Creamy Veggie Potato Stew

With Fall finally arriving and the cooling weather, it is time to get the recipes for soups, stews and chilli out! Today, my mom made her yummy lamb stew, but since I am a newly turned vegetarian, I had to miss out. So for dinner, I decided to whip up my own stew; vegetarian with lots of yummy veggies! I was surprised as this stew didn't lack any flavor! Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper diced
1 tsp minced garlic or 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
2 large potatoes cubed into large pieces
2 sweet potatoes cubed into large pieces
2 large carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup corn
1 stalk bok-choy cut
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil 
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried parsley or handful fresh parsley finely minced
2 cups reserved liquid* (see recipe)
1 can coconut milk (13.5 fl. oz) **



Method:
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the water and stir in the potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery. Cook 15 minutes, or until tender but firm. Remove from heat. Drain and set aside, reserving liquid. 
2. Place the oil and butter in the large saucepan. Add onions and green bell pepper. Over medium heat, slowly cook and stir 10 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Mix in the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic. Mix in the potato mixture. Continue cooking and stirring. Add reserved liquid and let stew cook for about 10 minutes. Add coconut milk, corn, broccoli, bokchoy and parsley and cook for about 3 minutes after stew comes to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving. 

** If you don't like coconut milk, you can add regular milk or heavy cream instead. This will change the flavor but will still be very flavorful. 


Tip: You can add whatever veggies you like in your soup. You can omit the sweet potatoes if you aren't a fan and just double the potatoes. Experiment with your veggies and make it your own stew!