Gluten Free Beef Stew

Don't mind the cell phone picture. :)

This is another Crock-Pot recipe that I make pretty often. It tastes good, requires minimal effort, and everyone loves it. I am a decent cook, at best, so minimal effort is important to me. :) It is really simple to make a gluten free beef stew. Simply skip the breading of the meat entirely, or use tapioca starch (or cornstarch) instead. When I use frozen stew meat, I don't thaw it or "bread" it at all. I just throw it in the crock pot as is. Today I did (using tapioca starch) because I had stew meat that wasn't frozen.

Ingredients:

Beef stew meat (I used just over a pound, I usually make more)
Potatoes, Carrots, Celery, etc.
Tapioca starch
Garlic, minced onion
Parsley, Bay leaves, salt, pepper
Chicken or beef broth

Slow cooker (I think mine is 4 quarts)

Coat the stew meat in tapioca starch (you'll need less than 1/2 cup) and brown in a pan on the stove. Don't worry about "cooking" it, just brown it a little. Put it directly in the slow cooker, chop up your veggies and add them too. I used 5 regular carrots and 5 small yellow potatoes. I use more veggies if I have more meat. Use 1-2 boxes of chicken or beef broth, depending on how much you are cooking. I used one today, but with two pounds of stew meat I use two. I didn't put much broth in my bowl, but there was plenty in the Crock pot. The picture just doesn't show much! I always use chicken broth. I buy an organic store brand chicken broth, and I feel like it has a lot less "crap" in it than beef broth. The beef will cook in the broth all day, I promise it will taste like beef! Add your seasonings. I use a lot of garlic, some minced onion, parsley, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. I try to cook on low all day (6 hours minimum, more for frozen meat) but you can cook on high for a shorter time, just check the meat. Today, I cooked it for about 10 hours on low.


 
Just a side note, make sure that your broth does not contain gluten if avoiding gluten is important to you! Some of them do. 

Posted in: Celiac,Celiac Disease,CrockPot,Food,gluten,gluten free,gluten intolerance,In the Kitchen,Recipes,Slow Cooking