Perfect Winter Beef Stew

This recipes comes from kraftfoods.com. I made it a couple times last winter and we all loved it. I had kind of forgotten about it and stumbled across the recipe again, so I made it tonight for dinner. It was just as delicious as I remembered. In fact Will, who's 6, commented, "Mom this is really good. I mean REALLY good". I think what sets it apart is the bacon. I added my notes on some things I changed, as well. Seems to be a flexible recipe and has always turned out yummy.

Perfect Winter Beef Stew

3/4 cup Italian dressing (can use light or fat free)
2 lbs. beef for stew, such as beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch chunks ( I used venison because that's what we had in the freezer and I marinated it all day, as opposed to 1/2 hour--you couldn't even tell it was deer meat)
6 slices bacon, chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups sliced carrots (about 6 med carrots)
1 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks (I used 4)
1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (14oz.) beef broth ( used 1 T. beef bullion and 1 cup water)
*I added 1 can cream of mushroom soup because I didn't have enough mushrooms and I thought it would be good for thickening and flavor.

Pour dressing over meat in large ziploc and refrigerate 30 minutes to marinade. Meanwhile cook bacon til crisp and remove from pan. Drain drippings.

Add mushrooms and onion to large soup pot and cook over med-high heat til tender (I also added a couple cloves of crushed garlic). Remove meat from marinade and discard marinade. Add meat, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, broth and bacon to pot.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes or til meat is cooked and stew is thickened.

I served ours with garlic sourdough bread.

Enjoy!