11 Oct Butternut Beef Stew

The leaves are falling, temperature is dropping and pumpkins have begun to show up outside of all of the houses in our neighborhood. Fall is here! Which means that pretty much all of the recipes that I create between October and December will usually have some form of squash in them… I just can’t help myself. This Paleo Stew recipe is a go-to fave in our home. Its absolutely wonderful for those chilly weekend days when you have the time to let it sit in the crockpot for hours and also works well as a make-ahead meal for those upcoming nights when you know you won’t have time to prepare a balanced dinner.

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups beef broth
• About 1 lb beef, elk, bison or venison stew meat
• About 1 medium butternut squash
• About 1 head celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 medium crookneck yellow squash
• 1 cup small button mushrooms, chopped
•  1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (you can use any tomatoes you have, if using larger simply chop them into small pieces)
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2-1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Steps:

1. Bake squash in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes until tender, then peel and cube
2. Slightly more complicated version- Add a small amount of oil (I prefer coconut) to skillet and brown beef with onion for a few minutes before adding to crockpot with all ingredients except kale and allowing to simmer for 6 hours
3. Super easy version- Toss all ingredients except kale in crockpot and allow to simmer about 6 hours
4. Add kale about 30-45 minutes before ready to eat (this will prevent it from overcooking)