really well with cornbread.