RECIPE - GF Beef Stew w/ Cranberries

As some of you may seen from my twitter account (@gfmf_nyc), I got a crock pot for Hannukah earlier this month! I've been thinking about getting one for a while, and now I'm lucky I don't have to make the trip to Target (it's not that I'm lazy, it's just that it's wayyyyy too cold out, and the thought of being out in the cold is terrifying...)

Anyways, along with the crock pot I got a crock pot cookbook, filled with lots of easy recipes that you can setup in the morning (even with frozen meat?!?) and return to 10 hours later with a hot meal ready to go!

I really could have used this tool back when I didn't have a microwave. After working a long day and taking a 45-minute commute home, I would turn to my friendly frozen dinner... but heat it up in the oven! Don't ask me why I didn't just buy one, I was in those post-college minimalist days where you subsist on Cheerios and frozen Amy's dinners 7 nights a week.

As you can see, things have gotten much better.

Which brings me to the stew. Beef stew is by far the most perfect winter food. Luckily, Whole Foods had a sale on boneless beef chuck ($5.99/lb). So mix that with some potatoes, carrots, celery and garlic, and I'm good to go.

Now, there's the issue of cranberries. You may recall I had a few posts about cranberry sauce (see Pt. 1 and Pt. 2), so I have some extra cranberries in the fridge. And I thought that these berries would be a nice substitute for the wine that normally goes in a beef stew (or Beef Bourguignon, as Julia Childs would say).  I totally encourage you to give it a try! You could even use other tart berries (like gooseberries, I wonder??).

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into cubes (stew meat)
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika

2 celery stalks, chopped into 1" pieces
1 large or 2 small carrots, chopped into 1" pieces
2 potatoes, chopped into large cubes
10 small "boiling" or cippolini onions, whole (or halved if big)
2 garlic cloves, whole
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth (1 cup or more if cooking on stove top)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup fresh cranberries

Directions (Crock Pot):
Mix the first set of ingredients (sans beef) together in a ziploc bag. Add the beef and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and put beef into crock pot. Save the extra flour in case the stew needs thickening later.

Add other veggies and spices. Pour broth over. Set crock pot to cook (time based on how long til dinner!)

In the last hour of cooking, add the cranberries. At the end of cooking, stir and see if the stew is thick enough for your liking. If not, mix some of the reserved flour with a little COLD water, and stir into the stew (I would recommend doing a tsp of flour + 2 tbsp water at a time). Within a minute or two you would see the stew thicken up. Repeat until thick to your liking. Serve!

Directions (Stove Top):
Mix the first set of ingredients (sans beef) together in a ziploc bag. Add the beef and shake to coat.

In a dutch oven (or similar type pan), heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium-high. Add beef, shaking off excess flour. Save the extra flour in case the stew needs thickening later. Cook beef quickly until browned on all sides. Remove beef.

Add another 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan, and turn down to medium. Add veggies and saute for about 8 minutes, until all veggies start to slightly soften.

Return the beef to the pan, and add stock and spices. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook on low for about 2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the stew is thickened. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the cranberries.
**Alternate method: If you're pan can go into the oven, after adding veggies and such, cover and cook in a 250 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours.