Beef Stew

 

This delicious beef stew is packed with protein and is the perfect dinner on a day like today!

You may add a number of veggies to this recipe as you like, but I will be making a little more simple version today. You absolutely may start with some cheaper beef, often sold as “stew meat” at the grocery store, but the end product will only be as good as the quality of your ingredients so I recommend a little splurge and use either chuck roast of sirloin roast as the start. The next thing that will turn this from good to great is to build layers of flavor on top of layers of flavor and I will go into how to do that next!

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs beef

2-4 onions depending on size

4-6 carrots

2-4 potatoes

add celery, peas, mushrooms, etc to the stew at different times depending on the veg. (Celery goes in early so it gets soft, mushrooms, peas, etc could go in at the end so they don’t dissolve totally)

red wine

Beef broth

Salt

Garlic

Thyme

Start by prepping all the veggies to the desired size and cutting the meat into bite size chunks. Trim any excess fat, but remember that good marbling will lead to delicious flavors! First cooking step is to brown the beef chunks. Do this a small amount at a time in a large pan or soup pot with a bit of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. You will be tempted to just throw all the meat in at once, and this whole recipe could be done in a slow cooker, but the results just won’t be quite the same. If you take the time to sear the meat, getting good caramelization on each piece you will have started the flavor layer building perfectly!

After all the meat is browned and you have pulled it into a bowl to wait, you will throw the chopped onions into the pan with another dash of salt and the garlic. Add a little more olive oil and a dusting of flour to make a roux that will thicken the stew. Stir constantly to help free all the delicious bits of meat that have stuck to the sides of your pan. Once the onions are getting soft you can put the meat back in the pot and cover with a cup of red wine and 2 cups of beef broth or stock salting to taste and adding the thyme. If you are adding other firm veggies like celery now would be the time. You may leave this on the stove top for 2-3 hours or put in the oven at 250. Just be sure that the broth doesn’t cook off! You want to braise the meat, covered in wine and stock until very tender!

After the meat is nearly falling apart you will add the carrots and potatoes and continue to cook until those are soft as well. You should taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Once cooked until the potatoes are ready this is ready to serve.

I like to eat this sort of stew with some crusty bread, usually sourdough.

Hearty Beef Chili

Hearty Beef Chili

A great meal for those cold winter days (even if it rarely gets cold in Wilmington!) this Chili is easy to make, tastes great and is packed with protein. I usually eat it with some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top and a big scoop of sour cream, but it is delicious on its own. I credit Nick Boyd from the South Side Soda Shop with this recipe, and you can even see him make it on Diner’s, Drive Ins and Dives. And I won’t share his secret ingredient, but I will tell you that you can spice this up however you want… be creative!

A 12 ounce bowl has 45g protein, 20g carbs and 12g fat

2 Lbs Ground Beef – Local and grassfed is best!
Chopped Celery, Onions and Green Peppers – use LOTS of veggies!
1 Can Kidney Beans
1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder to taste. Add cayenne pepper if you want!

Chop the veggies, then steam them and brown the ground beef.
Drain the fat well, then let beef and veggies cook a little more
Add tomato and beans.
Add Seasonings.
Simmer for at least 10 minutes, but this chili gets better the longer it cooks!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

 

This meal is a staple in our household! It’s an incredible protein source, macro friendly and KID friendly take on the favorite “Buffalo Chicken”. Throw on top of a bed of rice, salad or stuff in a baked potato!

 

 

Salmon Cakes

The perfect salad topper, sandwich stuffer or breakfast hash-er! You can sub out tuna for salmon and make this fit your needs and preferences.Such an EASY and delicious lunch staple on hotter days!

Quinoa Turkey Meatballs

This delicious recipe is SO easy and SO convenient. We add it to our weekly meal prep when we know we will be in and out of the house. These meatballs are perfect for a grab-and-go lunch or on top of a bed of zoodles for dinner. Try adding it into your meal prep this week and tag us in your photos!

Chipotle-Inspired Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Raise your hand if you too get sad when your fork hits the bottom of your chipotle bowl?!  Today we’re scheming with our favorite homemade version of the delicious rice. We’re mixing it up with quinoa and adding this as a weekly staple to our meal prep!