Sweet-Sour Beef - American Homemade Recipe

Prep: 15 Minuts Cook: 7 to 8 hours (on low heat in a slow cooker) Numbers of Serves: 10-12 Serves

This sweet-sour beef recipe offers a healthy balance of protein and essential nutrients. The beef provides high-quality protein and iron, which are excellent for muscle strength and energy. By cooking with carrots, pearl onions, and green peppers, you get a good dose of vitamins A and C, along with antioxidants that help protect your immune system. Using a slow cooker is also a great, healthy cooking method because it keeps the ingredients tender without needing excess fat or heavy oils. While the recipe does include some sugar and molasses for that classic sweet flavor, you can easily control the healthiness by serving it over whole-grain pasta and loading up on the extra vegetables!

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless beef round or chuck steak, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups pearl onions

1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup molasses

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

Shell macaroni and snipped chives, optional

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Instructions

1. In a large skillet, brown steak in oil; transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker.
2. Add the next 10 ingredients; stir well.
3. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender.
4. Thicken if desired.
5. Serve over macaroni and garnish with chives if desired.

Yield: 10-12 servings.