Autumn Beef Stew

The weather is getting cooler in DC and this Autumn Beef Stew is perfect for a lazy weekend or a hectic weeknight.  This is a slow cooker recipe so you can put this together in the morning and have dinner when you get home from work.  You can even get it all together the night before, put it in the fridge and just start the slow cooker the next morning.  If you are short on time, you can skip the browning of the beef and that would be fine.   I love the flavors of this Autumn Beef Stew, the wine gives it great depth.  If you aren't into the red wine, just add more stock instead.  I also cut the vegetables into larger pieces so they don't get too mushy.  This is a great freezer friendly dish too.  Enjoy!

Autumn Beef Stew

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound beef, cubed

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, diced

2 cups red wine

14 ounces beef stock

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, combine flour, garlic, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Add beef and toss to lightly coat with seasoned flour.

Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat and add oil.  Add beef and cook until lightly browned on each side.  Remove beef from pan.

Add wine and beef stock to deglaze pan.  Stir in minced garlic, thyme and bay leaves.

Place carrots, onion and potato in bottom of slow cooker.  Add in beef.   

Next, pour in wine and beef stock mixture.

Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours.

Optional:  Add in frozen peas 30 minutes before ready to serve.

Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew

I made this Slow Cooker Gluten Free Beef Stew for Shabbat dinner recently.  This beef stew had such amazing flavors.  You can really taste the wine, so be sure to use one you would drink or serve to guests.  I served the stew over rice to make the entire meal gluten-free.  I mostly followed the Gluten-Free Goddess Beef Stew recipe.  I googled gluten-free recipes and found the Gluten-Free Goddess and I'm a new fan!  My friend is gluten-free and I realized it wasn't that hard to serve a gluten-free meal.  I was up for a challenge but this Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew is comforting goodness.  My apartment smelled wonderful while it was cooking too.  The beef was tender and the potatoes, carrots and celery were soft which made it really nice.  Also, any leftovers can be frozen too.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Beef Stew

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 pounds stew beef (cubed beef)

salt

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup pearl onions (I used frozen.)

2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 cup dry red wine (I used a malbec.)

4 cups beef broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used a pomegranate flavor.)

1 to 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Salt beef cubes on all sides.  Allow salted beef to rest while you prep the vegetables.

Heat a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil.  Brown beef cubes on all sides.  Add beef to slow cooker.

Sauté garlic, pearl onions, potatoes, carrots and celery for a few minutes in the same dutch oven.  Add vegetables to slow cooker.

Pour the wine and broth into the dutch oven to deglaze the pan.  

Stir wine and broth into the slow cooker with the beef and vegetables.  Add the balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, bay leaf and ground pepper.  Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or low 8 to 10 hours.

Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving!