Before microwaves....

there were pressure cookers. My mother made her gravy (what non-Italians call tomato sauce) in a pressure cooker. She also made beef stew using a can of Veg-All. About five years ago, I purchased a Fagor pressure cooker from Williams-Sonoma. I searched their website for a recipe for beef stew. What I found was a recipe for 20-Minute Beef Stew. ​It made for a great supper the other night as I could make it ahead and my husband only had to reheat it.

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The addition of red wine, fresh thyme and a bit of tomato paste gave this stew a wonderful flavor. The recipe also calls for 1-1/2 cups of beef stock, fresh carrots, celery and new potatoes. 

If you don't have a pressure cooker, I would suggest braising this recipe in a Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid and cooking in a 325° oven for about an hour. After the hour passes, test the meat to see if it's tender and pulls apart with a fork.