1 Tablespoon olive oil (optional)
1 lb. ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 peeled potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 or 2 zucchini, sliced
4 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
6 oz. tomato paste
Optional: fresh avocado

Brown stew meat in olive oil and sauté with spices. Place vegetables in crockpot. I’ve added any garden vegetables I had on hand. Add 2 cups of water and bouillon to the pan with beef, stirring until the bouillon is dissolved. (Some people prefer beef broth.) Pour over vegetables in the crockpot. Stir another 2 cups of water to the frying pan (to pick up any spices, etc. that think they are staying in the pan instead of joining their friends in the stew) before adding to the crockpot, along with tomato sauce. The beef is cooked, so now it is just a matter of how soft you like your vegetables. I leave it in the crockpot all day. I like to garnish each bowl with fresh avocado slices because avocado makes anything taste better!

RECIPE NOTES: Paprika is too mild for me, so I use chili powder instead. If you want a real kick to it, add cayenne pepper – but only 1/8 of a teaspoon – it’s strong. I tend to add a lot more garlic than I wrote in my recipe, knowing that others do not always appreciate my motto that “there is never too much garlic.” So adjust garlic to your taste. I’ve made this before, omitting the olive oil, just browning the meat in the pan and it was fine. My husband likes to add crushed, dried red pepper, however, traditionally, it is not a spicy soup.