{Beef Stew with Carrots and Parsnips}

I haven’t been eating potatoes.  Actually, I haven’t been eating anything white, lately.  No flour, no sugar, no potatoes.  It’s been okay, and I certainly feel better, and I’ve lost twenty pounds! 

Okay, vegetarians look away now.  Please do not send me hate mail.  I love you.

We also purchased 80lbs of meat (chicken, beef, and pork) from Honored Prairie which is a collection of family farms that have formed a co-op of sorts, and where people can order their products online.

What I like about it:

• The animals are free range.
• The cows are grass fed.
• The animals are not pumped with chemicals – which I feel good about eating and feeding to my family. 
• The cows are allowed to be cows and do cow things. 
• The pigs are allowed to be pigs and do pig things. 
• The chickens are allowed to be chickens and do chicken things. 
• We ordered what we wanted online and went it picked it up at one of their pre-arranged pick up locations on the date specified. 
• It was super easy and I promise we will do it again! 

We wrote a check and drove off with about 80lbs of meat to fill our deep freezer!

We’ve made lots of good things…

Egg and sausage muffin cups (with eggs from a local farm and our Honored Prairie ground breakfast sausage)
Round steak with sautéed mushrooms
Tacos with Jicama shells (I’ll post that recipe, soon!)
Classic Pot Roast with carrots and sweet potatoes

And this tasty recipe we put together with the extra hour we got on Daylight Savings Fall Back Day (not really a holiday, but when someone gives me the gift of time, it’s a holiday in my book!)…

Beef Stew with Carrots and Parsnips

1lb of chunked Stew Beef (mine was free range, grass fed, and delicious)
4 medium parsnips (peeled and chunked into 1/2 inch cubes)
4 medium carrots (peeled and chunked just like the parsnips)
1 sliced leek
1 1/2 cups of a mirepoix mixture (diced onion, celery, and carrots)
1/2 box of a gluten free chicken stock
1/2 gallon of vegetable juice
2 tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Brown your chunked stew beef in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a stock pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. While the meat is browning, you will need to peel and dice the turnips and carrots.
3. Once browned, remove the meat and place to the side (you will add this back in later).
4. Add the second tablespoon of the olive oil, and then add your mirepoix mix and leek.  (I used a half package  of frozen leeks from Trader Joes.)  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Sweat the veggies until tender (but not browned) for about 7-10 minutes.
6.  Pour in half a container of the chicken stock and half of the gallon of vegetable juice.
7.  Add the meat back into the pot with the broth and veggies.
8.  Add the diced turnips and carrots.
9.  Bring to the boil and lower the temp to medium/low for about one and a half hours.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

When it’s done, the meat will be fall apart tender.  The carrots and parsnips will be tender to the touch of a fork.  And the mirepoix and leeks will dissolve into the soup making a very flavorful broth/sauce for the stew.

This all happened by accident.  We didn’t know what to expect.  I’ve never used parsnips…and I have to say I love them.  There is a hint of tangy zip, with a slight cinnamon undertone – which I think comes from the parsnips.  Delish.  All of this joy even without potatoes…that’s the best part!

And unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures…it all went too fast.  You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Next up…an experiment with grass fed and free range short ribs. 

Also, in the works…a focus on some of our favorite restaurants.  It’ll be so good.