ArcaMax

Up until now I have been hunkering down. For me that means I’m practicing social distancing. I limit my trips to the grocery store and the gas station. I wash my hands like a mad woman.

Now I am in the final stages of locking down. Hunkering down is not easy. Locking down is going to be HARD. But we have to do it.

In my case I am planning for a three-week stretch of working in isolation; keeping my inner circle to just a few people I work with and my husband of course.

I am taking one more trip to the grocery store to stock up on provisions. Then I am going to spend a chunk of my days channeling my inner Julia Child. I plan to make large batches of a few dishes and plan to rotate them. I am making things that will taste wonderful right from the freezer. Thaw and heat.

I am going to share some of those recipes with you today...in case you want to join me in stocking up on good food that will make the next few weeks more pleasurable than gnawing on beef jerky. I am here to give you inspiration...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven

I’m Irish, so beef stew was a staple in our family. Trouble is, there are a lot of carbs in most beef stew recipes. Beyond the meat, all the other additions in most stew recipes are high carb. So, I adjusted this recipe to keep the carbs down and introduce other low carb veggies into the mix. I included carrots but cut way back on the amount; leaving just enough for color. I reduced the amount of potato and subbed C-size potatoes for russets. A small, C-size potato is lower carb than a fully grown russet. If you want to stay low-carb, follow these proportions and you can be happy eating beef stew and still maintain your weight at a stable level.

Servings: Serves 4, can be doubled easily.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds of stew meat
2 Tbl of peanut oil
1/2 cup of celery chunks
1/2 cup of carrot cut into coin shapes
1-1/2 cups of organic beef broth
1-1/2 Tbl of tomato paste
2 Tbl of peanut oil
1/2 Tbl of dried parsley flakes
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of grated sea salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
5-7 C-sized potatoes (about 1-2 inches in diameter) Red or white will work fine. Cut in half.
1 cup of frozen pearl onions
1 cup of button mushrooms, if they are large ones cut in half or quarter them
2 Tbl of gravy flour mixed with 3 Tbl of water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In batches, brown the stew meat in the peanut oil in your Dutch oven. I just brown two sides of the meat and take it out. Then add the second batch. This won’t take long on medium high. When you have all of the beef browned, add the carrots and all of the beef back into the pot.

Add the beef broth and the tomato paste. Stir it around to break up the tomato paste and get it distributed. Then add the seasonings and the bay leaf. Stir. Cover the pot and put it in your oven to roast for an hour and 15 minutes.

Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven (use oven gloves). Open the top. Take out the bay leaf and toss it. Add the rest of the vegetables and the flour/water mixture. Stir to combine. Put the top back on and roast another 30 minutes until all of the veggies are done. Check to make sure the potatoes are cooked by poking one with a sharp knife. The potatoes will be tender and your gravy will be slightly thickened.

I serve beef stew in bowls.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola