Gluten Free Dairy Free Beef and Butternut Squash Stew
See that stew? Honestly, we made it for dinner, but the next day it also made it into the lunch box. Some meals are like that. No matter how good they might have been for dinner, for lunch they are fantastic! Stew is one of those meals, it always seems better the next day after the flavors have had more time to develop. As a lunch-time meal option, Gluten Free Dairy Free Beef and Butternut Stew is a welcome change from the usual gluten free sandwich.
If you don’t have access to a microwave at work or school (my kiddos don’t), try using a thermos or thermos bowls. I find them in the lunchbox and travel sections of my local store. I preheat thermoses by pouring boiling water into them and capping. I let the bowls set while heating the stew in a sauce pan. When the stew is heated, so are the thermos bowls. Dump out the water and add the stew. Preheating the thermos bowls keeps the stew and other hot dishes toasty until lunch time. Try it the next time you are sending a hot meal in the lunch box. Works like a charm!
Gluten Free Dairy Free Beef and Butternut Squash Stew
Author/Source:
Angela @ Onceamonthmom.com adapted from Jeannette Lee Bessinger and Tracee Yablon Brenner @ RealFoodMoms.com
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups Butternut squash, pealed, seeded, and cubed into 3/4″-1″ pieces
- 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 3/4 cup red wine, gluten free beer or beef stock
- 1/2 cup gluten free beef stock
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 10 ounce package frozen green beans
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
Directions:
Put all ingredients, except the green beans, into slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook for 7-8 hours on low or for 3-4 hours on high. Stir in green beans. When beans are cooked through it is ready to serve.
Freezing Directions:
Turn off slow cooker and allow to cool. Package stew by dividing into the indicated number of lunch sized containers. Label and freeze.
To serve: Thaw. Warm through.
Servings: 8
This Post will be linked at:
- Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
- Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
- Tuesdays at the Table with All the Small Stuff
- Delicious Dishes at It’s a Blog Party
- Tip My Tuesday at Tip Junkie
This looks great! I’m scared though, the last time I paired butternut squash with red wine, it came out purple!
LOL! That could be a concern, but as you can see from the pic, the squash made it without the color change. However, you could always skip the wine and use more broth if you are worried. That is too funny! I wonder how much wine you need to add for purple squash… :)
[...] week I share Beef & Butternut Stew from the upcoming October Menu at Once a Month Mom. Stop by and say [...]
I’ve always done that thermos trick, too…makes for perfectly hot soup or tea come lunch or dinner time! :D
I wonder if this would taste good with potatoes and celery. Carrots probably aren’t necessary b/c of the squash. My 4yo cannot have beans. Has anyone tried varying the recipe any?
Could I freeze this pre-cooking? Put all the ingredients in a bag, freeze and then thaw, cook or is the liquid content too high for that? I try to prep freezer bags for all my slow cooker meals to cut down on prep time in the mornings.
That should work fine!
Do you brown the meat before adding to the crockpot?
no you don’t have to since it’s cooking for 7-8 hours.
This sounds really yummy!
The squash doesnt get mushy after 7-8 hours?
It gets a little mushy but still firm.