Saturday, October 13, 2012

Stewed Beef and Acorn Squash

Ok, I admit. I am not a fan of the sudden cold. But I promise not to complain about the temperature in every post from now until May. Pinky promise. Besides, there is so much about Fall that I absolutely love. I love Thanksgiving, and little kids in Halloween costumes, and pumpkin flavored things. Oh how I love pumpkin flavored things! Squash, in general, is a family favorite.

I was excited to see acorn squash at the grocery store, and grabbed 5 for our lunches. The Whole Foods also had a huge stack of grass fed stew meat. But, because was making chicken noodle soup for dinner this week, I didn't want to eat beef stew for lunch. I decided to to make stewed beef, with all the flavor of beef stew, but none of the broth. It turned out delicious! AND I got to practice the reduction technique I plan to use to make Thanksgiving gravy.

Ingredients

4 lbs grass fed stew meat
2 yellow onions - diced
8 oz mushrooms - sliced
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons rosemarie
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt
pepper

5 large acorn squash
3 strips thick cut bacon - diced
chili powder
pepper

Instructions

Combine stew meat, onion, mushrooms, stock, bay leaf, rosemarie, garlic, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker. Cover and turn on high. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender. I let mine go all day.  Once the beef is tender, scoop out all of the solids using a slotted spoon. Discard the bay leaf and set the rest aside.  Pour the broth into a large skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Continue boiling, stirring more frequently as it reduces, until the liquid becomes a thick sauce.  Remove from heat.  Pour over the stewed meat and veggies and stir until coated. Makes 10 servings.

While the slow cooker does its thing, cut each acorn squash in half from top to bottom. Remove seeds. Arrange acorn squash halves on a baking sheet.  Divide the diced bacon among the 10 halves, placing in the center of each squash.  Dust with chili pepper and black pepper. Place in a 400 degree oven.  Cook until the squash is tender, about one hour. Makes 10 servings.

Doesn't that look amazing?
I just realized my camera has a "cuisine" setting,
so expect high-quality photos like this one in future posts.
Nutritional Information

  Cal Fat Carb Protein
Stewed Beef 580 37 6 54
Acorn Squash 116 3 22 4
Total 696 39 28 58
Percent   0.51 0.16 0.33





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