Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

October is officially here and it’s truly starting to feel more like fall. With a more noticeable shift in weather this past weekend, it felt like an appropriate time to make a slow cooker beef and butternut squash stew. It’s my first taste of winter squash for the season!

I was inspired by this recipe and tweaked it a bit to make it what I wanted. It turned out just right.

Hope you enjoy!

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

Ingredients:

• ~2 lb grass-fed beef stew meat
• ~1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
• 1-2 Tbsp grass-fed ghee or butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ~1.5 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 medium white sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 8-10 crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp coconut aminos
• 2-3 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth, preferably homemade
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1.5 tsp raw honey or coconut sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-2 tsp sea salt or to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 4-5 kale leaves, de-stemmed and torn into pieces

Directions:

1. Place tapioca starch in a large, shallow bowl. Add the stew meat and toss to coat.
2. Melt ghee or butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté a couple minutes, until soft. Next, add the garlic and stew meat. Continue cooking until beef has browned. Then, add the beef and onion mixture to the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Pour a little bit of the broth into the sauté pan to deglaze it and loosen the brown bits. Once deglazed, add to the slow cooker with the meat mixture.
4. Add the squash, sweet potato, carrots and mushrooms to the slow cooker. Then, add the sea salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaf, coconut sugar, coconut aminos, broth and red wine. Stir well.
5. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for about 7 hours. During the last 30-45 minutes of cooking, add the kale and stir well.
6. Taste and add more sea salt and pepper, if desired. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Yields: ~6 servings