This is a favorite meal both at home or on the camp stove. One-pot meals are our favorite - fast and little cleanup.

1/2 pound pork sausage
2-3 pounds stew beef
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
1 quart V8 juice
2 pounds carrots
6-8 medium-large potatoes
1 cup black coffee
any other vegetables (optional)
1-2 chipolatas, smoked jalapeno peppers (optional)

PREPARATION:

• In the bottom of #12 Dutch oven, put your pork sausage and onions, coarsely chopped. Cook over medium-high heat, until onions are translucent. Add garlic cloves garlic (minced), stew beef, salt and pepper.

• Also, this is the time I add the chipolata. I use the flesh (chop very fine) for flavor and discard the seed (heat). Brown the stew beef well. Add black coffee and bring to a boil, cooking until the liquid is reduced by 1/2 to 2/3. Add V8 juice and all vegetables. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, and then cook, until vegetables are soft. At a simmer a "puff" of steam will come from under the edge of the Dutch oven lid every 10 to 15 seconds.

• Beginning from the time the sausage and onions go into the pot, until the time the V8 and vegetables are added, this needs to be stirred often. After the V8 is added, it only needs stirring occasionally to be sure the vegetables are not sticking. Serve hot with corn bread.

• Notes: I use the cheapest stew beef available. The black coffee acts as a meat tenderizer. Some people like sugar in their stew, but I personally don't use it. If you would like, add 1/4 cup of sugar at the time you add the carrots and potatoes. Sometimes, especially with young children, sugar makes this stew more appealing. Venison can be substituted for the stew beef with almost no detectable change in flavor or texture. I use a round bottom 10-quart cast iron pot suspended from a tripod over a campfire, not charcoal. A #12 deep Dutch oven works equally well.

• Servings: 10
  Preparation time: 2 hours